Tom & Thomas (2002)

Best movie of this year hands down!

Excellent adaptation.

A Disappointing Continuation

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

With terrible acting from all age groups, a terrible story and awful characters it's no surprise this cliché ridden snooze fest will be less than a foot-note in film history. Despite the main actor's future success as Dave Lizewski in Kick-Ass (no, I'm not even joking) this move sure didn't do wonders or show any acting ability. It's not his fault considering his age at the time, but still, with the right direction, it could have been a lot better. As could the accents. Despite Johnson's English roots, he is still much more believable as an American. I don't know what they did to this boy to twist his accent so much, but it sounds like an American 9 year old making fun of English accents. The adult talent is not much better. I loved this movie when I was three, but since then, I've grown to realise just how boring this movie is.

First of all a splendid performance by Aaron Johnson, I personally see him as a top performer look at movies like the Thief Lord and The Illusionist and he's a real nice character as well.It's really obvious that this movie isn't a true English movie, you can tell by the colours and the way how the images are composed. The Dutch way of film making is apparent but it's the best movie from Dutch soil thus far. With brilliant mixed British and Dutch cast and a thrilling story which suits both parents and children alike.The only noticeable rather annoying things that's wrong in this movie is the fact that the film plays in London (shot on location which is rather unique these days). But when Thomas gets abducted and is brought to the airport to be send to Nairobi we see them driving on the A40 towards Heathrow/Gatwick (all okay there). However the scenes shot on the airport are shot at Amsterdam Schiphol airport. You can tell by the little posts near the entrance of the animal terminal where Tom's brought in. And the scene with Mr Bancroft and Finch in the car which is obviously shot in the Schiphol parking garage (you can also hear the announcer). I've worked and roamed around Schiphol and visited many airports in the UK and I know one airport from the other a dodgy unnecessary inconsistency. And the fact that you're not allowed to drive your motorcycle on the Southbank is a bit of a joke. The theme music is a bit weird I don't know what the Dutch have with harmonica music, it gives me the creeps, next time a nice guitar or piano would be better. (But hey everybody's a critic).Aaron plays two great roles, I love him in his Tom character his cockney like accent and the cheeky eyes. The making of this movie is also a nice extra on the DVD. You can see the great improvement in Aaron when you see his screen audition.

I watched this on a rainy afternoon in full expectation that it would be another predictable, mediocre kiddies' flick along the lines that those Olsen twins' churn out. Instead, I was very pleasantly surprised by both the interesting plot and the acting of the young child actor.The story revolves around nine-year-old Thomas who has dreams about his 'imaginary friend' Tom, unaware that these dreams are in fact the manifestation of a psychic bond between him and his long-lost twin brother Tom. Thomas was the lucky twin who was adopted into a loving family whereas Tom grew up in an abusive orphanage. Then the two accidentally meet and it's up to them to break a child trafficking racket that is being conducted in Tom's orphanage.Sean Bean is excellent as Thomas' father Paul, offering a paternal softness that is rarely required in the characters he usually plays. Aaron Johnson, the young actor who plays both roles of Tom and Thomas, is very talented for a child who very new to acting. He managed to convey the emotions of the story perfectly as well as juggle two accents (something many experienced adult actors can't manage, let alone a nine-year-old child) and two very different characters. It's a shame he's not been in more films since as he's probably qualifies as one of Britain's best young talent. And of course, I can't forget to mention Derek de Lint, who was wonderfully slimy as Mr Bancroft, and Bill Stewart, who was brilliant in capturing the crazed cruelty of Finch.It might sound contrived but the fact it refuses to delve into the sugary sweetness of your typical American film (there's even a scene where Tom is beaten) and it isn't as predictable as it sounds, with reflection that Tom has problems down to his abusive past, and that is what sets this film aside from other family films doing the 'seperated twin' storyline.It's just a shame that it wasn't advertised more since it's a film that Britain should have been proud to produce and it's certainly better than many Hollywood family films I've seen over the years.

I rented this mostly because I adore Sean Bean. It was nice to see him in a film where he doesn't kill people or get killed, for a change. I expected the typical "twins change homes" tale in the vein of the Olsen twins vehicle I had suffered through a few years back but I was definitely pleasantly surprised. It is not obvious at first that there really is a second boy. The scene where Thomas is feeling all that is happening to his twin is very well directed and stuck with me. There are some scenes that would probably upset young children. Finch, the wild eyed caretaker of the boy's home Tom is in, is particularly frightening and there are certain undertones of sexual abuse about it (not that anything other than physical abuse happens, but still)In all, this is a good movie for children. Sean Bean fans will not get an awful lot (though I happen to think ConcernedFather!Sean is sexy)Mim