For Ben Stiller, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty is a case of one step forward, two steps back, with the funny man’s ambitious move into Oscar territory never quite reaching its full potential, even though moments of brilliance do pop up now and again.

With comedians rarely given their due respect come awards season, it’s only natural when a switch to dramatic territory is pursued. Jim Carey did it with The Truman Show, Adam Sandler with Punch Drunk Love, and now Ben Stiller does the same with his remake of the Danny Kaye classic (itself based on the short story by James Thurber) The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.

To be fair Stiller has done drama before, but never on a project as ambitious as this. The result is a muddled affair: large in scope, limited in payoff, with little bouts of laughs in between lazy dramatic moments that are supposed to be awe-inspiring & cathartic yet fall short of becoming either.

Stiller stars as Walter Mitty, a mild mannered photo editor for Life Magazine whose existence revolves around his job, his crush (Kristen Wiig), his prick of a boss (Adam Scott channelling his douche vibe from Step Brothers), and the daydreams that suck him out of his mundane existence and into a world where he can play hero…that is until reality comes crashing. For his part Stiller (director and performer) handles these fantastical sequences very well, proving to be a deft hand with VFX while also utilising that chameleon cheekiness of his in brilliantly staged dream sequences. After all, what is a Ben Stiller performance without a little prosthetics?

When a crucial photo from legendary photographer Sean O’Connell (Sean Penn) is missing, Walter embarks on a quest to find it, in the process finding his place in life and the confidence to live it. All good and well on paper, but in execution …Walter Mitty does not reach its full potential.

There is a lot of flash here, to be sure. The globetrotting locations are beautifully captured by cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh, who is sure to get an Oscar nomination for his crystal cut visuals that fill the heart with emotions where the screenplay could not. A soundtrack of alt-rock hits ranging from Monsters and Men, to Arcade Fire, to David Bowie is also well used, strategically placed so we know exactly when to be moved.

Yet for a film about a man who is on an emotional exploration to fulfil himself, …Walter Mitty is curiously with little soul. Stiller is a competent director. He knows his craft and he definitely knows how to draw out laughs. But what he hasn’t mastered is the delicate act of sentimentality, something which …Walter Mitty needed to have its audience fully revel in the journey upon which Walter embarks.

Ironically, masters of sentiment Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard were both once attached to directing this remake, and there is no doubt they could have gotten over the hump which stalled Stiller in his tracks. Yet for a first attempt at something as grandiose as this, Stiller has shown promise. Now it’s time for him to deliver with his next film.