The comedy team "The Chaser" once said that we should preface all reviews of Australian films with "For an Australian Movie". Sadly, even with that preface, this movie still isn't good. Primarily, I really struggled with the acting which sounded like a crew from a local theatre group doing their first play. Special mention to the first scene in the curio shop, where the owner manages around 5 different accents in one line of dialogue! Surprisingly, the two child characters were actually some of the better actors. To be fair to the actors however, the script did them no favours with some painfully cheesy dialogue and scenes that were a collection of fantasy "the chosen one" tropes.
However it wasnt all awful, the CGI was solid and it had some sparks of fun especially in the second act of the movie early in the underground. It feels like a movie with significant potential that is never quite reached.
If you are at a loose end for an OK family movie and don't have many alternatives, then give the Secret Kingdom a try.. My kids (7 and 11) definitely enjoyed it more than the adults did.
