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Parents' Guide to

Buckley's Chance

By Tom Cassidy, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 11+

Australian outback family adventure has language, peril.

Movie NR 2021 95 minutes
Buckley's Chance Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

It's a curse when a bad performance overshadows the rest of a movie. Unfortunately that's the case with Buckley's Choice. Nighy's Australian accent is so off-course, talking about it is unavoidable. The British actor's attempt veers wildly mid-sentence, even with his painfully slow and detached delivery. The good news is, young Burch is assured in his feature debut as Ridley and Australian actor Victoria Hill manages to keep her American accent from causing Nighy-like distraction and delivers a solid performance as Ridley's mother.

The movie tells a well-worn "fish out of water" story, but it's not without some moments of charm. An implausible relationship Ridley strikes up with a dingo adds a touch of magic and the section when he's evading two bungling crooks comes just in time to pick up the pace. Between these points though is a plodding, dusty old story as lifeless as the desert in which it's set. When Ridley and his grandfather venture into the bush, the thought of spending time alone with this glum boy and his barely engaged grandfather feels like a burden rather than an adventure.

Movie Details

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