Millions begins with the kind of colorful fantasy sequence that lent sparky life to Boyle films like Trainspotting and The Beach, and it continues with an appallingly funny segment in which 9-year-old McGibbon teaches his 7-year-old brother Etel that by mentioning their mother's recent death, they can extort all manner of gifts from guilty, uncomfortable adults. (When the moralistic Etel asks if this is "completely honest," McGibbon bitterly retorts, "Completely dead, isn't she?") But the film doesn't hit its stride until a sack of money falls from the sky onto Etel's head. After counting the loot, which comes to more than 200,000 pounds, McGibbon insists that they keep it secret, lest the government demand a cut, but he nonetheless proceeds to purchase high-tech toys, buy himself a cadre of followers at his new school, and start looking into real estate. Meanwhile, the more religious Etel clumsily attempts to share his bounty with the poor. With the mandatory changeover from pounds to euros fast approaching, the boys have to spend the money before it becomes worthless, but its previous owner is operating on the same schedule, and his ruthless efforts to retrieve the cash throw a threatening note into what's otherwise a sweet, almost-straight-faced family drama. Millions is a very special and moving film, with a superb staff. Watch it!

Damien is a strange seven year old boy. First, his mother has died. He has an older brother, Anthony, and lives with their father. They move to a new home and go to a new school. Damien sees saints and talks to them. He knows the years of their birth and death and why they died. Damien seems Christlike in some ways. When he finds a bag of British pounds before the Euro change (which never happened), he tells his brother who has other ideas on how to spend the money. For Damien, he prefer it all goes to the poor and less fortunate. When the boys learn that the money is stolen, things can get worse. In the end, the money didn't buy the happiness that we always associate it too. In fact, it caused more trouble and spent unwisely. The cast is great especially Damien and Anthony's portrayers. Damien comes across as saintly but flawed in his performance.

Yes, it's a children's film, so I'm probably not the best one to judge, but does it have to be this sentimental? 'Millions' is nauseatingly absurd; a Christian tale that had me on the verge of tears by the closing sequence,and not the kind soppy mothers would have. Damian is a precocious little brat who absorbs himself in history books, one day being presented with a large bag of cash that has fallen from a passing train. It is at this moment that the Christian nonsense starts, the virtuous little git giving it away to whom he labels 'poor people'. This is all complicated when the dubious owner of the money is revealed, Damian stating that it's 'wrong' to utilise money that's 'not theirs'. It is Damian's good but annoyingly ignorant will that serves as one of my main vexations of the film. There are many sequences that are shot in signature Boyle style; vibrant, fast and technical. I've never much cared for this however, in Boyle's work and in others', it is often excessive and out to impress, and ultimately is often compensating for the film's weaknesses in narrative. This certainly applies to 'Millions'. The film is slushy nonsense, but the aforementioned finale reaches heights I rarely experience; it is so predictable and reprehensibly maudlin. Ultimately, the unoriginal, implausible premise and the horrifying melodrama that follows ultimately make this film a prolonged bore. I cannot understand why a grown adult would want to make a film like this, especially one of Danny Boyle's calibre; then again, he did direct Slumdog Millionaire...

This British film has been praised a lot. It is not bad, the children actors are "sympathiques" - to use a French word without an English translation - one does not regret seeing it, but don't expect too much. It is the Brit's version of a Hollywood Christmas box-office hit. The plot is not believable - nor does it pretend to be. It however seems to pretend to inspire and offer wisdom but it does not do much of either. The symbolism is pretty direct and its ideas rarely raise above clichés. It tries to add some "action" by introducing a bad guy and some suspense - I did not really see the point of that. I did not regret spending an afternoon watching it, but the film is rather forgettable. It's a "safe" film to see with a girl on a date; you leave the theatre feeling nice and warm and fuzzy inside.