The Legend of the Five

The problem with the reviews written on this page is that 3 of four seem to be written by family members of Nicholas Andrianakos. "A Masterpiece" writes Jordan Andrianakos "the most outstanding part of this brilliant movie is Javier Torres played by the dashing Nicholas Andrianakos" Seriously the two best performances were by Gabi Sproule and Leigh Joel Scott. Unfortunately this movie is a very poor mashup of Jumanji and Lord of the Rings.

Aussies should steer clear of making anything fantasy or sci-fi, or horror, we cant do them well. Bad script, terrible and uninteresting characters, bad CGI / VFX. It was shot very well, Ill give it that. Actors were poor choices except for Lauren Esposito, she just passes but at least great to look at. Dont waste your time.

I think Samuels had a decent concept here, and with the luxury of the backdrop of the beautiful Australian Blue Mountains, it should have been a winner. Overall the production let it down for me. The talent misfired all over the place but I will keep a watch on Gabi Sproule, something intriguing there. The rest, not so much, the 'lead' was very disappointing despite the LA hype. Obviously family favours through this production, sad given how many unemployed true professionals are available. But hey, it's a kid's movie so I was hoping my nine year old would enjoy it regardless. Unfortunately he found it confusing (I agreed) and too much with the CGI that could have been toned down, it jolts you out of whatever carriage the movie manages to generate. We didn't stay to the end so I didn't get to see how this was funded. I hope Samuels gets another opportunity with some better production support to get it to hang together in a coherent fashion. A misfire all round given some of the ingredients and the opportunity.

I like "kids transported to another world" stories. Knowing that it was low budget I didn't expect much, and didn't get much either.

The acting was hit and miss (mostly miss). The story elements borrow heavily from Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Jumanji, a little Monty Python, and even a hint of the original Land of the Lost. There are too many weird senseless portal jumps leading to confusing continuity with the story. At times it felt like scenes were left out. The elemental powers were woefully underdeveloped and underused. The wrap up completely under delivered.

It wasnt completely terrible though. There was some (if not enough) effort at character development. The Australian scenery was a plus. The overall idea and setting were decent even if derivative. The special effects were ok for a low budget film.

If there was a book I'd read it since it is bound to be better or at least be less confusing. Tighter and more thoughtful writing, more believable acting, and a little better editing and this might have been good: It could have been 6 stars or more. Sadly it wasn't. Waste time on it at your own risk.

The movie certainly shows the love for fading in and out, and the stupidity of the characters/kids is unreal and resembles Japanese anime in extreme ignorance.

The director should go back to school as there is nothing intelligent about this movie. However, the actors are actually halfway decent for their roles despite being made to look like they have an IQ of 60.