zangetsutensho
Movie isn't a remake and its an insult to Keiko (free Willy) who died in 2003 how dare they make another movie this terrible and call it free Willy I'm not saying that there shouldn't be a remake just do it respectably they should have gone with cg or something better this was a disgrace. I loved free Willy this movie isn't just terrible because its terribly made, but it horrible to do after Willy died. If they wouldn't have tried to use Willy as a something to show this movie off and make money i might have actually enjoyed it. It is much more slapstick and poor quality than the original 3, not that they should have used a real whale to shoot the movie that would have made it 100% worse than the terrible animatronic doll which trust me is not made well at all just so you know there is hardly any showing of the "Whale" who i refuse to call Willy because hes not. if you want a good whale movie than watch the original 3 but remember whatever you watch be prepared to explain to your children that free Willy is already dead.
PosteLafayetteGav
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.
carlys299
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!!!
mattcc119
I wasn't looking forward to watching the most recent addition to the Free Willy franchise. My choice to rent the movie was a last resort decision but fortunately I do not regret my choice. While the movie was far from a master piece and wasn't nearly as good as the first Free Willy it is still very entertaining. Once I became accustomed to the cliché family film feel of the movie I was able to enjoy the story for what it was. My biggest complaint is that the movie was very different from the other previous Free Willy films to the point where it should have been called something else. This Free Willy movie is obviously made for the younger audience, the acting is overly comedic, the bad situations are always humorously harmful and the entire movie is very predictable. The movie overall just seems much more family oriented then the first film. That is not necessarily negative, I just wasn't expecting the family style to be pushed as hard as it was. In addition to that, the protagonist Kirra took a while to warm up to. I thought Bindi Irwin was simply a poor actor at first but I eventually realized that the acting flaws seemed more like they were caused by the director constantly looking for the overly fun family film style. While the acting seemed flawed, in the end I rather liked the character.If you enjoy family films then I believe you'll find the movie entertaining, however, if you're not accustomed to family films I suggest you avoid watching the movie, especially if your looking for a movie similar to the original Free Willy.