Free Willy: Escape from Pirate’s Cove, directed by Will Geiger (2010), is a film about a girl, a young orca that gets stuck in a shallow pool after a storm, and the girl trying to free the orca from her grandfathers “theme park” called Pirate’s Cove. It’s a cheap reimagining of the original Free Willy. Far less enjoyable and very stiff. I don’t blame the young actors. They at least had enthusiasm. However, the older cast didn’t put a lot of effort or soul into their performances. I get that they probably never thought that they’d be in a Free Willy cheesy reboot but if you take a job, then do your part the best you possibly can no matter what. The script didn’t really help matters and just made the whole Free Willy story a stupid mess. I can’t think of one reason why her father would send her to her unstable emotional unavailable grandfather on an entire different continent when there were suitable caretakers near their home. It doesn’t make sense. The park should have been condemned. I don’t know the regulations in South Africa but I would think that if nothing works that people would just stop showing or that someone would have shut it down for safety. There are a good list of other problems I’m sure. In fact, the only enjoyable part were the children. I hope that they enjoyed their experience and had some fun. However, overall, I was disappointed in the film as it is the latest in the series which had a lot of heart up until this point.
Watched on hbomax.com
Grizzly Era Studios 