I won't re-hash what other proponents of this movie have already said so well. I wasn't expecting a lot and got far more than I expected. Sean Bean's quieter role as a concerned parent was bang on. He added huge depth to the movie without stealing the thunder . . . which quite rightly belongs to young Aaron Taylor-Johnston. The whole movie few or flopped on the acting skills of this young man and it flew. He so competently played two different characters that I had to check the credits the first time actually thinking they had cast twins for the roles. His reactions particularly as Tom retreating from gestures of affection were powerful, revealing hints of his abusive past. Also powerful, were his periods of absentia when he was sharing in Thomas' dire flight from the baddies and eventual capture. And personally I found it very amusing when Tom lost composure and hurled a bit of a curse at his father followed by a totally believable "Sorry Sir!". A very talented, very young actor. It is a movie well worth a watch: and I disagree with the assessment that it doesn't have "enough energy" to be a children's movie. My thought is that we've endured too many Disney-type movies with with an energy-level geared to an ADHD child slamming back Red Bulls!

I'm a huge fan of Sean Bean - from his snarly villains to his hero/anti-hero roles - and I'm working through all of his films one by one. It's a pleasure to see him play an ordinary man coping with loss and a rambunctious son who has an "imaginary" friend. Sean is tender and bemused and distracted and hits every note of perplexing parenthood just right. I do wish he'd play more of these sympathetic roles - in fact, I think he could do comedy quite beautifully, but that might be the die-hard fan in me talking. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is wonderful in his first film role and cleverly switches accents and characters with great ease. Inday Ba was a find for me too - believable and stunning - what a shame she passed away in 2005. The villains have just the right amount of sleaze and downright evil to make you want to boo out loud. The film made me smile and was such an unexpected pleasure that I really would like to give it a 7.5. Too bad it wasn't more widely released.

This is bad. It's predictable and Boring with a capital B intended. The two child actors are cloying. The adults are even worse. The story becomes sillier as the film progresses. At the end of the movie one of the kids is hanging from the wheel of an airplane during takeoff in a vain attempt to get audience attention. But really the resolution of this film was of no interest to me after the mid-way stage.The fast forward button was pushed several times. I couldn't figure out what was more mundane the dialogue or just the characters themselves. Aside from the paintings that their father is making there is little else to hold your interest during this movie, I've had more fun watching bowling.

First of all a splendid performance by Aaron Johnson, I personally see him as a top performer look at movies like the Thief Lord and The Illusionist and he's a real nice character as well.It's really obvious that this movie isn't a true English movie, you can tell by the colours and the way how the images are composed. The Dutch way of film making is apparent but it's the best movie from Dutch soil thus far. With brilliant mixed British and Dutch cast and a thrilling story which suits both parents and children alike.The only noticeable rather annoying things that's wrong in this movie is the fact that the film plays in London (shot on location which is rather unique these days). But when Thomas gets abducted and is brought to the airport to be send to Nairobi we see them driving on the A40 towards Heathrow/Gatwick (all okay there). However the scenes shot on the airport are shot at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. You can tell by the little posts near the entrance of the animal terminal where Tom's brought in. And the scene with Mr Bancroft and Finch in the car which is obviously shot in the Schiphol parking garage (you can also hear the announcer). I've worked and roamed around Schiphol and visited many airports in the UK and I know one airport from the other a dodgy unnecessary inconsistency. And the fact that you're not allowed to drive your motorcycle on the Southbank is a bit of a joke. The theme music is a bit weird I don't know what the Dutch have with harmonica music, it gives me the creeps, next time a nice guitar or piano would be better. (But hey everybody's a critic).Aaron plays two great roles, I love him in his Tom character his cockney like accent and the cheeky eyes. The making of this movie is also a nice extra on the DVD. You can see the great improvement in Aaron when you see his screen audition.