Adapted from Arthur Ransom's 1930 novel, this pre-WWII adventure sees four kids come up against Russian spies during their holiday in the Lake District. Allowed by mum Kelly McDonald to spend a night on an island in the middle of a lake, the four Walker children – ages ranging from six to twelve – brave bad weather and a loss of their food hamper. But all that's put aside when they suspect Rafe Spall's Captain Flint up being up to no good on his houseboat moored nearby. Plus the spooky Andrew Scott is moving about the woods asking awkward questions and there's the small matter of The Amazons, a rival kid gang who claim the island for themselves…
It's obvious from the outset that this is a film that has been made with loving care. But then it has to be, seeing as the age group this oldschool family adventure is pitched at is up against CGI and capes and spaceships. Director Lowthorpe, working from Andrea Gibb's screenplay, taps into those youthful days of adventure when there's genuine concern that the men working late in the quarry are up to no good and must be investigated. This is the kind of film that revels in a love for boating and the technique and skill of manoeuvring a rowboat in tight spaces. It's what the Brexit Leave campaign dream about: A world of Boy's Own adventure, of dogged English spirit, of pocket knives, street bunting, short pants, tinned spam and sidecars.
The cast are up for it. Enfield, McDonald and Jessica Hynes are sidelined on the mainland but Andrew Scott seems to be enjoying himself, bringing that dangerous Moriarty smile to his spy – he's no bungling villain. Spall meanwhile treats things very seriously indeed and both help to infuse the nicey-nice narrative with some gravitas.
The Swallows versus Amazons running battle might be fun but remain a distraction, forcing the story to go off in tangents when it should be cranking up; with Russian spies skulking about, that the gang have to defend their territory against children pirates diminishes the Real Enemy threat. It drops the ball too in deciding not to maroon the kids on the island, which would have instilled more danger, allowing them instead to flit back and forth to the mainland at will.
But it remains a children's movie your grandparents would love, an Enid Blyton The Smugglers Of Pirate’s Cove type tale.