El medallón perdido: Las aventuras de Billy Stone

Oh well, sometimes I find pleasure in watching a childishly predictable movie as "The Lost Medallion", filled with unbelievable adventures. A film appropriate for a relaxing Sunday evening. You don't need to be focused constantly. You're not watching so intensely that you accidentally take a bite in your remote control instead of in your ready-made croque monsieur. And it's not such kind of movie that you'll jump up whenever there's a horrible creepy moment.

"The Lost Medallion" is an adventure film especially for the youthful viewers. They'll surely fall asleep with a big smile in the evening and dream about them being the boy who saves an entire island. You certainly shouldn't start paying attention to those immense impossibilities that are offered at any time as there are : finding a medallion in an immeasurable jungle with only a ridiculously small metal detector, a skinny teenage girl who defeats a huge thug with a bang on his ass, sabotaging boats without the gang sitting at a campfire noticing it and then paddling away and they start chasing although they could have easily waded through the water to get to the canoe. And trust me, those youngsters degenerate in true ninja-turtles in the end. It ends, of course, as an episode for some catholic TV-channel with God loving everything and everybody. If you can endure all that, then you'll enjoy a fun adventure film.

It's something similar to "Indiana Jones" but with children as heroes. Even the scene with the medal being pushed across the ground by the swirling crowd while Billy (Billy Unger) and Cobra (Mark Dacascos) trying to catch, resembled the scene where Indiana Jones was grabbing for his antidote. No groundbreaking film, no great acting performance and certainly no Oscar-nomination material. But I bet that many children will enjoy this adventure and they'll keep on enjoying it in their dreams.

I'll keep it for when the time comes that my two kids are old enough to appreciate it. Maybe their comment will be "Jesus dad, what a horrible movies. And you want us to watch this together with you?".

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My family checked this out due to being somewhat interested in Christian films, being, well, Christians and all. What we discovered was a movie that's only really for kids. If you don't have a young kid (like, 8-12 or so), there's really no point in watching it, except maybe for a light chuckle. The production values are generally good, but it's quite cheesy and extremely clichéd, with a villain named King Cobra, a stereotypical mentor character, having to look for the answer INSIDE yourself, etc. If you're too old for it, it might be a bit painful.

As for the Christianity, it does all right, I guess. It's not as overt as some, and it's certainly not that deep, but there were clearly some signs of it and the film is family-friendly and whatnot overall.

We are well used to the stories telling us how the white man always saves the gentle but unwashed, simple-minded and helpless tribes of savages. In this turkey, two white kids do the job. Sure, it doesn't have to make sense since its a story made up for kids, but it shouldn't have to smell that bad either, the colonial era being supposed to be over and all that. Add the fact that the proselytiser who improvises this tale ends it with a dose of religious brainwashing and you'll decide if you want to give your kids that kind of messages.

Aside from this distasteful content, the Lost Medallion is also technically unsatisfying. It's corny, insipid, lacklustre. The kid heroes are your typical annoying brats, not playing the parts of kids their age. Plot holes don't matter here, since real children, the intended audience, must be too stupid to notice or care if events make sense. Some beautiful sceneries are pretty much all that's left to enjoy.

"The Lost Medallion" is an Indiana Jones-type adventure film for the pre-teen set. It's a tale of a young archaeologist's son who finds a magic medallion that takes him and an orphan girl on a fantastical journey into the past. Or maybe the more apt reference would be to the "Narnia" films, since this one too features a none-too-subtle Christian subtext buried beneath the action-movie surface.

The movie is probably acceptable for its target audience (though I don't want to sell them short), since the violence is kept to a reasonable minimum (though it isn't nonexistent) and the story is filled with the requisite edifying moral messages one expects from works aimed at children. But adults will have a hard time overlooking the corny dialogue, cheesy line-readings, paper-tiger villains, goofball second bananas and lowbrow humor that permeate the film.

Some impressive visuals, though.

Well, this movie is certainly somewhat of a wholesome entertainment for the entire family. Sort of abstractly think a mixture of "Indiana Jones" and "The Goonies" then you are in the vicinity of what "The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone" is like.

This is indeed an adventure movie that the entire family can sit down and watch together. It is a classic tale of good vs. evil in a struggle for a legendary medallion that will grant wishes to its owner. Billy Stone (played by Billy Unger) and Allie (played by Sammi Hanratty) are accidentally transported back in time when Billy happens to make a wish upon the medallion in the heat of the moment, trying to save his father from some goons.

There is a good amount of action in the movie, despite this not being your typical adventure movie for adults, and it is done with moderation, so that it is not too violent or graphical, allowing a younger audience to sit in on the movie as well.

As for the people cast for the various roles and characters, well I must say that everyone was doing good jobs and pulling their weight of the load individually. I was especially surprised to see Mark Dacascos here, especially as I had no idea that he was in this movie. He did a good job at portraying the villainous Cobra.

Actually, I will go as far as to say that "The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone" can be thoroughly enjoyed by all, regardless of age. I am 38 and I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. But of course, a younger audience will have a blast of a thrill ride with this adventurous movie.