The Edge (1997)

Truly Dreadful Film

People are voting emotionally.

An action-packed slog

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Some reviews refer to this movie as "Jaws With Claws". Perhaps, but the breath taking cinematography and numerous sub plots make this a way better movie. The negative and mediocre reviews (I believe) are the result of armchair survivalists and those that are so saturated with city folk movies that they are practically in culture shock when watching something like this.I've watched this movie numerous times, and from my perspective, everything is perfect. Introduction - Rising Action - Initial Incident - More Rising Action - Unfolding Sub Plots - 2 Separate Climaxes - Falling Action - Resolution. None of that annoying artistic, trying to be different garbage. Very nicely done.Music score, directing, and acting are all top notch as well...doesn't get much better than Hopkins and Baldwin. And especially Bart The Bear (RIP). I've watched several documentaries of Bart and his owner Doug Seus. Bart knew when the camera's were rolling and when to turn on the juice in acting ferocious. Nothing scarier than a 1000 pound Kodiak bear stalking you through the woods (wanting to eat you).No spoilers, highly recommended, one of my all time favorite movies.

Came across this on Netflix having never heard of it, but this film really deserves a look. There's a lot of philosophy and thought given to the dialogue. You can tell the writers are digging deep and borrowing from the greats. Even if you have heard the life quotes before, there is something very refreshing in hearing them in place in a story. Anthony Hopkins character is unfortunately far too good to be true, but the final scene with Baldwin has had me thinking about forgiveness a lot. Very much a male self help film, and that's no bad thing.

Sometimes one wonders if movies are mad only because some producer is able to gather the cash to make it and just have this big dream of casting actors like Anthony Hopkins to some story in an unusual environment for this actor. The Edge is this kind of film, where a mediocre screenplay doesn't get any better at all despite putting Hopkins in the leading role, on the contrary. In this a very predictable story where all the miserable tricks are use to make it mostly embarrassing to watch. The bottom was hit when the only rainy sequence so obviously was shot in a studio with lightning flashes from a bunch of 5000 watts spotlights were supposed to do the trick, that the only thing missing were the really artificial sound effects going along. It is so typical B-movie and shows very much what little know how there was in the crew about weather in Alaska. About the cast - I wonder if Mr. Hopkins didn't wonder why and how the caster Donna Isaacson, together with the producer and director somehow couldn't find anyone better than Alec Baldwin to test his actor's skills against. If I were an actor of his caliber, I surely wood. Baldwin is totally lost in the wilderness, but seen from an artistic angle. Every single of my credits go to Hopkins for trying, L.Q. Jones for making the start a bit thrilling, Harold Pirreneau simply for being the black guy dying early in the story, and above everyone else, best actor Bart the Bear. Worth mentioning is also the late Gordon Tootoosis, who doesn't say anything, but still makes the movie better. Yes. it's a digression, but why wasn't Tootoosis casted for the role as Geronimo, in stead of Wes Studi? The rest of the movie is stuffed with logical errors, unlikely events and bad points. On top of that the music seems like something stolen from a test score to another Indiana Jones film, but found too bombastic even for that. All in all, if this was meant to be realistic, dramatic and exciting, the one's behind the screenplay, together with the producer and director would have been much better off making a documentary about themselves really being lost in the wilderness. It could have been exciting.

I read where Hopkins caught life-threatening pneumonia while filming this in Canada and in reality, THAT's what will kill you out in the wilderness -- running around in just a tweed jacket in the remote Canadian wilderness without even an axe and a few books of matches. Alas, back to Hollywood 'reality'. I'm pretty sure if a bear was chasing you across a log that was straddling a stream, it would not grab one end of it and start trying to shake you off it a-la a Bugs Bunny cartoon. I'm reviewing this as I watch it and I see the bear is back again, this time to kill the black man. So this 'bear' is going to be a recurring character in the film, a stalking bear that's decided to go after two city slickers. Boy, they sure crashed that plane in a bad spot! What are the odds? Anyhow, now Baldwin and Hopkins just caught a little chubby grey squirrel, the same kind you see in the burbs. I wonder if the film crew had to bring it with them or they just grabbed him off the sidewalk and gave him a few peanuts for the shot. Oh oh, now Hopkins was just trying to do a little fishing and guess what 800 pound buddy just snuck up on him through all that brush without making even a single sound? Yep, Mr. Bear! RUN Mr. HOPKINS, RUN!! Fast forward -- they just managed to kill the bear and it's a good thing 'cause as soon as they stripped the fur off it and somehow made a couple of nice fur coats for themselves, the weather went from 'tweed jacket' weather to snow-covered sub-zero fur-coat weather within about 1 day! ... How'd THAT happen? Winter sure must come fast in the Canadian far north. LOL!Now they just reached a hunting cabin where there's some smokes, booze and a gun so Baldwin can finally get drunk, take Hopkins outside and threaten to kill him with the gun only to step backwards into a big deep pit with sharpened sticks in the bottom! OH NO! VERY bad luck AGAIN!! These two sure have a thing about good and bad timing! So Hopkins has saved Baldwin now and even though Baldwin tried to kill him, he's going to forgive him and bring him back to civilization via canoe, but that's the 'character' of the 1%, even if you try and kill them and fail, they'll turn around and save your life because deep down, they're such GOOD PEOPLE! LOL! But maybe it's more like without the 99% endlessly consuming, the 1% can't profit and thrive.Well a helicopter just showed up and Hopkins waved it down but unfortunately, just as it was landing, Baldwin died. Yep, there's that bad timing thing again. He managed to hang on all those days in the woods but the very MINUTE that help shows up, he simply ups and dies.Oh, and on the final quote from Hopkins as he arrives back to civilization. Hopkins: Why is the rabbit unafraid? Styles: 'Cause he's smarter than the panther. Translation: Why is the 1% unafraid?Cause they're smarter than the 99%