Eight Below Review

"Eight Below" reviews

Movie

Eight Below

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-03-22 23:50:21

Rating

3/5

Provider

CinemaSource

Review

Hey, all you dog lovers out there, have we got a movie for you! Eight Below--a Kleenex-producing tale of survival and friendship--may just make you grab your favorite pooch and promise you'll never leave him/her stranded in the frozen wastelands.

Story

While Antarctica may look like a bundle of fun, it really isn't--but it IS teeming with important geological discoveries. Or so they say. Our story, inspired on real events, begins when geologist Davis (Bruce Greenwood) arrives at one of the field bases, ready to find the next greatest rock. He meets survival guide Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker), wisecrack cartographer Cooper (Jason Biggs) and beautiful bush pilot Katie (Moon Bloodgood), as well as Shepard's team of eight skilled sled dogs. When the expedition goes awry, however, Jerry and Davis narrowly escape with their lives, thanks to the steadfast determination of the dogs. Now, because of their injuries and an encroaching storm, the group must evacuate and leave the beloved dogs behind--with little hope of returning to retrieve them. Stranded, the intelligent, courageous dogs fight to make it through the most unforgiving winter on the planet, while the heartbroken Jerry is driven to mount a seemingly impossible rescue mission.

Acting

Say what you will about the rather vapid Walker's so-called acting skills, the outdoorsy fellow still knows how to pick projects best suited for himself. Last summer, he went deep sea diving in the Bahamas with the beautiful Jessica Alba in Into the Blue and didn't really have to do much but look buff and bronzed. Now, in Eight Below, he trudges through ice and snow with a pack of beautiful Huskies looking wind-burned and sad. Not sure where the trade off is, but Walker manages to effectively convey a guy dedicated to rescuing his best friends. You root for him all the way. Greenwood also does a nice turn as the geologist . He seems to be, at first, just another egghead who only cares about finding his meteor rock, at any cost. But after the dogs save his life and he sees how tortured Jerry is over leaving them (because it's basically his fault they are having to rush out), Davis grows a heart. American Pie's Biggs is mostly around to provide the laughs.

Direction

Talk about a bitch of a film shoot. Sub-freezing temperatures, scads of ice fields, dogs--director Frank Marshall must be crazy! Best known as Steven Spielberg's longtime producing partner for Amblin Entertainment, Marshall has only had a few directing gigs, one of them being the tense cannibal/survivalist film Alive!. It's obvious he knows about being cold. For Eight Below, however, they didn't actually film in Antarctica because, well, they would have froze to death, opting instead for the ice capped mountains in British Columbia, as well as some breathtaking shots of glaciers in Greenland. You really can't tell the difference (like we would know). And as far as the dogs are concerned, Marshall and his crew couldn't have found more gorgeous, well-trained animals. Apparently, since 1993, sled dogs have been banned in Antarctica to protect the continent's seals from exposure to the disease known as distemper. But when they were used, they were an integral part of any expedition. You can just see the intelligence in these dogs' eyes and watching them work together to survive is as thrilling as it is heartbreaking. Marshall may be crazy, but he knows what he's doing.

Bottom Line

Hollywood.com rated this film three stars.

Copyright © CinemaSource 2006.

Movie

EIGHT BELOW

Author

anonymous

Date reviewed

2006-04-14 15:33:15

Provider

MRIB

Review

Okay, so the movie may be Disney and released during the Easter, family film, season but there's more than what initially meets the eye here. Although it's lovingly packaged with the promise of some cute pooches and a story so warm it will thaw out the lingering winter remains, this isn't quite the fluffy story it makes itself out to be. In fact, at times, it's quite harrowing.

Eight Below tells the story of a dogsled team left outside of a research station in sub zero Antarctica after the mother of all winter storms forces their handlers to immediately evacuate. Loyal survival guide and dog lover Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker), is devastated at the prospect of having to leave his team of skilled sled dogs. Upon his return to America he determinedly finds a way of rescuing his canine friends and enlists a little help from his ex girlfriend Katie (Moon Bloodgood) and his buddy Charlie (Jason Biggs at his goofy best).

Meanwhile, back in winter wonderland hell, the dogs are stranded with a feeling maybe they weren't really man's best friend after all. Undeterred, and led by pack leader Maya, the sad and stranded dogs are forced to brave the bleak elements on their own. The subtitles inform the audience just how long they have been left to fend for themselves, and 50 days quickly turns to 155. Will they all survive the winter and make it through to spring?

Despite the great performances by the human cast, the whole film works by focussing on the dogs. Based on actual events but inspired by a Japanese blockbuster, this version might have been dragged through an American mangle but director Marshall has delivered a story of survival that is as thrilling as it is tear-jerking.

Copyright © MRIB 2006.