Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Cast:
Sam Everingham, Alyla Browne, Darius Williams, Alice Parkinson
Intro:
Visually stunning and sweeping in its scope, The Secret Kingdom is a true delight.
Australian visual effects supervisor turned writer/director Matt Drummond has been quietly and effectively plying his trade for over a decade now, first by providing the stunning effects for a variety of film and television projects, and more recently as the driving force behind his own productions. With his directorial efforts Dinosaur Island (2014) and My Pet Dinosaur (2017), Drummond combined his skill for creating fantastical but highly realistic on-screen fantasy creatures with a clear facility for accessible, entertaining storytelling. With the often eye-popping and visually audacious The Secret Kingdom, Drummond mixes a classic, mythology-building narrative with seamless CGI imagery to striking effect, delivering his most ambitious film in the process.
When anxious, constantly unsettled twelve-year-old Peter (the engaging Sam Everingham) moves with his younger sister Verity (the scene-stealing Alyla Browne) and parents into a grand new home, he youngsters are almost instantly drawn into a bizarre and fantastical world that exists beneath our own. This world is populated by dragons, two-headed turtles, and principally, armoured pangolins…and lives in fear of a dangerous creature called The Shroud. Driven by prophecy and myth, this world sees the unlikely Peter as its king and saviour, leading the troubled youngster on a perilous quest through this strange and often confronting new world.
The Secret Kingdom ingeniously evokes multiple film and literature fantasy reference points (The Lord Of The Rings, The Secret Garden, Lemony Snicket, The House With The Clock In Its Walls) while remaining fresh and original. Writer/director Matt Drummond effectively conjures up an entire world and mythology here; it’s no mean feat, and he does it cohesively and creatively, drawing the audience right into his dynamic cinemascape with aplomb. The Secret Kingdom looks incredible, with VFX the equal of most Hollywood productions, but even more impressively, its denouement reveals a narrative intent that gives the film an even greater kick. Visually stunning and sweeping in its scope, The Secret Kingdom is a true delight.
