Swallows and Amazons

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Joseph C As a movie on its own it is ok, not great, but the bits of the original story that remain make it maybe worth a watch. As an adaptation of the book, it is extremely frustrating! The children are all unpleasant to each other in ways that have been artificially added into the story. The only ones who feel right are Titty(Tatty) and Peggy(my favorite in this film) and maybe Nancy because she is supposed to feel a little unpleasant at first. From the beginning John is irresponsible, blames others for things all the time, and leaves the others out several times in an uncharacteristic way. Susan, then, acts like she has had this John for an older brother all her life rather than the one in the book. She isn’t quite as bad but is part of the same problem. Roger is a little too babyish and incompetent and doesn’t add much of the joy that he brought in the book. And the biggest thing that I missed (having just read this book with a child for her first time and my first in a while) was the way that all of them including John, Susan, the Amazons, Captain Flint, and even their mother (who also adds to the unpleasantness here with her tendency to scold) were always committing to the bit! They were always yes-anding each other in the book, and that kind of thing gets shut down or dismissed when it comes up in this movie. The only ones who do this here are Captain Flint and the charcoal burners, but it feels out of place or awkward because it isn’t backed up! All this is setting aside the new plot around Captain Flint, which feels cartoonish and like it is hijacking the story rather than adding anything to it. It seems that the critics who rated this movie hadn’t read the book and just expected less of it and that is why it is rated so high. The audience score is telling. I hope people who haven’t read the books enjoy this movie and read them because of it, but as for me I think I won’t watch it again. Maybe I can find a way to watch the older movie somewhere because the trailer for that one looked more faithful. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 06/09/24 Full Review isla s I enjoyed this film - its a good bit of family friendly escapism. It features some nice shots of the Lake District, where its set and I liked the ocassional drawings showing the area surrounding the island its mostly set on, by the children. The plot pace is a bit slow but it didn't bore me and there were a few aspects of the plot that surprised me. It certainly isn't violent or anything, so as I say its a decent family watch and if your a fan of the Lake District, then I'd happily recommend this. Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member I loved this show. Great family movie :) Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member A pale imitation of the book. Not the best film version. Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw it for the first time on tv yesterday, awful, never want to see it again. Loved the books, loved the 1973 version. A.R. will be spinning in his hammock. Your top critic reviewers must have been paid to say what they did or have no taste or understanding of the original story. Thanks to Mr. Ransome I DID mean to go to sea! Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 01/26/23 Full Review Audience Member What a shocker of a film. Dancing loosely around the material of original book - which worked perfectly well for generations of avid Ransome fans - these woefully miscast kids bicker woodenly through this clumsily 'enhanced ' plot. What a mess Rated 0.5/5 Stars •  Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Read all reviews

Swallows and Amazons

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