Dolphin Tale 2 Review

The makers of these Dolphin Tale movies have really hit a gold mine in terms of potential sequels. As long as cute things keep happening to Winter, there'll be no stopping the production of these films if they're continually successful. There are some that would argue that is a good thing, as they've gotten pretty good reviews. However, after two movies, I have to say I've found them quite lightweight. Sure, kids will probably always be charmed by the antics of the different animals. After all, that's essentially the entire market for the movies. But, I'm not sure there's enough real story there to warrant a feature length production. I felt that way about the first Dolphin Tale, and I felt that way about the second one.

There's nothing inherently terrible about this movie. It's just that for much of its running time, not a lot happens. At least, not a lot that is actually interesting. You see, the mistake this movie makes is assuming that the audience will care about the characters just because of the work they're doing and the sweetness with which they're portrayed. That may do it for young children, but for everyone else, or at least me, there wasn't much of a connection, and thus the movie felt empty.

You wouldn't expect such a great cast in a somewhat small film like this. Harry Connick, Jr., Morgan Freeman, Kris Kristofferson, and Ashley Judd all reprise their roles from the first one. They're all good enough, but there isn't one performance in the movie that stood out. Not one that I would even call above average. Which I kind of expect from a movie like this, but not from a movie like this with such an esteemed cast.

Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff are back as the two main kids. They were functional at best, quite honestly. I'm a little disappointed saying that, too. I didn't expect much from them the first time around because they were pretty young, but now, they're teenagers. I don't expect Oscar-worthy stuff, but at least some sort of improvement, which I can't say either of them made.

I think the material that the Dolphin Tale films have to work with would be exceptional as a 30-minute Discovery Channel special. Because really, the only thing remarkable is the dolphins. And the sequences involving these dolphins are definitely enjoyable. But when there's a break from the stuff with the dolphins, we're stuck with tedious side stories about the human characters whom, once again, we haven't made much of a connection with. I really don't care if Sawyer goes on the 3-month trip or not. I'm sorry, I just don't care.

The true story of the dolphin Winter is undeniably amazing. That's one of the reasons I didn't mind the first movie as much as I did this one. It was the first time I had heard about Winter, and thus, despite some of the same problems as this film, I had a reasonably okay time with the movie. But now, I've heard the story, and while I understand the events of the sequel really happened as well, it's nothing nearly as interesting. Again, if I flipped on the Discovery Channel and watched a brief documentary about it, that'd be a different. It's just not enough to hold up an hour and 45 minute film.

Dolphin Tale 2 will entertain children just as much as the first one did. Take them to see it; it's a safe choice for a good time for them. However, don't expect too much out of it yourself, unless you can overlook the superfluous secondary storylines that aren't engaging enough to justify making a full-length movie. If you don't have kids to take, look up a documentary about this story. It would be much more worthwhile.

C