Durango Kids (1999) Poster

(1999)

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1/10
Would rather have gotten free breadsticks.
thats_a_lot_of_nuts22 August 2004
To put it bluntly, this movie was terrible.

There are a vast number of "excuses" that people use to say that it wasn't so bad. It is a kids' movie. It stars young actors. It was filmed on a low budget. Even considering these circumstances, it was a dreadful movie. I've seen movies with a much lower budget and much younger actors, intended for a much younger audience, end up much more entertaining than this.

This movie was made with very little passion. It seems that the director knew from the beginning that he was going to make an amateur, generic, cliché film, and didn't try to do anything beyond that. And judging by the surnames of a few of the actors, I get the feeling that he cast his family members in roles; it wouldn't surprise me if he had given them out as birthday presents.

In this film so many tired, over-used elements were re-used shamelessly. There are one too many slime/manure/teasing jokes, and the entire plot centers around a bunch of pre-teens with the help of their (surprisingly old-looking) 8th grade big brother, stopping their "evil principal" from changing history. So these kids go back in time to prevent a crime from being committed.

This movie had so many chances to be good, but didn't take any of them. It's a great example of extremely lazy directing. (Take the "train scene," for example, each of the extras does exactly the same thing, faces the same direction, and does nothing.) Seriously, a movie has to TRY to be this bad. I actually got it for free on DVD when I bought a pizza. And the DVD didn't even contain subtitles.

I feel like the director probably said to his assistant director, "Nah, you can fake that, no one will notice," WAY too many times in this film.

Predictable, immature, simple, badly acted, badly written. (And I won't even start about this movie's sad, sad attempt at special effects.) The only positive is that maybe very young children will enjoy it, if they don't get lost in the vague plot. ....Maybe.
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Awesome Film
keeganv200525 July 2003
This movie is a wonderful fun film that showcases the talents of the young actors in the film. It has a wonderful script and the action sequences are chilling. Durango Kids reminds me of all my adventures as a child.
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1/10
6 and younger only... do not watch with your kids!
rexranius28 March 2008
Not a lie... the worst movie I have ever seen. Hands down. In fact, you have to watch it just to see how bad it is. Don't get mislead by the first twenty minutes... that is when they were putting effort into the story and directing and it looked like it was going somewhere. You will see it start to slowly fall apart once they get on the train. My 5 year old liked it. I'm guessing that when he hits kindergarten, this movie won't get touched. And, no, I didn't get the pizza. My cousin got the pizza and pawned the movie off on me. At least it was free.

The positive comments were either put up here by people involved in the movie or they are just trying to get you to watch it.

Do it.

I dare you. Smell the sour milk.
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7/10
Fun, but sorta goofy.
Travis_Moran4 May 2005
Hey, I like the idea of time-travelling back to earlier times. Some of my most favourite movies have been time-travel ones. Like "The Time Machine, Terminator, TimeCOP and such. I've liked reruns of "TimeTunnel" too.

It's okay (and actually pretty cool) to have kids doing this stuff, but maybe hype it up a bit. Some parts were a little slow. They could have left out the part with the guy throwing fairy dust around cause it didn't add anything to the movie. The parts on the train were a little kooky, but that sure was a neat train eh. It was really wild having ATVs in the old west.

I was about 15 when I first saw this movie and I just happened to see it again recently on Bell. I was surprised I still enjoyed it. And (even more amazing) my girlfriend watched it with me. She usually shies away from kid movies.

I think the boys and girls acting in this movie were better than most of the kids who make this type of stuff.

There are some other movies like this that were decent also like "Kid in King Arthur's Court and Kid in Aladdin's Palace. So maybe if you find you like this movie you should check those out too.
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7/10
A good action film for kids
GypsyGeo28 July 2001
I enjoyed this film because it reminded me of the stories I used to love when I was a kid. There was plenty of action, a couple of fist fights, the kids got captured by the crooks and then turned the tables on the villains who got their just deserts. Reminds me of the old "ripping Yarns" stories. The acting by the kids was natural and seamless - showed a quality of training. Well done! I'd like to see more stories like this for youngsters. Many childrens films pull the punches to be politically correct and lose something of the magic of story telling. This one didn't make that mistake. I'm surprised i haven't heard of it before this video release. I haven't got any real negative comments to make - for what it was, the film was well done.
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10/10
the best
tatekau8 February 2014
AH HA HA HA HA.

you need to watch this. it is hilariously bad (errmm i mean exceptional). oh my gosh the script writer was so wrong, i mean, listen to some of the things that come out of these kids mouths. so so so so good. like listen to this : "uncle gus told me not to touch it, sammie told me not to touch it, but i touched it, can we blow it". and "3 miles, that'll take us all day and half the night". as well as, wait i would not want to spoil it. i would recommend: shark boy and lava girl, if you liked this movie. but who wouldn't right. the soundtrack is also amazing. right here, here and now ow. there's only one thing left to do. right here here and now ow.
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Mediocre at best
internut021 August 2004
This movie would have been bearable otherwise,but the kids' acting is reminiscent of a hastily produced school play, especially the fat black kid, who seems to be enjoying the camera rather than being in his character.(By the way, he got entirely too much screen time). Austin Nichols (Sammy)was believable and sincere and did a lot to salvage this feeble attempt at entertainment. What's so cool about assaulting innocent adults on a tourist train. Is that adventure? The forced tears in the jail scene was almost unbearable. Might entertain your small children, but wouldn't recommend it otherwise. Glad I got it free as a pizza premium and didn't waste money on it. Blurb on the DVD jacket seems to compare this movie with HOLES and SPY KIDS........I don't think so.
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10/10
Fun Movie
jamesrbynum11 February 2005
I liked this movie because it contained no great message, it was a fun adventure. All the actors did a fine job. This picture showed scenes of Durango, Colorado to Silverton train ride on a narrow gage rail road. This mountain country is some of the prettiest in the entire United States. I lived in this area when I was about the age of the children of the movie, while I didn't have an adventure quite like theirs I did hunt and explore this beautiful country, including some of the mines that do exist at the town of Silverton and surrounding mountains at an elevation of over ten thousand feet. This would be a place for one to go and take their children for an adventure, possibly, even a little magic.
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10/10
Sweet flick
Hunu5 January 2005
Keeganv is the only one with his head on straight here. In addition to the great things keeganv mentioned, not only were the casting choices inspired and superb, but the crying scenes with Spencer Gray were emotionally powerful. I'm talking stuff that rivals the final scene in "The Green Mile". I would watch this over that "Hotel Rwanda"-fluff any day.

If it weren't for movies like this, I don't know what I would do with myself. I think I might have to cry myself to sleep if I didn't have "Durango Kids" to do it for me.

Just go see the movie. You'll be moved to tears...
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10/10
A Life Changer!
rhoyng6311 March 2008
I realized how lucky I am by the experiences during the movie. It was definitely worth the pizza, and I am glad I had the opportunity to watch this wonderful movie. The actors were terrific, and I felt they acted as if they were all in real danger. The scenes are just flat out amazing. The scenes in the movie are not predictable at all. I was actually wrong with my guess, and the directors really fooled me. This movie is for any age, and I encourage everyone to take time to watch this with their family or roommates. The kids will love it!!! I hope with a few years there will be a Durango Kids 2 so I can sit down and take the time to watch this movie with my roommates. Whenever I have problems, I just turn to this movie to see how the kids face their adversity. I would recommend this movie to anyone, and also would like to thank Pizza Hut. Thanks!
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10/10
Alright, I don't think a lot of you are getting this...
smiteyy5 December 2005
This is pretty much the greatest work of art ever committed to cinema. Think otherwise, and I will fight you. I sh** you not, I will throw down RIGHT now....

Okay, okay, I'm sorry. That wasn't called for. I mean, I haven't been emotionally moved by a movie about time travel like this since I last saw The Notebook on mushrooms (that was about time travel, right?). Or maybe I'm just confusing The Notebook with the film version of A Separate Peace (which was fantastic, by the way. Particularly the scene with the tree limb being "jounced").

Anyways, more to the point, Taylor Root is pretty much the BEST actor ever. His sheer ability to identify with the complexity of the human condition transcends him beyond the other acting greats of our era such as Oedipus, Steven Seagal, Hillary Duff, Eminem and Keanu Reeves.

And, don't tell anyone this, but..... I know Taylor Root. Like, he and I went to high school together. There was this one time, in 10th grade, where this colostomy bag named Brian Condon (we call him Sh**face, and rightfully so) was like, "Taylor, now listen, I don't appreciate you coming over to my boathouse and mocking my small dog that sort of looks like an enormous rat, but still is RIDICULOUSLY cute." Then, out of nowhere, Taylor just busts out an ATV that was actually used in the making of Durango Kids and just smacks Brian in the a** RIDICULOUSLY hard. Brian was in a ridiculous amount of pain. He looked like this, but only worse and with an ATV hitting him in the a**: http://community.webshots.com/photo/308932448/362577779MxLDhj

Moral of the story being, John Brian Condon is a little bitch and should really not talk so much sh**, particularly in regards to the Durango Kid.
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