Simply A Masterpiece

A Disappointing Continuation

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Blistering performances.

My daughter saw this at the theater with friends and recommended it for weekend family viewing on Netflix. She has decent taste in films, I think, preferring the intellectual over the typical inane kid stuff. Still, I was surprised at how much I loved this film.It's part action film and part allegory, with a number of surprising features all wrapped up in a story within a story.The visuals are stunning. At least a half dozen times, I found myself taken aback by the angles or sweeping motion the director chose. There's something satisfyingly symmetrical about the camera work. The locations are gorgeous and so is the cast, but none of it is so pretty that it feels unrealistic.Although it doesn't feel low-budget, the movie has a hint of indie film about it. It reminds us that acting and writing are hard work. Although you can see some of the seams occasionally, it is a pleasant reminder of the hard work that goes into making a dream like this a reality.And even if a few ideas in the film hearken back to other stories, none of it feels derivative.I read a few other reviews before posting this, and saw that one poster thought that it was a racist portrayal of colonialism. Having watched the film, I'd say that is a bias that poster must see in many facets of life - you're bound to find hatred and condescension anywhere you look, if you're determined to find it. I saw no hint of it in this film. As for being reminded that God loves you, no matter what - I couldn't imagine that message ever becoming too prevalent in kids' films.All in all, well worth the 97 minutes, and worth a second viewing, as well.

After seeing it I thought I wouldn't like my son to see it. Fortunately he didn't like it from the first beginning, and he played on his iPad!The way the argument "orphans" is treated, is an offense to intelligence, and harms those who don't live with their biological parents.I did not expect such superficial treatment of this topic in current movies, but I had forgotten that religion is still at work. The intelligence in the movie is very low. That low, that even the issue racism was not avoided. And I guess, it was not a mistake! The movie is designed for white christians. The main characters are white christians (even the indigenous infant king). All others are indigenous. It i surely a fact that if rats were able to develop a religion, they would depict god as a rat!

Turned this on for 'movie night' with my 4 and 6 year old. I was purposely avoiding yet another cartoon movie and found it on Netflix. After a slow intro, it grabbed their attention and held it throughout. I quickly noticed the Christian overtones which I appreciated, and the kids did too. At the end of the movie, the kids were asking to watch it again and I was very happy with my choice, as I enjoyed it as well. It is what it is - it's not Indiana Jones - but it's a great film for a very tough audience for whom moral AND entertaining movies are difficult to find. As an aside, the King Cobra character was scary enough but not too scary. There was a bit of violence but nothing extreme. I didn't notice any language or suggestive situations. I'm hoping for more movies like this in the future.

The film is very entertaining for children I believe partially because they don't typically catch the flaws in acting, plot, writing and overall production as adults have a tendency to do, so I can't recommend it for adults.At its core its fun adventure story with a time spanning story, magical artifact and a villain kids could fear, as the story goes on the kids slowly learn about themselves. My daughter really loves this and watched it three times in as many days. Its ending that a prior poster commented on I guess can catch you a little off guard if you didn't pick it up as the story went along. As it is only occasionally pointed out till then end that this movie is a Christian film. Having said that, I think that nasty response is unnecessary. The film has a good moral story to it that can be appreciated whether you believe in God or not.