Taika’s Waititi’s follow-up to the delightful What We Do in the Shadows does not disappoint. When troublesome, orphaned teen Ricky Baker (Dennison) is taken in by foster parents Hec (Neill) and Bella (Te Wiata) he thinks he might have finally found a place that he can call home. However, following a series of ludicrous events, both Ricky and Hec end up on the run through the wilderness of New Zealand, unwitting subjects of a nation-wide manhunt.
What follows is a delight of a story that thrives on the interplay between reluctant foster father and son as they attempt to survive in the wild and find their way back to safety.
The intensely lovable raggamuffin that is Ricky Baker owns the story perfectly in what is a very easily loveable film.
The film is peppered with encounters with an increasingly wacky cast of characters – including a questionable clergyman, a psychotic child services worker and a hilarious turn from Flight of the Conchords’ Rhys Darby that we won’t spoil here.
It moves along at a lightning pace until it arrives at its unexpected conclusion. With its really inventive cinematography and a bouncy soundtrack, this off-kilter comedy is easily one of the highlights of the year so far.
CT Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5
DIRECTOR: Taika Waititi
CAST: Sam Neill, Julian Dennison, Rima Te Wiata, Rhys Darby
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David Deignan | Film & TV Editor
