Story
A sorceress (Beth Champion) was once the dedicated guardian of the Tree of Life. To save her dying species, the sorceress joins forces with a group who want to ensure the safety of the Tree. Losing her people and her sanity, the sorceress becomes obsessed with gaining power from the Tree. To protect the Tree, the group casts out the sorceress, who then tries to find her way back to the Tree through portals and enchantments. The sorceress manipulates the lives of countless individuals to help her in her quest. Many lose their lives. And now a new guardian, a hideous beast, is sworn to protect the Tree.
Five misfit teenagers unwittingly become the sorceress’s latest instruments: Zoe (Lauren Esposito) has just moved back to Australia with her father after losing her mother to cancer; Kaylee (Deborah An) is an angry loner; the nerdy Owen (Leigh Joel Scott) loves all things academic; Javier (Nicholas Adrianakos) is into sports; and Caitlin (Gabi Sproule) is pretty and popular.
The teenagers are on a high school field trip to a museum where they somehow unlock the secrets of an ancient staff and find themselves transported into another world. Here they must unlock their powers and confront their darkest fears. They must also work together to save themselves from the beast, save the Tree from the sorceress, and ensure the future of humanity.
Themes
Death of a parent; magical powers; environmental regeneration; the triumph of good over evil
Violence
The Legend of the Five has some violence. For example:
- A monster grabs two young men who are running through the forest trying to get away. The men scream and it looks like they’re killed, because they’re never seen or heard from again.
- The sorceress blows an angry stream of red and black smoke out of her mouth in an attempt to destroy the force field protecting the Tree of Life.
- Little goblins repeatedly hit each other. One farts into a fire, which causes a small explosion.
- The beast is stabbed by the staff, which breaks off in his chest. Zoe helps him remove it and then collapses herself.
- The sorceress threatens to kill Zoe and the others if they don’t hand over the staff.
- The sorceress stabs and kills her brother with the staff while he’s trying to guard the Tree.
Sexual references
None noted.
Alcohol, drugs and other substances
None noted.
Nudity and sexual activity
None noted.
Product placement
None noted.
Coarse language
The Legend of the Five has some very mild coarse language, including occasional use of ‘Shut up!’
Ideas to discuss with your children
The Legend of the Five is an Australian fantasy movie, featuring some excellent make-up artistry and some basic special effects. It’s likely to appeal to older children and teenage audiences.
These are the main messages from this movie:
- You have to be strong enough to let things go.
- Things are never truly gone.
- All things are connected, including life and death.
Values in this movie that you could reinforce with your children include cooperation, helpfulness, compassion, courage, sacrifice and truthfulness.
This movie could also give you the chance to talk with your children about real-life issues and behaviour, like:
- manipulating the lives of others for your own personal gain
- keeping important information from those you should be sharing it with
- trusting people who might harm you.