Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

This movie feels like it was made purely to piss off people who want good shows

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

Willy is a wild orca that was trapped and separated from his parents. He is sent to an aquarium. Jesse (Jason James Richter) is a street kid who gets caught vandalizing the tank. He still believes his mom will come back. His social worker Dwight gets him off as long as he cleans up his mess. He's placed with Glen (Michael Madsen) and Annie Greenwood. Jesse is guarded and Glen is reluctant also. At the aquarium, he befriends Willy who saves his life one night. Willy won't perform for trainer Rae Lindley (Lori Petty) but he's willing to do it for Jesse. The owner Dial (Michael Ironside) is under pressure from the non-performing whale.It's a reasonable family picture. It has a whale and the little kids may find it fascinating. The story is compelling enough that the older kids will also like it. It's very much following a try and true formula. The young lead is acceptable even when he doesn't have the whale. He has some good drama to play off against. It's important to note that Keiko the whale was eventually freed. If that's all the movie achieves, that's plenty.

OK, so "Free Willy" makes a point about animal rights, but it really could've dealt with the topic more seriously. I later saw Keiko while he was in the Oregon aquarium (and he showed the audience a little more than they bargained for, let's just say). They later moved him to Iceland, where he died in 2003. Personally, I don't think that they had to compose a new song for the movie, since the previous 25 years had produced a number of environmental songs (one of the best was Joan Baez's theme song for "Silent Running", a movie that now seems so realistic as to be redundant). But anyway, the movie is worth seeing.Oh, and props to Groucho Marx for the pun that I used in the review title.

As a child, having visited Sea World and experienced the beauty and awe of the all-too-famous sea creature that resides down there, orcas (or killer whales) had always fascinated me. Like their kin the dolphins, there was just something magical and awesome about them just in their very presence that displays their astounding intellect and friendliness. So the movie "Free Willy" was right up my alley as a kid. Now nearing adulthood, and still fascinated with orcas, the movie does not strike with the same impact, but most of it is still remains and thus, I still thoroughly enjoy "Free Willy." For those not familiar with the story, mainly meaning those who did not grow up in the 1990s, the film is about a boy in foster care (Jason James Richter) who upon committing vandalism at a local aquatic park near the coast is given the task of cleaning up his act. And during his visits, he befriends a captured and neglected killer whale (Keiko), whom he soon realizes is planning to be destroyed as a failure attraction. And before long, the story unfolds into just what the title hints: an effort to free Willy.Looking again on "Free Willy" years after I saw it for the first time, I can still see the charm and majesty that had fascinated me in my youth. Director Simon Wincer's major achievement in this film is not trying to make it spectacular, but trying to make it cute and harmless and magical and although my opinion is merely divided amongst the rest of the moviegoers, I say he succeeded in all regards. I thought it was a very moving and touching story about friendship between this boy and this whale, both of whom are troubled, and the way that they struggle to save not only themselves, but also each other. And it doesn't carry away to the point where it seems like Willy the whale has become super-intelligent, but bases all of his motives on instincts. And at the same time, we feel sympathy for this six-ton, sharp-toothed denizen of the sea especially when we compare his massive size to the relatively small container that he's placed in, the rough treatment he's given, and when he cries for companionship.In regards to Willy, it's quite an achievement. As many know, in a lot of scenes, the whale was represented by Keiko, a real-life orca who actually shared many of his character's situations during his lifetime, and this adds to the genuine realism and the touching moments of the film. In other scenes, such as the rescue, Willy is portrayed by a well-realized animatronic and the two blend so well together it's impossible to tell which one is which. There is only once lapse in the special effects and that regards to the CGI whale that was used for the final scene in the movie and people familiar with the film should know what I'm talking about. The computer graphics in that shot, which was thankfully brief, was detailed but not convincing. Nevertheless, that's a minor fault in an otherwise impeccable special effects effort for an entire motion picture.What's also commendable is how the whale does not become the only interesting character or aspect in the film. "Free Willy" also has a great human drama story subplot to boast, to keep us interested during the scenes where the boy and the whale do not share the same shot. I liked Jason James Richter as the boy, and I especially liked Michael Madsen as the foster parent trying to serve as a father figure and also August Schellenberg and Lori Petty as some of the few friends that the boy and his aquatic friend have around them.Again, looking back on "Free Willy" and having read some of the criticisms leveled against it, the movie does not fascinate me with the same power that it once did some years ago. But it's still a sweet, charming story with a warm heart and it still works for me.

My Take: Familiar storyline is salvaged by touching moments. Think LASSIE as a harmless 3-ton marine mammal, specifically a 3-ton Killer Whale, and you got the concept of FREE WILLY. But don't let the predictable fluffy areas fool you! This is a surprisingly charming and oftentimes wonderful twist on the boy-and-his-dog plot line. It's sweet, a little predictable to be sure, but a noble and quite impressive movie of its kind. If your looking for a harmless, but entertaining, family diversion, I suggest to take a shot on FREE WILLY. If you don't find yourself assured, a rental might be fine.Perhaps one of the startling affair about FREE WILLY is that it doesn't solely concern the "dog" (the animal), but finds its time to for the "boy" as well. Instead of a movie heavily devoted on the save-the-animals aspect of the fable, FREE WILLY finds time to make the human dimension interesting and relevant. The "boy" of the story is Jessie (Jason James Richter), an orphaned boy forced to run amok the streets hang out with a bunch of trouble-makers. He picked the wrong place to mess with when he stumbles upon a too-small tank of a 3-ton Orca in captivity. Since he sprayed graffiti all over the walls, Jessie is sanctioned to clean the place up. He's also going to be assigned to his new adoptive parents (played by Michael Madsen and Jayne Atkinson). The moments where Jessie tries to adapt to his life under foster-parenthood isn't one of the film's best scenes, but granted, they're welcome addition to an otherwise predictable fare.Still, the moments between Jessie and the gigantic cetacean, as played by Sea World attraction Keiko as well as a believable animatronic double, is what basically FREE WILLY is all about. The moments between the boy and his whale are sweet and often tear-jerking on some occasions. Sure this thing has more "Save the Whales" slogan than any other film I've ever seen dealing with the same subject, but FREE WILLY does so with shamelessly but not dully. The movie doesn't make us go "Yeah sure! Save the whales already!". It does its predictable and preachy elements with relevance. We care about these characters, and to what might happen to them.The movie isn't flawless of course. With slightly glacial-paced midsection and a number of schmaltzy substance, FREE WILLY isn't free from its faults. But for sweet, feather-weight family entertainment, FREE WILLY still holds water. Your kids might love it. You might love it too. Consider that the surprise bonus in this cheerful little tale.Rating: **** out of 5.