The Water Man

This is my kind of movie. Child escapism movies mixing with fantasy is where my heart is. I will re-watch The Neverending Story, Mio in the Land of Faraway and Bridge To Terabithia any day of the week. I hold those movies in my top 10 of the best movies ever made.

But this movie doesn't close the deal. It's never truly fantastical or emotional or magical. It has the ingredients but it doesn't take me away on a magical journey.

I had high hopes for this movie.

I wish it had delivered.

This is basically a Disney-like story with a dying parent, an innocent child on a quest, and a strong morale towards the end. People here are harsh in their reviews, but it's a nice sunday night movie for 8 year olds. My kids weren't too bothered by the slight plot holes, but liked the adventure, the idea of the water man and what he turns out to be.

We have two children, ages 7 and 11, and am always looking for PG (not PG-13) rated family movies.

I was drawn to this movie because the actors, and they were fabulous.

I thought the violence at the end/climax should be less for PG, but other than that, I was really happy with this movie.

Thank God someone is still trying to make good PG movies!

Our society has become so negative. Just read a few of the reviews that knock this movie, many of them don't actually say anything they just want to prevent others from seeing it. Why? That is so non-productive.

It is a simple story but focuses on a mythical figure, a man who apparently survived a devastating flood, and it is believed a mineral he found in a mine allows him to live forever. They call him the Water Man. The boy hopes that if he finds him then he can help cure his sick mom. So he, and a new friend, a teenage girl, trek off into the Oregon wilderness to find the Water Man.

My wife and I enjoyed it at home on DVD from our public library. While it won't ever be considered a "don't miss" movie it certainly has enough good qualities that it is entertaining.

In the small town of Pine Mills, Oregon, there is a local legend about a mysterious figure called The Water Man. Gunner Boone is obsessed with death and draws his comic book. His father Amos (David Oyelowo) is often absent and is struggling to reconnect with Gunner. His mom Mary (Rosario Dawson) is sick and his parents are trying to keep it from him. Jim Bussey (Alfred Molina) tells him about The Water Man who may have discovered immortality. He goes searching with help from blue-haired girl Jo who tells stories to little kids for money.

This is David Oyelowo trying his hand at directing. It's fine. It's not anything special but I'm not going to trash it either. It reminds me of Forest Whitaker who also dabbles in directing. There is always the possibility of improvement and I look forward to it. I find this film a little flat. The action scenes need some more kinetic energy. The climax is a little bit anti-climatic. The story is relatively straight forward with the gentlest of twists and turns. All in all, this is professional work for Oyelowo's first effort.