F.R.E.D.I.

Not sure what others were looking for, but this is exactly what it appears to be. Teens caught up in intrigue after an evil tech company loses track of one of their gadgets. It's fun and has a little something for everyone.

We hesitated watching this with my 7 and two 9 year olds, but I'm glad we gave it a go. There wasn't a Common Sense Media review with age recommendations, but I'd say it's fine for 7 and up. We are pretty picky about what we let our kids watch and this one past the test. No bad language, mild flirting, good storyline. There are a few abnoxious kids, but nothing a parent can't contradict with a "now that wasn't very nice" comment. Like others have mentioned, it's reminiscent of some 80s flicks, but our kids haven't seen those, so the storyline was new to them. I'd say the acting was fine except for the bad guy-not great. It's not winning any awards, but honestly, I wish studios made more family movies like this. Good, decent, family entertainment. Don't set your expectations too high, just grab the kiddos, pop some corn and enjoy a movie night together.

Mostly, this felt like an 80s family movie to me, which is no bad thing. It has elements of ET, Short Circuit, War Games and Flight Of The Navigator. There's really nothing original in there but it's all good escapist stuff. The basic gist is a kid finds a cute AI robot, the movie is then about him and his friend getting to know it, and then having exciting adventures with it. There are a couple of weak actors, the bad guy doesn't convince and the father is a bit wooden, but pretty much everyone else hits the right note. It all has a good steady pace, and overall I was entertained. I'm pretty sure younger kids will love it.

FREDI was a cute family friendly kids film with some sci-fi thrown into the adventure.

It is a nice movie for kids to watch by themselves, with their parents and with their grandparents. Which is actually quite refreshing. I watched this and was pleasantly taken back to the era of Goonies, ET, and good old fashioned fun and adventure. It also reminded me of the old Disney kid films like Herbie the Love Bug, and Escape from Witch Mountain.

The cinematography was great, it really showcased some beautiful landscapes. The musical score was great as well as pace of the movie. It was a nice amount of continuous action that kept me interested from start to finish.

Sure, I can find things that could have been better or done differently, but I'm not going to let it detract from the enjoyment of watching something that kids could enjoy. I'm in my 50's, remember what it was like to be a kid...FREDI was just that, it was a cute kids movie.

So for all those who gave this negative reviews...it is a kids film, like Trix, this movie is for kids...and parents are allowed to like it too.

Our kids enjoyed this movie. Good acting, sweet story.