Review of Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home (1995) by Johnny T — 26 Apr 2011

It's the relentlessly dire message that contemporary industrial life is mucking up all of nature, all the time, that feels like propagandistic overkill, especially since the most fun in Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home is the good old-fashioned, ideologically neutral danger-and-heroism-and-rescue episode that wraps up this particular chapter of victory at sea. And once again, Madsen works well against his heavy image, with craggy paternal glances, squints and mannerisms. But the movie, which never transcends its money-motivated reason for existence, just resembles so many episodic plot elements floating alongside each other, like uninteresting driftwood inevitably bound for the video-rental pulp mill not far down the river. The storyline challenges youngsters to cheer for the interdependence between animals and humans. Willy and Jesse deepen their friendship with mutual acts of heroism. Fine family entertainment laced with ecological ideas.

VERDICT: "Rental" - (Mixed to Negative reaction). These films are only worth renting because of certain good things that are worth seeing, but are not worth paying at a theatre to see due to bad things that overcome anything good.