I did like this movie, but...it was better the first time I watched it. The reasons I gave it 8 out of 10 stars the first time I watched this movie, was the scenery first, and the story second. I was in the mood for beautiful scenery since I had just been gifted a 39" TV. The movie and the review holds up for this, the second time viewing.
What loses out the second time around is the story-line/plot. I just don't understand why someone would take a city raised teenager, who has no experience with guns, hunting, or the great outdoors, into extremely remote and harsh wilderness, to hunt big game on their first hunting trip. This fourteen-year-old is ill-prepared for this venture, even if he was eager for the experience, which he, initially, is not. He has no lessons in gun use or safety, and the brief, can we even call them instructions, he is given by his father, in no way prepare him to be in a dangerous and life-threatening situation of any kind. Add to that, the fact that he has no experience in suburban woods, much less the remote, if starkly beautiful terrain he is taken to. Terrain he is experiencing for the first time, at the start of winter no less.
In addition, their relationship is estranged and strained to the point of non-existence at the start of the journey, so he is unlikely to even be really listening to anything his father is telling him, after being ticked-off at having to leave his smartphone behind. He is not told how dangerous the animals they may encounter may be. In fact, there is a point in the movie, where he shows that his father hasn't even told him what type of animals they might encounter, beyond the moose they are hunting, much less what types of behaviors to expect. The father had a great relationship with his father, and enjoyed fishing and hunting with him. It does seem from the little detail given, that his father taught him well. So, why he thought that he could just up and dump his son into this situation, with only anecdotes of the past, grumbling about his son's upbringing with his ex-wife, and some brief gun use instruction, is beyond me.
Watch it for the scenery, but if you have any experience in the great outdoors, try to suspend your need for a realistic plot.
What loses out the second time around is the story-line/plot. I just don't understand why someone would take a city raised teenager, who has no experience with guns, hunting, or the great outdoors, into extremely remote and harsh wilderness, to hunt big game on their first hunting trip. This fourteen-year-old is ill-prepared for this venture, even if he was eager for the experience, which he, initially, is not. He has no lessons in gun use or safety, and the brief, can we even call them instructions, he is given by his father, in no way prepare him to be in a dangerous and life-threatening situation of any kind. Add to that, the fact that he has no experience in suburban woods, much less the remote, if starkly beautiful terrain he is taken to. Terrain he is experiencing for the first time, at the start of winter no less.
In addition, their relationship is estranged and strained to the point of non-existence at the start of the journey, so he is unlikely to even be really listening to anything his father is telling him, after being ticked-off at having to leave his smartphone behind. He is not told how dangerous the animals they may encounter may be. In fact, there is a point in the movie, where he shows that his father hasn't even told him what type of animals they might encounter, beyond the moose they are hunting, much less what types of behaviors to expect. The father had a great relationship with his father, and enjoyed fishing and hunting with him. It does seem from the little detail given, that his father taught him well. So, why he thought that he could just up and dump his son into this situation, with only anecdotes of the past, grumbling about his son's upbringing with his ex-wife, and some brief gun use instruction, is beyond me.
Watch it for the scenery, but if you have any experience in the great outdoors, try to suspend your need for a realistic plot.