The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone

As an old GEEZER (I'll be 66 in a little over 2 months) I liked this movie. Having only seen the trailer on-line a couple weeks ago I pre-ordered the BD which I received yesterday and watched last night. It was entertaining and the story (which is for children and adult children like me!) was simple and yet adventurous. The acting was very good all around but it did have a typical stereotypes, fatboy is stumbly bumbly, girl screams too much, the usual for this type of especially Christian oriented movie.

I did not give it a 10 because of what it didn't include: no deleted scenes and there were several if you watch the "Making of...." feature.

No outtakes or blooper real which should be for a movie like this.

No interview with the main villain, Mark Dacascos one of my favorite action actors. Could not believe it!

On a final note: this movie was actually filmed in the summer of 2008 according to Mr. James Hong's own words in the "Making of...." feature. So why the 2013 release date? I imagine it had to do with finances but it does seem strange. I have heard of other movies that were finished and never released still sitting in a studio vault but usually because they are horrible and everyone knew it.

Well, this movie is certainly somewhat of a wholesome entertainment for the entire family. Sort of abstractly think a mixture of "Indiana Jones" and "The Goonies" then you are in the vicinity of what "The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone" is like.

This is indeed an adventure movie that the entire family can sit down and watch together. It is a classic tale of good vs. evil in a struggle for a legendary medallion that will grant wishes to its owner. Billy Stone (played by Billy Unger) and Allie (played by Sammi Hanratty) are accidentally transported back in time when Billy happens to make a wish upon the medallion in the heat of the moment, trying to save his father from some goons.

There is a good amount of action in the movie, despite this not being your typical adventure movie for adults, and it is done with moderation, so that it is not too violent or graphical, allowing a younger audience to sit in on the movie as well.

As for the people cast for the various roles and characters, well I must say that everyone was doing good jobs and pulling their weight of the load individually. I was especially surprised to see Mark Dacascos here, especially as I had no idea that he was in this movie. He did a good job at portraying the villainous Cobra.

Actually, I will go as far as to say that "The Lost Medallion: The Adventures of Billy Stone" can be thoroughly enjoyed by all, regardless of age. I am 38 and I enjoyed the movie quite a bit. But of course, a younger audience will have a blast of a thrill ride with this adventurous movie.

We are well used to the stories telling us how the white man always saves the gentle but unwashed, simple-minded and helpless tribes of savages. In this turkey, two white kids do the job. Sure, it doesn't have to make sense since its a story made up for kids, but it shouldn't have to smell that bad either, the colonial era being supposed to be over and all that. Add the fact that the proselytiser who improvises this tale ends it with a dose of religious brainwashing and you'll decide if you want to give your kids that kind of messages.

Aside from this distasteful content, the Lost Medallion is also technically unsatisfying. It's corny, insipid, lacklustre. The kid heroes are your typical annoying brats, not playing the parts of kids their age. Plot holes don't matter here, since real children, the intended audience, must be too stupid to notice or care if events make sense. Some beautiful sceneries are pretty much all that's left to enjoy.

"The Lost Medallion" is an Indiana Jones-type adventure film for the pre-teen set. It's a tale of a young archaeologist's son who finds a magic medallion that takes him and an orphan girl on a fantastical journey into the past. Or maybe the more apt reference would be to the "Narnia" films, since this one too features a none-too-subtle Christian subtext buried beneath the action-movie surface.

The movie is probably acceptable for its target audience (though I don't want to sell them short), since the violence is kept to a reasonable minimum (though it isn't nonexistent) and the story is filled with the requisite edifying moral messages one expects from works aimed at children. But adults will have a hard time overlooking the corny dialogue, cheesy line-readings, paper-tiger villains, goofball second bananas and lowbrow humor that permeate the film.

Some impressive visuals, though.

My family checked this out due to being somewhat interested in Christian films, being, well, Christians and all. What we discovered was a movie that's only really for kids. If you don't have a young kid (like, 8-12 or so), there's really no point in watching it, except maybe for a light chuckle. The production values are generally good, but it's quite cheesy and extremely clichéd, with a villain named King Cobra, a stereotypical mentor character, having to look for the answer INSIDE yourself, etc. If you're too old for it, it might be a bit painful.

As for the Christianity, it does all right, I guess. It's not as overt as some, and it's certainly not that deep, but there were clearly some signs of it and the film is family-friendly and whatnot overall.