Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove (2010)

Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I have to disagree with a lot of people's reviews on here as I really enjoyed this movie and thought it was well made. I like how they referenced the original movies by having the bad guy say "did you have to name him Willy" as if to say "did you have to give him the same names as the one who was returned to the sea all those years ago" (I don't know how far in the future after the last film this was meant to be set). I have to say that the one thing that it didn't have that would have made it a 10 out of 10 for me was an appearance from the original movies character Jessie. It would have been great if they could have had him appear in it now as an adult as maybe one of the marine biologists and helping Kiera set this new Willy free. Jennifer xx :-)

Growing up loving the first 3 Free Willy Movies, I was obviously excited when I heard there was going to be a new one, but I found myself almost completely disappointed by this . . . "sequel".The only relation that this film has to the "original three films" is the fact that we just happen to have a - much younger - orca named Willy and a - much younger and feminine - adolescent with severe family issues.Now I do not claim that the original three Free Willy movies were the best films Hollywood has ever had to offer, but this film fails to achieve the structure of the original films - it just doesn't belong! The producers probably slapped "FREE WILLY" on the title to insure that they would at least get a little business from the folks that loved the 90s Willy.And if that is the truth, they were right - for the most part. However, they did not get any business from this 90s girl! I checked this movie for free - thanks to my public library.But, alas, this movie may not be a complete tragedy for everyone. I speculate that folks who did see or grow up loving any of the first three Free Willy films, may moderately enjoy this film in its simplicity.

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.

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.