Rent Dolphin Tale 2 (2014)

Dolphin Tale 2 review by Michelle Sommerville - Cinema Paradiso

Sequels are usually a hit, or a major miss. Dolphin Tale 2 is hard to classify either way. It is a good story, but is suited best for those that have either seen the first film, adore mushy emotion and drama, or are children.

This film continues to follow the young male lead Sawyer Nelson (Nathan Gamble). A few years have passed since the team rescued and mended the dolphin Winter, but their job is far from over. When Winter’s poolmate Panama passes away from old age, the Clearwater team are forced by USDA regulations to rush to find another dolphin to share her tank. If Sawyer and his team cannot find a suitable companion that Winter will accept, they will have no choice but to transfer her to another aquarium.

There are a few good and bad things about this film.

There are so many television shows and films that are plain and simply rubbish. They are either full of sex, violence, and/or course language. For children, there is not much at all in the way of quality programming, so a film like this is a good thing. It not only supports children who dream of big futures - possibly working in the marine biology field - but helps them to understand how to care for something more vulnerable than they are.

While the children in the audience may not be too familiar with the faces, the parents and guardians are sure to recognise more than one name in the credits. Morgan Freeman, Ashley Judd, Harry Connick Jr., and Kris Kristofferson, are just some of the very well-known actors that appear in this film. Even the younger cast were very good in this film. Nathan Gamble - who was also the star of the first Dolphin Tale - has progressed greatly. I remember seeing him a few years ago in the short film Displaced, and I thought he was absolutely fantastic in that. Despite all of these talented people, they had to work hard to make sure they weren’t out-acted by the animals (dolphins, turtle, pelican).

For pretty much as long as film has been around, animal films have been popular with people of all ages. I still love watching reruns of Free Willy, but I don’t think this film really has what it takes to keep people coming back.

The film also goes a bit too long and shifts from one storyline to another.

The cinematography was good, but wasn’t the most creative and unique. However, it did what it needed to do, and told the story effectively.

Dolphin Tale 2 has received mostly mixed to positive reviews. The main complaints have been in relation to its length, and that it doesn’t contribute much to the characters from the first film.

Rumour has it that there is going to be a third film in this franchise. I don’t know how that will go, but this one was simply ‘OK’.