Sigh. This kind of movie is depressing, to think that money and energy is put toward this direct to video offering. Of course it will still make money, and that is why they do it, but you can't help but hope that they would be more creative. That being said, I've racked my brain trying to think of a way to have made a better movie, and I can't. I don't think there is anywhere you could have gone to make this a worthwhile artist effort. This is David R. Ellis's directorial debut after much experience as a second unit director. I can't say anything bad about his decision to take it, because most of us would do far worse for our big break. It wasn't a great first effort, but again, what could he have possibly done. The script offered him nothing.
The original Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey (1993) was fairly entertaining and really should have been the last in the series. Many films, like Home Alone (1990) take a tired premise and stretch it until it breaks (4 in this case). The Air Bud (1997) franchise has extended itself to an upcoming 8th movie, all but 2 straight to video. On the positive side, these movies give directors a much needed credit, and employment to everyone involved, but are depressingly devoid of any artistic merit.
David R. Ellis went on to direct Final Destination 2 (2003), Cellular (2004), Snakes on a Plane (2006), and soon, Final Destination 4 (2009). Each movie has it's positive and negative reviews, so you can't say he's a horrible director. Don't we all have that one show we've woken up to see the next morning and regretted.
It's not that it's a horrible movie, It has entertaining moments, but ultimately isn't very memorable.
There must be some way to improve on these types of movies and elevate them from mere money making endeavours, but would you want to waste your time?
4 out of 10
www.imdb.com
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