This is an adventure movie of two school boys who battle bullies and gangsters over the course of a couple of days. The film has some decent action scenes: the bike chase scene, landing the plane on a highway scene and the parachuting scene. And, any movie where Stephen Baldwin gets whacked can't be all that bad.
I gave this movie a mediocre rating because it seems to straddle the line between a film made for older teens and one directed for young children. In doing so the film comes off as somewhat boring and juvenile for the older set and something reckless and inappropriate for the younger set. The film is somewhat reminiscent of Disney's 'Apple Dumpling Gang' or 'Escape From Witch Mountain' but also has a few action scenes like a James Bond flick.
As to why this may be inappropriate for children. The film makers appear to be sensitive to language but not violence in the movie. For example, in one scene there is a struggle on an airplane where the proverbial bad guy uses the phrase 'dumb' plane instead of 'damn' plane; yet, here the latter phrase would seem more realistic --- after all he's a bad guy so he wouldn't likely curtail his language. In contrast, a fight scene in the school yard where one of the boys unrealistically punches-out three bullies is made to seem as if violence is cool.
There is also a sense of recklessness that is portrayed as 'fun times' that would probably send up a bunch of red-flags for parents of young children. For example, there is the scene where the boys dart in and out of traffic on their bikes while being chased down by some bullies in a car while numerous accidents ensure along the way. The two boys willing get into a car and drive away with two strangers who turn out to be gangsters; don't parents warn children about not doing this all the time? And, the boys are found gleefully rolling around on the floor with another strange man who turns out to be a mob boss. This seems to be portrayed as okay because he's an affable mob boss. Enough said.
I gave this movie a mediocre rating because it seems to straddle the line between a film made for older teens and one directed for young children. In doing so the film comes off as somewhat boring and juvenile for the older set and something reckless and inappropriate for the younger set. The film is somewhat reminiscent of Disney's 'Apple Dumpling Gang' or 'Escape From Witch Mountain' but also has a few action scenes like a James Bond flick.
As to why this may be inappropriate for children. The film makers appear to be sensitive to language but not violence in the movie. For example, in one scene there is a struggle on an airplane where the proverbial bad guy uses the phrase 'dumb' plane instead of 'damn' plane; yet, here the latter phrase would seem more realistic --- after all he's a bad guy so he wouldn't likely curtail his language. In contrast, a fight scene in the school yard where one of the boys unrealistically punches-out three bullies is made to seem as if violence is cool.
There is also a sense of recklessness that is portrayed as 'fun times' that would probably send up a bunch of red-flags for parents of young children. For example, there is the scene where the boys dart in and out of traffic on their bikes while being chased down by some bullies in a car while numerous accidents ensure along the way. The two boys willing get into a car and drive away with two strangers who turn out to be gangsters; don't parents warn children about not doing this all the time? And, the boys are found gleefully rolling around on the floor with another strange man who turns out to be a mob boss. This seems to be portrayed as okay because he's an affable mob boss. Enough said.