Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days (2012)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010), Rodrick Rules and Dog Days.

With the success of Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) and Rodrick Rules, a third installment was inevitable. This third film, Dog Days, released in 2012, meaning the entire original trilogy came out within the span of only three years. While impressive in its own right, this release schedule also runs the risk of diluting the end product for the sake of meeting such tight deadlines. Unfortunately, for all of its charm, Dog Days’ quick turnaround results in the least focused of the original live-action trilogy, as though they had rushed it out so they could keep the same cast before they got too old.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules (2011)

Note: This review contains spoilers for Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2010) and Rodrick Rules.

As the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney proved to be popular, so did its 2010 film adaptation, leading to an annual sequel based on the second book, Rodrick Rules. Although I have not actually read any of the books, the first film turned out to be a lot better than I had expected after I watched it to see what the fuss was about, which got me interested in seeing the sequel. After having done so, I feel Rodrick Rules improves on the original enough to make it possibly the best of the original trilogy.