Customer Reviews

Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This movie was a real surprise, our family has watched all theh Free Willy movies from the past and decided to give this one a try. Bindi Irwin is a very talented young lady and very believeable thorughout the movie. Beau Bridges is such a wonderful character actor and he plays the gruff grandfather very well. We througly enjoyed the movie and the friendship between two young children in the movie. Steve Irwin would be so proud of his little girl.

This is the 4th in the Free Willy series, but it's not about the original Willy. It is filmed in South Africa and Jason James Richter or none of the other cast from the first 3 movies are in it, but it's based on the same story line, a Orca is caught, can't get out, an evil man wants him and in the end he reunites with his family. I won't give details but it's a great family to watch. If you are a Free Willy fan it is a must see and buy.

The 4th movie of the Free Willy series is truly a delight. I loved every minute of it! Bindi Irwin was truly amazing as Kirra. It is so amazing how much she looks like her father, and carry's on his legacy through her knowledge of animals, and her love for them...which makes this even better, because you can tell her passion for animals is really genuine. I also thought the scenery was so beautiful, the acting by all the cast was excellent, and this movie ranks up there as being just as wonderful as the other Free Willy movies. I thought the ending was very powerful and emotional, that it made me cry. Hearing the song by Bindi Irwin while the credits were rolling were amazing, and I recoginized her voice immediately. Bindi Irwin seems so down-to-earth, like I said before a genuinly passionate person, and I hope she remains following in her father's footsteps.

I am defintely going to buy it, and on blu-ray, so I get the highest quality, and so I can see the bonus features, because the one I rented didn't have any on there.

Another "Free Willy" movie? Oh, brother. That was my initial reaction. When I discovered, however, that Bindi Irwin would be starring in it, I became intrigued. I grew up in Eugene, Oregon, attended the same school as Terri Irwin, and my heart has been linked to their family since Steve Irwin's early success as "The Crocodile Hunter" and the later tragedy of his death. How could I not give this movie a chance?

The story is quick-moving and fun-spirited. Bindi is a young girl from Australia whose father gets hurt in an accident. She is forced to go spend six weeks in Capetown, South Africa, with her estranged grandfather, the father of her deceased mother. Beau Bridges plays his role well, giving it a few moments of goofiness and some heartfelt scenes. He and his granddaughter do not hit it off right away. In fact, he is a gambling, unmotivated fellow who runs a downtrodden theme park. A storm brings the theme park an unexpected surprise, though, in the form of a young Orca. "Willy" becomes the catalyst for a granddaughter/grandfather relationship, as well as the source of rivalry and conflict from a bigger, better theme park.

The movie has some funny moments and some incredible scenery from the Capetown area. Beau and Bindi give the film a lot of heart. There are one or two slapstick moments, but overall it remains focused on its young female star and her desire to care for animals even while winning over her crusty, but good-natured grandpa. The only real weakness is the use of simulated underwater Orca scenes. They might work well in an aquarium presentation, but they don't do well in a film. And they seemed unnecessary, considering the very real Orca used throughout the movie.

I was pleasantly surprised by "Free Will: Escape from Pirate's Cove." It has a message about preserving nature, without getting too preachy about it. It makes good use of adorable and likable Bindi, and it shows that Beau Bridges still has some life in his acting career. My daughters and I enjoyed this together.

I was pleasantly surprised at the very credible acting job Bindi did in this movie. The movie is fun, entertaining, and has a good story line. My grandkids enjoyed it thoroughly and so did I. A good sequel to the other Free Willy movies.

So rare to find a family movie where there isnt death or violence involved. I love this movie and so does my nine year old. Very wonderful message in the movie. Bought my daughter the orignal Free Willy and she was bored to tears. But not this movie..a big thumbs up!

I really liked Bindi Irwin as an actress. She is adorable and full of emotion. In the previous Free Willy movies, the whale was the star. In Free Willy: Escape from Pirate's Cove, Bindi steals the screen. One can definitely detect her voice - and her father's - in quotes like, "Just because they use big words doesn't mean they're experts." One thing I really like is that the film shows Bindi doing scientific research to learn how to save Willy - a nice role model for other kids.

However, at times, I thought the movie's pacing was a bit slow and off. When Bindi wasn't on screen, it was hard to pay attention. Unfortunately, the rest of the case and movie doesn't match Bindi's energy.

Most of Orcas were computer-generated, at least for the underwater scenes. I guess some fans might be disappointed - after all, this isn't quite as exciting as a real whale. However, considering the stress that captivity causes real Orcas - as well as all of the trouble filming live Orcas caused in the prior Free Willy movies - I can understand that decision.

Overall, a cute movie for kids and fans of Bindi Irwin. It won't be a classic, but it could launch her on an acting career.

I love the first two "Free Willy" movies (haven't seen the third)and I so wanted to love this movie. I have a nearly 5-year-old daughter and want her to love whales like I do, and thought that a "Willy" movie with a little girl (and who doesn't love Bindi Irwin?!) would be perfect.
Unfortunately, this movie drowns in a badly-written script, and too many slow and unnecessary scenes.
Spoiler Alert -- if you haven't yet seen the movie, I'm about to give much of it away.
The premise is predictable -- Kirra's dad is hurt and he ships her to Africa to spend some time with her grandfather while he heals. There she finds her grandfather seems a bit of a slacker. He sends someone else to the airport to pick her up because he's gambling. He owns a rundown amusement park that's getting its butt kicked by the movie's bad guy, who owns a super cool amusement park on the other side of town.
After a storm, a baby orca is stuck in the lagoon outside the amusement park. Kirra befriends it and names it Willy. I enjoyed seeing Bindi's Kirra interact with the whale -- even if it obviously was a fake whale. I think Bindi is a good actress. I hope that next time we see her, it's in a better movie than this.
The bad guy amusement park guy wants to buy the orca.
As mentioned earlier, the pacing was slow. My easily entertained daughter often was bored. At one point she said, "I hope something good happens soon." I pushed the "skip to next scene" button several times (was either that or stop watching). The new scene would begin and we'd find we hadn't missed anything important.
One big problem was that the "Kirra helping her grandfather realize and reach his potential" storyline was not fully developed.
And the CG was awful! Underwater scenes showing Willy learning to catch fish with echolocation look like a really bad video game. I know orcas swim fast, but this one moves like a supersonic jet. And somehow Kirra and her friend who are above the water are able to see what's going on underwater.
And the whale is bringing tons more people into the rundown amusement park, yet the grandpa complains they can't afford to feed it? And they keep closing the park too? Didn't make sense.
I gave it two stars only because I do love Bindi Irwin. I wish this movie had lived up to its potential.

I AND MY WHOLE FAMILY ENJOYED THE FREE WILLY SHOW DVD WAS IN VERY GOOD SHAPE WE WATCH IT ALL THE TIME. IT IS A VERY GOOD SHOW FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY. ALLEN

I am eternally grateful to have found a new Free Willy movie with Bindi Irwin. Who knew that the character she acts out in the movie would stop at nothing to be sure that a helpless orca would be released from confinement? I imagine that if Steve was alive, he would be very proud of his daughter for participating in this new movie. And this movie proves that with the help of your friends or loved ones, you can do just about anything.