Buckley's Chance

A great family movie 🍿 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 A little far fetched at times, but many lessons throughout. I'm 65 and my husband is 75. We both really enjoyed it. No swearing, nudity or violence. (Not to say that we don't watch those also.)

Always liked Bill but the dingo is beautiful. It is incorrectly credited on the titles as being called Sunny, which is sad as it does shortly after filming. It isn't even credited at all on IMDb which is poor, but it was called Sonny. RIP Sonny, forever enshrined on the silver screen now.

Acting poor, no story, second time in life when i walked out from cinema during a movie.

This story is engaging because it has family, grief and adventure all in one. I enjoyed watching it.

Apart from the clichés there is a lot of clunky writing and dumb stuff. A snake referred to as poisonous instead of venomous. A fence being repaired but not using the correct tools. An injured dingo acting like a dog. Stereotypical bad guys. The usual disaffected teen who gets lost. He's supposedly in the middle of the outback and then a huge dam appears? Then all of a sudden it's a massive river with of all things a waterfall? What the? Why does he fall over all the time? What a mess. Moments of authenticity were rare. Maybe it plays to American ears but I waited in vein for something that felt even slightly real. Must have been a bit embarrassing for all concerned.

Ridley (Milan Burch) is dealing with the loss of his father, who died one year ago as a hero while saving three people. His mother, Gloria (Victoria Hill), decides to leave New York and move to Western Australia, where the two can start fresh and live with Ridley's grandfather, Spencer (Bill Nighy). Naturally, Ridley would prefer to keep to himself and has no interest in the big move or connecting with his unknown grandfather Spencer. Upon meeting, Spencer gives the appearance of being an old and grumpy man. Still, overall, he is relatively kind towards Ridley and wishes to help him adjust to his new lifestyle in the outback, even offering to take him camping. Spencer also gives a warning of the dangers to Ridley, explaining to him about nearby Dingos. Ridley is put off by his support. One night, while Ridley and Spencer are camping in the outback, the two have a disagreement, and Ridley walks away. Soon, he finds a wounded Dingo stuck in a trap. Ridley frees the dingo, and the two share an unlikely moment. Unfortunately, the dingo runs away into the night, and later, both Ridley and Spencer go home. The following day, however, Spencer finds Ridley has disappeared and possibly run away from home. Now Ridley is lost in the outback and reunited with the same dingo he just saved. Together they hope to escape and survive the dangers of the outback while Spencer and Ridley's mother begin their search. Buckley's Chance is best classed as an Australian family film with little moments of heartfelt drama. The film is filled with great messages and positive vibes right from the opening. There are also attempts at humour along the way, primarily thanks to the film's dim-witted bad guys. Performances are wonderful. Bill Nighy once again proves, as always, that he is a stunning actor (seriously, Bill, call me, let's catch up for a coffee!). The acting debut of Milan Burch, who plays the leading role of Ridley, was most undoubtedly impressive and pleasing to see. Based on the young actor's work here, I am confident we will see more of him in films to come. The film's music and soundtrack score were rather touching and pleasing throughout the duration, with only a couple of minor moments felt overdramatic compared to what was on-screen. Side performances from Victoria Hill and Kelton Pell were also great. There were no significant concerns with the film other than, as already stated, the bad guys who I found far too silly. Again, this is a family drama film and somewhat to be expected. The opening, which introduces the character of Spencer, was also questionable, and I felt this introduction could have been far more impacting. Still, thankfully this was forgivable as the film progressed. Overall, I had a wonderful time watching this film. It's a touching, adventurous, and light-hearted story filled with positive messages about overcoming hurts, surviving, and, most importantly, family. The performance from Bill Nighy is brilliant, along with newcomer Milan Burch who also leaves a positive impression. This is undoubtedly an Australian film worth supporting as it reminds the world that even when you're feeling lost, you are never truly alone. 7.4/10 - Walkden Entertainment.

I must confess. There were times when I wondered why I was even watching this movie. I often found myself confused as to what the point of the film was. To be honest, I'm still not entirely sure what the purpose of the movie is. "Buckley's Chance" is not a cinematic masterpiece. It is boring at times. Some scenes are slow to develop. There are even a few scenes where you may find yourself laughing out loud as you ask what the heck they were thinking when they put that in the movie. However, it was enjoyable enough to keep my attention and to keep me awake. You may find it boring. I did at times. You may find it entertaining. I did at times. You may want to watch it a second time in the future. I don't. But, that's just me.

Up until now I have never seen a Bill Nighy movie that wasn't top class. This was utterly awful. We couldn't take more than the first 20 minutes. The story was a non-event, the characters were a lot of miserable morons (I think someone else commented on the ludicrous event where the mother, having just got off the plane, turns as it is actually taking off and tries shouting "Excuse me!" to the pilot). Why give an actor who has spent his entire career playing British characters a part as a miserable, antisocial, mumbling Australian living in an awful place that he could easily have left any time? Trying to excuse this movie as being for children, as some have, is hiding from the truth: I think it would quickly bore any child to go back to his electronic games or it would give him a massive feeling of despair. Don't waste your time on this one.

Just no. As an Aussie I found this totally awful to the point that I had to turn it off after the first 20 minutes. Every cringe worthy cliche was thrown at the script. Bill Nighy what were you thinking??

Very entertaining movie set in Australia with great scenery.