family film conveys an old-timey, cliched impression of life in Australia; The film is like one of those old, bad Disney dramas nobody remembers, in which everything feels fake; Bill Nighy's accent is just one aspect of that fakeness
Ben Nott's very handsome location photography impresses as do most of the performances, Bill Nighy's included once you get used to the fact that, like his screen grandson, he seems alien to the Australian wilderness
a placid but pleasant throwback to a less frenetic era of family filmmaking; "Buckley's Chance" offers precisely zero surprises and is steeped in a very clichéd vision of Australia, but it's largely inoffensive and offers the occasional moment of charm
by Luke Buckmaster [The Guardian ]
by David Stratton [The Australian ]
