Shapeshifter (1999)

An interesting plot just not well carried out.It was capable of keeping my attention for it's length but just barely. The commercials were a welcomed break!Talk about bad acting!I've seen bad acting but this was worse!!!

I usually enjoy "discovering latent powers" stories, so I'd expected an enjoyable story, but was frequently jerked out of my "suspension of disbelief" & "immersion in the story" by non-acting, lack of "likeableness" & character development, and unbelievable events.The main character's (Alex) line delivery was like an ordinary teen's, not an actor's. His mother acted, but not his father. The "love interest" girl (Anika) was indeed cute & ingenuous, but worthy of more involvement & development. The Cyberwitch's acting was high-energy & fun to receive; her over-confidence, however, was embarrassing & unlikely in such a successful 'bad girl'. The 'bad guy' was OK, and had the best line in the movie (to her). The mentor's acting was satisfying, but his dialogue with Alex was sometimes disjointed, partly due to uninspired writing and partly Alex's non-acting. I did enjoy the old artifacts that he used; that part "resonated" with me.The first half of the movie is spent, boringly, getting to the good/magical part (which needed & deserved more time).THE FOLLOWING PARAGRAPH COULD BE CONSIDERED A 'SPOILER', though vague.Alex's abilities were unbelievable, because he just gets its right, first time, every time; no learning curve, no stuttering, little doubt; it's just too sudden & too easy to be involving. I never really believed that he was in serious trouble, which erased the suspense. He should've had some serious failures & setbacks; his adversary should've been tougher for him.

Good family fun! My 10-year-old son and I enjoyed the great special effects, the twisting plot and the exotic locations.We definitely thought Shapeshifter was several cuts above the typical family fare.

The mix of magic and technology was not handled nearly as well as I anticipated. The ability of the main character to shapeshift into any creature just by seeing a picture of it.Later in the movie the title character was able to 'dissolve' into data and go fight a 'cyberwitch'. This ability was never completely explained as to how this is possible.For pre-teens, these are probably minor points that many would not catch.