- The Secret of Boyne Castle
So Much Padding, 24 February 2017
The Secret of Boyne Castle tells the story of Rich (Kurt Russell), a fairly normal American exchange student attending school in Ireland. Everything about his life is fairly routine. Then in one day's time, his life is turned upside down. He's visited by a dying man with a secret, discovers his brother is an American agent, and is taken prisoner by a band of Commie goons. Rich and his buddy have to find a way to escape and make their way to Boyne Castle to uncover the dying man's secret.
The Secret of Boyne Castle isn't horrible, but it's not very good either. I have several problems with the movie, beginning with the horribly misleading title. Being a Disney production with a name like The Secret of Boyne Castle, I was expecting more. The "secret" ends up being a real letdown. It's a scrap of paper with a short message hidden in a fireplace – not at all what I was hoping for. I also have a problem with how simple the plot is. There aren't really any twists or turns. Every time I thought the story was going to take a turn and get interesting, it didn't. Instead, the plot goes from point A to point B on the straightest line possible. Again, disappointing. But the biggest issue I had was with the padding. The version I watched (the three segment Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color presentation) ran 2 hours and 20-something minutes. I'd guess that at least 45 of those minutes were added padding. Most of the movie goes something like this: Rich and his buddy are almost captured – they make a daring escape – they run. Repeat over and over and over. It quickly gets tedious.
On the positive side, the acting is solid. A lot of the performances were very nice. Russell is solid in this early outing. His buddy, played by Patrick Dawson, is a nice complement. But the real star is the Irish countryside. It's stunningly beautiful. I doubt the Irish tourist bureau could put together anything more appealing. I'd love to visit some the locations where The Secret of Boyne Castle was shot.
Overall, a 4/10 from me.
The Secret of Boyne Castle isn't horrible, but it's not very good either. I have several problems with the movie, beginning with the horribly misleading title. Being a Disney production with a name like The Secret of Boyne Castle, I was expecting more. The "secret" ends up being a real letdown. It's a scrap of paper with a short message hidden in a fireplace – not at all what I was hoping for. I also have a problem with how simple the plot is. There aren't really any twists or turns. Every time I thought the story was going to take a turn and get interesting, it didn't. Instead, the plot goes from point A to point B on the straightest line possible. Again, disappointing. But the biggest issue I had was with the padding. The version I watched (the three segment Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color presentation) ran 2 hours and 20-something minutes. I'd guess that at least 45 of those minutes were added padding. Most of the movie goes something like this: Rich and his buddy are almost captured – they make a daring escape – they run. Repeat over and over and over. It quickly gets tedious.
On the positive side, the acting is solid. A lot of the performances were very nice. Russell is solid in this early outing. His buddy, played by Patrick Dawson, is a nice complement. But the real star is the Irish countryside. It's stunningly beautiful. I doubt the Irish tourist bureau could put together anything more appealing. I'd love to visit some the locations where The Secret of Boyne Castle was shot.
Overall, a 4/10 from me.
4/10
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