DVD
REVIEW: MY BOY JACK
04/19/08
“My Boy Jack”, based a poem
by Rudyard Kipling (David Haig) tells the story of Rudyard’s
unabashed love for the British Empire. Rudyard feared that
the Germans with their massive army posed a great threat to
everything the British had built. As a result, he wants to
encourage every able body man to fight in what is know as
World War I. Rudyard also wants his son, John Kipling (Daniel
Radcliffe ), to fight and so he signs him up for The Royal
Navy, but because of his severe myopia he is not accepted.
Rudyard next tries to enlist his son in the army, but he is
told that his myopia makes him a danger to the other man and
himself. Using this connection, Rudyard finally enlist his
son in the Irish Guard. Rudyard wife Caroline Kipling (Kim Cattrall) is furious, although, John proves an able shooter
but only with his glasses on. He soon moves to the rank of
squad leader. However, John is soon reported missing in “The
Battle of Loos” and his father is left with second thoughts.
David Haig is perfectly cast in the role of Rudyard Kipling,
and why not? It is a role that he knows well as he wrote the
stage play for “My Boy Jack” and the film’s screenplay and he
played Rudyard Kipling in both. Daniel Radcliffe performance
was also very good and I didn’t ever think about Harry Potter
when I first saw him. Well, maybe, for the first few minutes.
Kim Cattrall also did a decent job here, however it was hard
to see her as a respectable women after seeing her as
Samantha in “Sex and the City“.
The main problem with the movie is that they didn’t do much
in translating the stage play to a movie and the result is
that the movie is not very exciting. It is sort of like
watching a stage play on TV. The only scenes that seem made
for the movie are those where John Kipling is in battle and
ever here the action is lackluster. The decision to make this
a direct to TV movie was a good one, as I don’t think this
movie would have had a chance at the box-office.
The DVD includes interviews with David Haig, Daniel RadCliffe
and Kim Cattrall and a hodgepodges of 4 delete scenes. For a
movie that was shown on TV, they should have included many
more features to give the people a reason to purchase the
DVD. Given how popular Rudyard Kipling was and how
interesting his story is, I don’t think that would have been
hard to do.
Review By Brad Peterson
brad@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen (1:78:1)
AUDIO:
English,
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Interviews - an interview with David Haig,
Daniel Radcliff, and Kim Cattrall discussing what this movie
meant to them. (24:17)
Deleted Scenes - 4 delete scenes are present him
however they are mashed together and not separated by title.
The most in interesting is the last one starting around the
3:45 mark and features Rudyard Kipling address the people
about how it they have to do more. (6:18)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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People Movie Review
My Boy Jack
|
PM |
60 |
|
I enjoyed the movie for
what it was. I'm a big fan of Daniel's
(by the way, it's Radcliffe- with an e)
I agree this would not have been a box
office smash, but then it wasn't
intended to be. |
| joallen |
80 |
|
the movie was not intended to be an action film. It was intended to do exactly as it did. the zeal of youth as inspired by fathers and the effects of when a son [or daughter nowadays] does not return. well played. |
| Arthur |
90 |
|
A thought provoking and memorable
presentation, and a refreshing change
from those interminable action movies
with the forgettable special effects. In
the short 'action in the trenches'
scenes, it truly depicted the horrific
conditions that my Father and Uncles,
ill equipped by an unprepared army had
to endure during that futile war.
. I thought Kim
Cattrall did more than a 'decent
job', and David
Haig is to be congratulated
for his performance as Kippling. Daniel
Radcliffe is memorable as the boy
soldier Jack, and his performance
may be the springboard for his move into
adult roles. |
| Stacey |
90 |
|
i thought the film was wonderful!! Everyone played their characters well. Being a big fan of Daniel Racliffe as Harry Potter, i was blown away by his performace as Jack because i thought with the glasses; i wouldnt get Harry out of my mind, but i did. lol i know kim as Samantha from Sex and the City as well. However that didnt deter her performance for me. She did well. Im not a huge fan of history nor war but My Boy Jack had me hooked and researching more of the story when the film was over. I wish the film was a bit longer. Show more of the kipplings before Jack got sent of to war. I didnt cry for Titanic but i did for this film. Lovely film
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