Free Willy: A Grande Fuga

I did not know there was a fourth 'Free Willy'. This is not exactly a follow-up. There's no connection between previous films and this, except the Orca named as Willy. They call it a reboot, but instead they should have turned it into a prequel. Because this storyline was very much like that kind. I'm not a big fan of this franchise, so I was not expecting anything big. One of the reason I watched it for our Steve Irwin's beloved daughter. This is her acting debute and she was quite good, though not the ideal one.

She as Kirra lives alone with her single father and after he met with an accident, she was sent to her grandfather's in South Africa. The old man who runs a small seaside amusement park, Kirra does not find hard to get adjusted, not without initial dislike for him. But it was when she finds a baby Orca that trapped in the park's small lagoon. Since she begins to fight for its freedom, but has to go through many obstacles and in the end how the story end was told with a tiny twist.

Not a bad film. Small cost film, a neat production. Nice performances too. Simple and predictable story, but would work well for little kids. Beautiful places, well, most of the film was shot in a single location, though it looked very nice. And the killer whale calf was a toy in most of the closer shots, as well in a few stunt sequences. Not a film for deliberately jump in to watch, but if you decide to watch, just keep away your grownup egos to enjoy it as a kid. Particularly for its message, to save the wild animals from human's captivity.

6/10

The fact that this movie is associated with Free Willy 1,2, or 3 is disgraceful! I was excited to see another Free Willy come out but in the end it was a bust. I purchased the movie and wish I could get my money back. The only scenes that focused on Orcas and not Bindi Irwin were computer generated images of whales. Also, Bindi blindfolds "Willy" (the impostor) which I think is a form of animal cruelty. The story was way more focused on Bindi and Beau than orca whales. Also, some people are calling it Free Willy 4 and it is not a sequel, but definitely not a remake. Bring back the original cast and make an actual Free Willy 4 with real whales and passionate human beings who aren't just trying to get their 15 minutes of fame. Bindi's a cute girl and a decent actress, but we watch Free Willy to see whales. We miss you Jesse!!!

I was a bit alarmed at the start of this film - the acting, especially by young Bindi Irwin was not great BUT it improved a lot as the film went on and slowly I began to really like the setting, the actors and the simple story. Yes it is predictable, yes it is a bit silly at times but it is good wholesome family entertainment and quite old-fashioned in a way - which is no bad thing. My only slight criticism is the obvious computer generated undersea orcas, but this aside the film provides a lot of entertainment, some very sweet moments and a nice chemistry between Bindi Irwin and Beau Bridges. The latter, as always, is excellent and the former is quite charming at times. If you want to watch a nice easy family film then choose this one. If you don't, then this is probably not for you.

If you put aside the misleading marketing of it being a sequel within the Free Willy franchise, I think it is a worthwhile and good natured piece of escapism for younger viewers.

You cannot fault themes associated with animals being better off in the wild than in captivity, plus the nice bond portrayed between a grandfather and granddaughter is a positive message.

I also like how the filmmakers use the location to good effect. You can tell it is made on low budget, but has a solid production, capturing environment and editing various shots nicely to help tell the story. You cannot get away from the distraction of animated killer whales, but it is what it is.

Beau Bridges and Bindi Irvin lead the cast well. They have a script that is cliched and full of contrivances, but it also has a simple, harmless quality that both my daughters (8 and 4 years old) found engaging.

Some movies and TV shows feel torturous to sit through as a parent, but personally this was not the case for me.

I bought the movie in a set of pack of 4 with the first 3 intending to relive a peace of the 90's. Now certain aspects of the movie are right, and the idea is sort of there. the plot could have been developed a bit more. But I have a feeling this movie was intended to drag in the interest of a new generation of kids to get there interest going. Today, the kids are all watching computerized cartoons, and the idea, I think is to drum up the sales and to teach kids a interest of it, so they wont mind watching the older movies from the 90's which are much better. Oh yes, the actors and actresses did a good job for what they had to work with. A whale that washes into a cove is a whale that's stuck. Can't go nowhere and a man wants it. Family movies to obvious? Depends on which ones you watch. Are the 90's in this movie? Nope. The 90's are done. If you wanna go back to the 90's where you grew up, my advice is to get movies you might have watched growing up: Home Alone & H.A. 2, Free Willy 1; 2; 3. LOL. Kids today are NOT 90's kids and wont be. Or even those darn kid movies u watched as a kid. LOL, even if they were kids. As for the above movie, use it to get your kids interested in the originals. :)