Catch That Kid
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Movie Reviews of Catch That Kid
Movie Review: Great Animation on the DVD Special Features
Summary: 3 Stars
Minor Spoilers Ahead-'Catch That Kid' is not a bad film for a younger (pre-13) audience. The three kids are all pleasant and competent-Kristen Stewart (a younger and shorter Portman/Knightley type), Corbin Bleu, and Max Thieriot are all talented kids.
However beware-the screenplay is VERY weak in the credibility department. But if you can accept the idea of three kids robbing a super-secure bank vault then you can probably overlook the obvious plot flaw-how they will explain where they got the $250,000 for her father's operation. The problem is that the kids are played as far too intelligent to overlook such an obvious issue. Then you get into the moral/ethical dilemma of stealing-the scriptwriters try (unconvincingly) to solve this by having Stewart's character say that she will pay it all back. Bottom line-be prepared to buy into a moronically contrived story (at least 'The Perfect Score' had a solid story foundation).
Director Bart Freundlich and Director of Photography Julio Macat should take a look at some 'Saddle Club' episodes before they make another film targeted toward this age group. Hey guys-it is all about kids in the audience bonding with the kids in the production. 'Saddle Club' does that with mega close-ups and extreme close-ups. Almost every shot in 'Catch That Kid' should have been tighter (wide shots should have been close-ups, close-ups should have been extreme close-ups, etc. etc.). Watch the DVD with the zoom switch activated and you will see how it should have been shot. Also turn on the actors' commentary which is quite unaffected and really adds to the charm of the film.
Finally be sure to watch the 'Gone Nutty' short on the DVD-great animation!!
Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.
Movie Review: Sort of a Disney does "The Italian Job" movie, not too bad
Summary: 3 Stars
I've read some very vicious reviews of this movie, mostly centered on 12 yr. olds robbing a bank and how terrible that was. I watched it recently and found it to be a pretty good movie, 12 year old audience oriented to be sure.
The action wouldn't look too bad for a bunch of 32 year old actors out to steal for profit ( no doubt the critics would approve of this film if Mark Wahlberg and Charlieze Theron did it instead of children)but in this case we have three kids out to get the money just so that Maddy's father can have lifesaving surgery that insurance won't cover and her mother's bank won't help out on.There's no intent or effort to take a penny for profit (at one point the bank officials can't understand why someone would only take 250K out of a vault holding 25 million).
I found the bank vault design to be a little unlikely and some of the security measures too but you can do much worse than this for a bank heist movie. I actually found the fart jokes (not much of that) and Maddy lying to her friends to get them in on the job to be much more offensive than the robbery itself.
Movie Review: Catch that crap
Summary: 2 Stars
A bad family movie. It's like Adventures in Babysitting meets The Italian Job. The movie is unrealiable, with bad acting, and a bad message.Movie Review: dreadful for all ages
Summary: 1 Stars
*1/2 "Catch That Kid" is "Ocean's Eleven" for the pre-pubescent set. It is also the second film this year to feature a group of youngsters masterminding a complex heist. In the first, "The Perfect Score," the prized goal was the answer sheet to the SAT test. In "Catch That Kid," the target is $250,000 ensconced in the spanking new vault of a bank where a young girl's mother works as head of security. The girl, Maddy, has come up with the plan as a means of raising funds for her crippled father who needs an expensive operation in Denmark if he hopes ever to walk again. Laudable as that goal may be, the premise is still an odd and dubious one for a film aimed at pre- and early-teen audiences. What a comfort it is to learn that kids can make just as effective bank robbers as adults.
Actually, "Catch That Kid" might have been more offensive were it not so poorly and ineptly made. As it is, it's so utterly innocuous that it barely registers a blip on our consciousness while we're watching it. The movie provides virtually no imagination, no humor and no excitement even for its target audience who will find it rather slow-paced and chintzy compared with the kinds of high tech, high-powered action films they are more accustomed to watching. Anyone old enough to watch this film is old enough to watch a real heist film like "Rafifi" or "Topkapi."
Movie Review: Very bad messages
Summary: 1 Stars
There are some interesting lessons to be learned in this film. If you're father needs surgery so that he can walk again, it's okay to: 1) lie to your best friends and make them think that you're in love with them; and 2) rob a bank.
This is one of the most morally bankrupt films I've ever seen that isn't *trying* to slosh about in the ethical gutter (i.e., some "adult" films - this is a kids movie, after all). How in the world could a parent allow their child to rob a bank and not punish that child? Even more - how could a parent watch this movie with their child and then recommend it? The absurdity of that is mind boggling.
I'll admit that there are fine acting performances here. Kristen Stewart seems to be destined for greatness, as she continues a streak of steady performances begun in The Safety of Objects.
But no acting can get past the unconscionable messages this movie sends to kids.