ThedevilChoose When a movie has you begging for it to end not even half way through it's pure crap. We've all seen this movie and this characters millions of times, nothing new in it. Don't waste your time.

Stephanie There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

Rich Wright Just because a film is set in Africa, with all African actors, does not free it from criticism when it is absolutely loaded with clichés.It's the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Five kids are on their way there, traveling 3000 miles from the middle of the continent. One has HIV, another is a former child soldier, another an underage prostitute... you get the picture. THEY REPRESENT DA STRUGGLES OF A NATION, MAN!! The footballer in this little quintet plans to participate in the opening ceremony, but his mother objects. She wants him to be a doctor. He disobeys, and in the middle of the group's little journey, throws his phone in the ocean during an argument with her. Later on, sickened by the horrors of war he's seen, the child soldier does the same with his gun. This stuff practically writes itself.There's one montage after another to pad out the miniscule 77 minute length, soundtracked by predictable African music, in which nothing relevant occurs. They have run-ins with a pimp, human traffickers, border soldiers and thieves. Of course, the scale of the threat from these has to be dramatically downgraded from real life, hence the 12 rating. A cute story the HIV boy tells along the is relayed to us in several sequences involving puppets, but these just feel like a waste of time. And if I tell you that the same sick kid is on death's door as they approach the stadium at the end of the movie, will he live long enough to see his soccer mad friend FULFILL DA DREAM? Do elephants... defecate in the jungle?If I sound heartless due to my dismissal of some serious issues, let me explain. If the characters in Africa United felt like living, breathing individuals, it might have connected on a number of levels. However, the truth is, they come across as one-dimensional walking Aesops. Each one represents a 'lesson', and outside of that 'lesson', THERE'S NOTHING THERE. The Sick Kid: Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life. The Footballer: Never Give Up On Your Dreams. The Child Soldier: War Is Bad. The Sick Kid's Little Sister: Education Is Good. The Sex Worker: Exploitation Of Girls Is Wrong.All very laudable notions, but how about some meat on them bones? Outside of their ONE trait, they are as bland as sago pudding. So watching them go through their contrived hi-jinx, and being bashed over the head repeatedly with 'the morals of the story' becomes a chore. And you probably have enough of them to do already. Why add to your heaving workload? Skip it. 4/10

valleyjohn We all remember the World Cup last year in South Africa. A colourful , noisy event that promised so much but turned out to be a damp squib. That description pretty much sums up Africa United. This film looks great and promises to be a good road movie but it washed over me. It's a film that has far to many stereotype's and is sugar coated to the extent that strangely i wanted to see some real hardship and suffering or even some humour - Vital ingredients in a road movie. - Not a Chance in Africa United. One plus point is the acting of Eriya Ndayambaje who plays Dudu. he certainly has a future in the business. as for the rest I'm not so sure. Disappointing.

Neil Welch Talented footballing teenager Fabrice and genial rotund Dudu are friends in the same small Rwandan town, although Fabrice is privileged and Dudu is a shanty dweller. Together with Dudu's younger sister Beatrice they set off for a pre-World Cup trial for Fabrice in Kigali, take the wrong bus, and end up trying to make their own way to the World Cup in South Africa, picking up escaped child terrorist Foreman George and captive teen "waitress" Celeste on the way.This rather slight film doesn't bear examining too closely, or else much of its narrative credibility falls to pieces rather easily. But it doesn't need close examination, because the things which matter about it hold true irrespective of plot holes and logic flaws.At its heart is the various relationships between these kids. The 5 untried child actors are not only all excellent, but are able to clearly show how they, and the various relationships between them, change and grow throughout the film's length. In particular, Yves Dusenge as Foreman George, shows us a good hearted youngster who is haunted by the things he has witnessed and taken part in, and who perhaps gets most benefit (in an understated way) from the growing friendships within the group.Africa is, as always, spectacular. The film successfully shows us both its beauty and something of its ugly underside and, to its credit, it neither shies away nor beats us over the head with it. Issues like AIDS and child terrorism are met matter-of-factly.This small but joyful movie was very welcome because it gave me something rather different to the usual cinema fare, and well rewarded the time I spent in the company of these young African people.

lwjcds I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of 'Africa United'. Full of energy, humour, colour, passion - it kept me hooked from start to finish. I laughed many times, and ended with a slightly moist eye that I had to hastily conceal from my partner sitting next to me.The film received a 5-minute standing ovation at the end.I think first and foremost this is a family film. It's not a forensic study of Africa's social or political problems, nor is it a realistic portrayal of the everyday lives of ordinary Africans. Critics complaining about this seem to have missed the point.It's a road movie about the passion and courage of young people. It's magical, like a fairy story. The fact that it's set in Africa enriches this sense of magic - and offers interesting opportunities to explore difficult issues in the context of a family movie. But it's not a commentary on Africa - it's about a group of young people who do something extraordinary in an extraordinary place.The fact that it breaks film-making barriers in Africa (first feature to be filmed in Burundi etc), but keeps its focus firmly on drama and adventure rather than social commentary makes it a very unique 'African' film.I will certainly watch again because it made me laugh and cry. And surely that's enough for any film, irrespective of where it's set.