smcsween17

Don't expect high art. But if you're looking for a movie kids will love that is not horrible for adults, this is it. It's surprisingly funny all the way through and I hate 99% of kids movies. Plot line is thin and awfully predictable, but go see a documentary or an indie flick of you want something critically acclaimed. John Leguizamo is terrible and wasted here. Characters are so thin as to be transparent. Again, you have to look past this and it will be really funny and enjoyable. One of the few kids movies this period that I would go to. Rating is scaled to the type of film.

I was surprised that the issues dealt with in this film were not only so significant and relevant but that they did it in a way that was not overly simplistic. Other than the slightly after school special ending, the movie was phenomenal. My 10yo loved it also.

The songs mostly didn't blow me away, although Common was pretty incredible (uncommon?). There were a lot of big laughs from both me and my daughter.

Gets a 10 because anything that is that funny that combines a great message in a way that both children and adults can relate to is extremely rare to encounter.

Unfortunately, this was horrendous. There is essentially no plot and the movie seems to ramble senselessly from one poorly done action sequence to the next. It is nearly impossible to keep a movie cranked ala Speed for an entire movie and this fails miserably. Even worse than the meandering weak plot which can be summarized as he's poisoned and seeks revenge, is the fact that the movie introduces a love relationship that no one feels and seems comic in its attempt at profundity. The end (no spoiler) is painful because it attempts to somehow make sense from all this nonsense and lend a deeper meaning suddenly to a character about which we really don't care at all about. I think I was being generous giving it a 2 and only did so because I like Statham so much.