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Big Fish, based on a book I've never read, tells the story of Edward Bloom, a travelling salesman with a taste for tall tales. He's dying, and his son is trying to get to know the real father behind the stories, to Edward's amusement and occasional irritation.

The story spans sixty years and a fistful of genres fairytales, crime capers and romances fill the running time comfortably. And the viewer is bombarded by image after stunning image from the imaginative life of Edward Bloom.

Let's shift the negative stuff first with a simple fact. The son is a petulant pain in the bum. A cipher of a character, his only purpose for most of the film is to stir up conflict so we can see more of his father's fantasy world. His insistent whining after the truth' is irritating, at best. Why can't he accept the truth' that his father is a rotund and slightly flirty raconteur? And the actor's surname is apparently Crudup', which is amusing.

The film is a constant visual delight as Ed Bloom (played by both Albert Finney and Ewan MacGregor) lives his life. After the curiously sterile Burton-lite style of Planet of the Apes, Burton was back on top form, quirky humour investing every shot with significance. The soulless suburban lawns of Edward Scissorhands are back, with choreographed lawnmowers, as is the Wallace & Gromitesque automated kitchen. Cars end up in trees, lawns are planted with a million daffodils. And in the mystery village of Spectre, travellers hang up their shoes forever on a crowded clothesline.

If these poetic images are a little less macabre than we have come to expect from this director, it's good to see that there is more to Tim Burton than Michael Keaton in silly masks.

As Bloom journeys through life his adventures are compelling. Knocking out enemy soldiers with a cheeky flourish, or taking a punishing beating from an old schoolfriend, Ewan MacGregor's wide-eyed portrayal is note-perfect, in spite of an accent which even I can tell is out of kilter from time to time. Stopping just short of being punchably chirpy, Ed inspires devotion in the viewer. He's cocky, but charming, in an occasionally sneaky kind of way.

And then there's the good bit.

Edward's travels have brought him to a circus, run by Danny Devito. Suddenly, he notices a girl and time freezes. Bloom walks through a motionless circus, climbing through hoops and, in the best bit of all, through a cloud of popcorn. It's the film's signature shot, it's one of the most magical things you've ever seen and

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