Director: Chris Sanders
Writer: Michael Green (Screenplay) Jack London (Novel)
Starring: Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee, Dan Stevens, Bradley Whitford, Jean Louisa Kelly, Karen Gillan
Plot: A sled dog struggles for survival in the wilds of the Yukon.
Runtime: 1 Hour 40 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review
Verdict: Brilliant Adventure
Story: The Call of the Wild starts as we meet Buck the St Bernard cross that always ends up getting himself into trouble in his home with his overly curious nature, which ends up leading him to get stolen to use on the Yukon, where the strong dogs are required to help with the labor in the gold hunt.
Buck ends up working on a postal team with Perrault (Sy) and Francoise (Gee) learning to adapt to the wild. Here after being traded Buck meets John Thornton (Ford) a man living in the wilderness to escape the pain in his life.
Thoughts on The Call of the Wild
Characters – Buck is the main character of this film, he is the St Bernard cross, that has a big heart, a playful nature, which often sees him getting into trouble, he gets taken away from his home in the South of America, thrown into Alaska to become a working dog, which he must learn, where he meets different humans, some are kind to him, others aren’t, his adventure is bigger than anyone could imagine. John Thornton is a broken man, he lost his son and wants to disappear into the wilderness in grieve away from the world, he lets Buck join him, having his own adventure while together. Perrault and Francoise are postal workers that use the dogs to sled around, they take Buck to be part of their team, until it becomes time for him to change.
Performances – Harrison Ford, Omar Sy, Cara Gee and Dan Stevens work well in the supporting roles, most of the best performances come from the person behind Buck along with the CGI team that make Buck entertaining to watch.
Story – The story here follows the journey of Buck a dog that never fit in and ended up getting taken to Alaska, where he gets to learn about the wild from different humans who are both kind and horrible to him. This is based on a book telling the adventures of Buck, it is his journey, what he went through and most important how he learnt about humans, which ones to trust and which ones not to, with his loyalty to them and other animals always guiding the way for the playful dog. We get to use the gold rush as a backdrop for the story, which highlights human greed too. The story does let the adventure of a lifetime for Buck shine through, with all the human characters just being chapters in his story.
Adventure – This is a wonderful adventure themed movie, it shows how even against all odds, a dog could make the best of the horrible positions’ humans put him in with his discovery being more than he could have imagined.
Settings – The film uses the settings to show the pure beauty of Alaska, it shows us just how wide open the area is and just how far you can escape the real world and get back to nature.
Scene of the Movie – Buck’s first home.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Buck’s boat trip.
Final Thoughts – This is a delightful adventure film that the whole family could enjoy, Buck is one of the most enjoyable characters you will see on screen this year.
Overall: Buck’s Pure Joy Will Make You Smile.
