Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Stranded is a top notch re-telling of the Swiss Family Robinson story. It takes a more serious approach where lives are threatened , tragedy is always around the next corner, and death does occur. This is not a Disney version, with its humor, slapstick, and rollicking tone. Yet it retains the values of family, religion, and love. With its 3 hour length, it has added a welcome subplot which follows the life of the youngest son, Jacob, separated from the family during the shipwreck and raised by pirates. It also devotes time to the transformation of father David Robinson from a stubborn, controlling religious fanatic to a loving and supportive father who learns to widen his worldview on the little deserted island. It also adds to the mix, a young daughter who grows up on the island, and a native who visits occasionally and helps them through some life threatening events. Happily, it also includes a romance when the daughter of a sea captain escapes from pirates, and meets up with the Robinson family. Equally happily, it also includes the climactic battle between the Robinsons and the pirates. All ends well in a very satisfying ending, where each family member chooses to go or stay in order to fulfill their bliss.

This movie is great. It is done with a very detailed eye toward realism. I really like how everything in this story could have actually happened, but it still really gets your attention. Forget about the Disney version, this is far superior. Acting is great, dialog is great, scenery is amazing, and story is of course excellent. I liked how I could show this to my kids and expose them to a real adventure story, plus a story that shows family loyalty and genuine regard for ethics and values. Oh, and guess what, pirates are actually bad guys, imagine that. I felt like I had really stepped into the 1800's. What more could you ask for in an adventure.

Hallmark has spent a lot of money on their "Family Robinson" tale and it looks gorgeous, the money is there to behold in lavish sets, great cinematography. I saw this purely by chance, when I ordered the wrong DVD (should have been the Spanish Stranded from same year!), nevertheless it provides 3 hours of pretty decent entertainment for all but the youngest children. The violence by the end of the film may not make it ideal choice of entertainment for pre-schoolers. TV director Charles Beeson directs a cast of lesser-known actors but Brana Bajic as Lara Robinson is certainly a looker! Other than that the cast is pretty anonymous and misses the mark when it comes to suspense. Few surprises here, this is a classic whitehat/blackhat movie. The kids will love it, but the grown-ups may find this a bit anemic. Will do nicely on a rainy day, however and the lavish tropical pictures will linger on.

in which a family gets marooned on an island in paradise. The period is roughly 18th or 19th century, and dad gets convicted as a felon by the English court because, being a parson and a religious fanatic, he refuses to swear allegiance to the crown. As punishment, he is to be shipped off to a penal colony south of the equator, and his wife petitions the court to let her and the kids come along. A big storm wrecks the ship and the family ends up on an island, except for one of the sons, who ends up being raised by pirates. How the family survives, and eventually becomes reunited becomes the substance of the story, but there are problems. It's very slow moving. The lighting is unnecessarily poor in many critical scenes, as though striving for "realism," but mostly it's just rather annoying. Nor are the characters all that appealing. Attempts to introduce a few romantic moments mostly fall flat, and in the end, we are actually left to feel sorry for the bad guy!