There are three main characters in this movie, and none of them are Reese Witherspoon. The three brothers (not actually brothers, but they were in the same tribe, so they refer to each other in this way) are actors you probably never heard of and will likely never hear from again. It's not that they didn't act well in this movie - they really did a fine job, even though not a lot of acting was called on from them. They all played confused, earnest men through most of the movie, so they didn't need a lot of emotion.
The first third of the movie is their journey as children through Africa. They are refugees fleeing Sudan after being terrorized by the militia and government forces who appear to shoot pretty much anyone they come across. The journey is about a thousand miles on foot, and not all of the family survives. It's all pretty horrifying, but it's hard to really understand the scope of the violence (even with the dead bodies floating down the river).
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| These three guys? Be prepared to never see them in another movie. |
The rest of the movie is about them trying to deal with the culture shock and adjusting to life in a completely different environment than what they are used to. Fortunately, they have Reese to help them out in a very limited way. But, Reese is pretty, and she's a well-recognized name, so let's make her picture huge and make the guys so tiny you can't make any part of them out. In fact, make them turn away from the camera. THERE! Now we have a poster. You know what this poster is? It's a good lie.
Story was interesting enough
Dialog was pretty good at times
Acting was mixed
Production quality was average
Direction was good
Bottom Line: A compelling tale about three lost boys is a bit too drawn out to be a hit.
2.5/5
