Muskrat36 Not a great film by any means, but what a river! The river is the true star, and I suppose you have to put that down to good photography and camera work. At no point in the film did I doubt that the people were actually in the boat, on the river, and in danger. There are few surprises. Nothing in the film is unexpected. I won't go as far as to tell you whether the family escaped the villains, or what happened to them, so you will have to find out for yourself. Meryl Streep's performance is adequate, but not exceptional, and occasionally annoying. I found myself wanting Kevin Bacon's character to shoot her on more than one occasion. There is a little tension generated by the fact that the criminal is more manly than the wimpy, hard working husband and inattentive father, but that is soon cleared up, and the sides are clearly drawn. The father eventually shows himself to have an alternative identity as some kind of Indian Super-Brave, smoke signals and everything. I kid you not. Worth watching if you want to watch a family film along Disney lines.

namashi_1 Curtis Hanson's box office hit 'The River Wild' is well-shot and even gripping in parts, but what really stands tall in this thriller and balances the film even when it dips, are the performances by it's talented star-cast. The story involves a family on a whitewater rafting trip, who encounter two violent criminals in the wilderness. 'The River Wild', which has been written by Denis O'Neill, offers some gripping moments, that truly manage to hold your attention. The characters, are nicely presented and executed. But, I would like to point out, that, the writing in the latter hour tends to drag a bit. The film surely could've been shorter by at least 10-15 minutes. And I believe if it had been trimmed, it's impact would have only enhanced. Curtis Hanson's direction, like always, is efficient. Cinematography is Striking. Editing is fair. Performance-Wise: Meryl Streep is superb, as expected. She carries the film on her shoulders and delivers with ease in each and every scene. Kevin Bacon makes a really interesting bad guy, and proves his potential as an actor. David Strathaim is first-rate. John C. Reilly is good. Joseph Mazzello supports well. On the whole, A decent one-time watch, that offers strong performances to sail it safe.

janina-rezna I don't like films that make idiot of you - spectator, and this is one of that sort. The story is fine, the plot is dramatical, but all the other things are unbelievable - lot of luck for the family, lots of coincidences, and insoluble situations. What I mean:1, i don't know anything about guns but is it possible that a revolver squelched 15 times (at least:) is still able to shoot??2, how can a wounded man climb a mountain, then fall down from it, swim across quite wild river, run through thick forest to follow a pretty quick raft - all this without disinfectant and food and in his sopping clothes.. - and finally build a sophisticated trap! Well, great performance - but the man in the film was not Chuck Norris :-D3, was the ranger blind? he managed to find a small camera somewhere in mud and driftwood, but he didn't notice a cut-up raft.4, smoke signals must have been pretty secret! Seen only by mother and her child, not by villains.And so on.. Btw, in my opinion a 12-year-old child would end up with psychical trauma and nightmares after seeing a few murders in the flesh.Just one plus for the film: I don't know if it was camera, dramaturgy or good acting - from the very beginning I knew that there was something wrong with Wade, that he was bad. I didn't know anything about the film but I felt it'd be thriller :) The character was well performed i think. However, the film was another US junk.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU A beautiful film about the Colorado River. The hero is the river and the nature it crosses, the gorges and the rapids and the falls. And you will go down the river in a light boat. Beautiful indeed. Then the film sets a plot on that river of a nice vacationing family held hostage by the surviving thieves of a cattle auction robbery who try to escape the police after the robbery by using the river and the expertise of the mother of this family. This adds some family tension with a father who is working too hard as an architect and neglecting, in a way, his family, and yet he will save his wife and his son from the grip of the thieves after having escaped them before. Courage, for sure, tenacity definitely. And the beauty of this river all over and always. This plot is multiplying the beauty of the river just as if it took a lot of courage for the river itself to go down this valley and its gorges.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU, University Paris Dauphine, University Paris 1 Pantheon Sorbonne & University Versailles Saint Quentin en Yvelines