Peter Pluymers I really wonder where the comedy part actually was in this movie, as stated in the genre section by IMDb. I rather felt sorry for some of the leading playing figures. I think that P.K. and Skinner would be very interesting study objects for aspiring child psychologists, and eventually could use some proper psychological assistance.On second thought I ended up watching 90 minutes at a cinematic display of a game played in the woods like scouts members still play. But in this case performed by a group of youngsters with a lot of dangerous imagination. It reminded me sometimes of "The Goonies", but without the pirate ship and without Chunk.At times the acting was very annoying and amateurish. All the characteristics of a low budget film were there : the same location all the time, endlessly running back and forth in some local woods, no expensive action scenes or props. Personally, I thought P.K. wasn't exactly a textbook example of a leader. He'dd rather gather in the group of most bullied boys at school.The concept is original. It shows how children experience the adult traits like hatred, jealousy, love, loyalty and friendship. In reality this could also lead to similar incidents, unfortunately. Only the effect is weak and makes this film a slow, boring and totally not emotionally touching film.More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

Richard von Lust This film is surprisingly good. Very low budget with few sets or special effects and literally no adult actors, I Declare War nonetheless scores extremely high on the thought provoking barometer. It forces us to examine the real nature of friendship and perhaps to realize that true friendship is sadly extremely rare.A group of about a dozen boys play out a war game in the local woods. There are strict rules of engagement and death is established through a direct hit with small balloon filled with red dye. No one is meant to get hurt but, as with all wars, rules are broken and the passion of the moment has its own momentum.But this is not just a plot about the corrupting effects of aggression and power over victims. A whole series of relationships exist amongst these boys. The leader of one side has a 'best friend' whom he protects above the safety of others whilst the opposing commander, a dreamy eyed beautiful youth, is befriended by a besotted girl who will stop at nothing to impress him. There are ex-friends who have become enemies, jilted friends who wish to regain their standing and just normal mates who hang out with each other under the guise of friendship.Each of these relationships is put to the real test and each is exposed for what it really is. In the end there is only one true friendship amongst them all and the stark reality of our own lives is chillingly revealed. This is not a film about war but actually about love. It is well worth seeing for all age groups.

ericnottelling If anyone compares this to stand by me I'd really like to know what they see as the comparison other than it has kids and one of them wears a red shirt that looks like the kid from stand by me shirt. The kids remind me more of south park characters with their style of foul mouth and mean demeanor. Yes there was swearing in stand by me, but it had actual context of bonding and horsing around. You had a sense the kids liked each other. This movie not so much. It's more of a south park effect. It lacks real character connection and any sort of philosophical point. In some sense I think they may have been better off running with more imagination of the war thing, almost like a pans labyrinth, than what they did. The characters were very cliché and over the top. I don't blame the actors for it, I think the kids did a great job, more the script they were handed. It makes the movie hard to watch at points, because the script writing just doesn't hold much reality to how kids really act, which I think was a real strength in stand by me. I wouldn't watch this with smaller kids. But if you are bored and got nothing else to do it's OK.

Coventry Like many fellow viewers at the Brussels International Festival of Fantastic Films that afternoon, I didn't have any clear idea on what to expect of "I Declare War". It plays at this prominent and reputedly brilliant genre festival, so it must contain some sort of significant cult value, that's for sure. But what exactly to prepare for, I didn't know… Drama and valuable coming of age life lessons like in "Stand By Me"? Adventure and thrills like in "Lord of the Flies"? Or maybe something entirely unique and innovative like "War of the Buttons", or something extreme and shocking like "Battle Royale"? It became somewhat of a mixture of everything, in fact, and yet at the same time something totally new and original. Although I certainly can't state that "I Declare War" is one of the greatest and most eye-opening films ever made, I'm nevertheless very glad that I watched it and wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to a wide variety of film fanatics. It's an atmospheric and occasionally very suspenseful motion picture with sublime performances from the youthful ensemble cast (not a single adult in the film) and a well-scripted scenario that thankfully doesn't get overly moralizing or metaphoric near the finale. It's summer vacation and the neighborhood boys gather every afternoon in the woods to play war. The rules are quite simple: two camps and two generals instructing their teams to capture the opponent's flag through smart tactics and ingenious war strategies. The soldiers use wooden sticks and water balloons, but through their vivid and wildly imaginative eyes we see rifles, machine guns, bazookas and grenades. Today also promises to become a special day for the troops, as there will be mutiny within the platoons, female soldiers joining for the very first time and ordeals that will genuinely put the soldiers' friendships to the test. "I Declare War" is reasonably fast-paced and benefices from terrific filming locations as well as from steady direction and – as mentioned already – stellar performances. The sound, visual and make-up effects definitely aren't childish, but neither are they provocative or graphic. In other words, this isn't just intended for physically grown-up people, but also for emotionally mature audiences … largely accomplished by kids! What I appreciated most of all was that, at all times, the children remain in fact children. Their reasoning, motivations and interactions are exactly like any child of whatever origin or culture would react. That sounds logic, but it really isn't as the movie will make clear, and that's why it's such an impressive and highly recommended effort.