Majorthebys
Charming and brutal
Humaira Grant
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
Juana
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Jackson Booth-Millard
Free Willy was obviously a big hit for the family, and I had the definite opinion that this film would be exactly the same kind of concept, but with a dolphin instead of a killer whale, but I was prepared to try it. Basically young Sandy Ricks (Elijah Wood) has been sent by his mother to a rustic island in the Florida keys, Coral Key, to spend the summer with his uncle Porter Ricks (Paul Hogan) on his his fishing trawler. Sandy is unhappy in his new environment, bored with nothing exciting to do and having to do chores for Porter, but then sitting on the dock of the bay he meets a new friend, a dolphin he later names Flipper. As they continue meeting he manages to teach his new friend a few tricks, and this also helps him to find another friend in local girl Kim (Jessica Wesson) who gives him the idea to get people to pay to watch the dolphin do his tricks. Sandy and Porter do slowly bond over their time together having fun with Flipper, who they realise was separated from his family by fishing rival Dirk Moran (Jonathan Banks), and there is a big danger coming when the bad guy is planning to dump poisonous substances in the water. In the end the villains are defeated, Flipper swims away with his remaining family, Sandy's mother and sister come to take him home, Sandy says his goodbyes to friends Cathy (Chelsea Field), Marvin (Jason Fuchs) and Kim, and he asks Porter if he can come back next summer to which he happily agrees. Also starring Bill Kelley as Tommy and Isaac Hayes as Sheriff Buck Cowan. The dolphin is cute and lovable doing tricks and jumps, Wood is alright as the teenager who has some fun, and Hogan is okay most of the time with his cheeky remarks and accent, but as a film this was a bit boring and predictable, kids will obviously like the sweet natured feel and heartwarming soundtrack, but for me not much interested me, a rather disappointing family adventure. Adequate!
Neil Welch
The 1996 take on Flipper has Paul Hogan as the nominal male lead, but the main character is actually Elijah Wood, at the exact moment between child and adult actor.The story won't surprise too many people - boy befriends dolphin, they solve the problem of missing fish and poorly dolphins by finding illegal toxic waste dumping - but it is colourful, moral, and entertaining, with lots of underwater photography and, of course, dolphins.Which is not to say that it doesn't have the odd moment which makes you roll your eyes - the hammerhead shark groaning was my favourite - but it is still a pretty good Sunday afternoon family film.Joel McNeely's music is lovely.
roghache
I was rather appalled to see the low rating this movie received here, personally considering it fun family fare. It revolves around a young teenager, Sandy Ricks, who is sent by his mom to Coral Key to spend the summer with his Uncle Porter. While there he befriends a dolphin named Flipper. Lots of adventures ensue amid the predictable nephew / uncle bonding as well as a little romance for Sandy with a local girl.I'm a great Crocodile Dundee fan myself so absolutely loved Paul Hogan in his role as crusty and comical Uncle Porter. For starters, he keeps an endless stock of Spaghetti-O's in his house to serve as his usual meal, heated with a blowtorch! Elija Wood, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings, appeared quite competent playing the young Sandy, a boy at first none too fond of his forced summer vacation locale.Of course the dolphin is magnificent and there are some wonderful underwater scenes. Set in the Florida Keys, it was apparently filmed in the Bahamas. This adaptation of Flipper makes great family entertainment, a sweet, sentimental, and fun movie that is infinitely superior to many of the cinematic offerings for youngsters nowadays.
angelfan2602
This film is brilliant it has cute little dolphins in it and its a great storyline and it has elijah wood in it which makes it a great film too. his acting skills are very good and if you want a good soft family film. this is the one to watch.