If Brian Trenchard Smith had had better luck with the scripts he filmed he might have had a career more like Simon Wincer's - not that he's had a bad career, it's just his filmography lacks something like a Phar Lap or Free Willy, which he was perfectly capable of making. This kids film is full of energy, charm, verve and pace, and for a while you forget the basic story isn't that great. But it isn't that great and ultimately this isn't that good.
He's not helped either by Henry Thomas' rather flat performance in the lead. He seems monumentally uninterested in what's going on, at times even bored; compare his work with that of Rachel Friend, who is obviously less experienced and can go over the top, but you can see the emotion all over her face. They have a cute tween urst relationship (it's actually kind of a menage a trois, with Friend's little sister Tamsin West also involved) which helps Thomas; so too does the fact Thomas plays several scenes with Tony Barry, who is very good as Thomas' guardian. (It's a shame Barry never got to play a super dad for a long stint on a TV show he is the perfect laconic Aussie dad. Even if he is a Kiwi.)
The plot as Thomas investigate mysterious goings on at a water hole. But there are no real stakes - unlike BMX Bandits where the stakes were high (wanting to raise money for a BMX track, stopping a robbery, baddies who wants a robbery to go ahead, the MacGuffin of the walkie talkies), this has none. The only thing driving Thomas is curiosity, there's no real reason to uncover the mystery, there are no real baddies except Friends understandably protective dad (why not throw in some thieves or something?), and Thomas is passive at the climax.
It's a real shame because the direction is brisk, the support cast great and the scenery wonderful. Aboriginal lore is rich fodder for for a kids film - it would be worth revisiting.
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