A Cry in the Wild (1990)

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Mark Griffith's unique movie "A Cry in the Wild" is a movie adaptation of "Hatchet", a novel written by Gary Paulsen. The movie features Jared Rushton, acting as the 13-year old Brian Robeson, who is on a plane flight to visit his dad for his summer vacation. Unfortunately, the pilot suffers from a heart attack and the plane crashes into a lake. Only carrying his clothes and a hatchet, Brian has to learn how to survive in the sometimes mellow, otherwise harsh wilderness. The movie crew does a decent job trying to portray the same events that occurred in the book; however, not all of them are described as vividly as in "Hatchet". Jared Rushton does an exceptional job acting as Brian because he expresses the "main" emotions in a pretty detailed way. The scenery and props are fitting to each situation, so the setting of this movie is superb!Now to change my tone, and direct attention to the negatives. Jared Rushton is not behaving as Brian was in the book, for example his facial expressions are very mild and he doesn't cry at all or act as anyone would if they were in his state. I mean, wouldn't you be scared? Also, expressions such as wonder, disappointment, scared, etc. are basically not shown, so Jared R. could have expressed those more distinctly. There were lots of occasions in the movie that didn't exist in the book, for example the bear showed up several times in "Hatchet", as to replace many other wild animals, so someone should know the book before watching the movie. Brian Robeson had no exact memories of his parents before the divorce either, while in "A Cry in the Wild" he does. All in all, I would rate the movie "A cry in the Wild" 2 and a half stars out of 5, because the movie team didn't exactly mirror the novel "Hatchet". Jared Rushton could not invoke the same emotions he was feeling in me. Also, the movie has scenes that don't occur in the book, and the events also take place in a different order than in "Hatchet". There isn't much drama either, a characteristic you'd expect in most movies. To get a 5 out of 5 stars , Mark Griffith and his crew could have added more excitement in certain parts of the adaptation and made Jared Rushton act out some feelings more precisely. I would advise you to read the book before you see "A Cry in the Wild". Although not a must watch, this movie adaptation still is worth a look, so if you have time to kill, check it out.

Gary Paulsen's intriguing novel Hatchet finds itself on the big screen when Brian, played by Jared Rushton, crash lands int the Canadian back country. He needs survive and is eventually rescued by a plane after dealing with repetitive bear showdowns as well as constant crazy anger issues that Jared Rushton overly dramatizes. Mark Grifith, the director, really downplays this exiting novel by the events way too much.The movie is great when it comes to showing Brian's struggle with his parent's divorce, as well as the crash of the plane. Jared Rushton truly seems fearful in all the proper situations, but sometimes acted to dramatically. It is very action-packed and it is hard to know what Brian might have to face next, yet I feel as if I only enjoyed the movie because I had already read the book and knew what was going to happen.Mark Grifith didn't just hop over the rainbow though, meaning he messed up quite a few things. Some parts of the movie were really underwhelming such as the bear constantly showing up in place of the variety of other challenges and even starts becoming a main character. Then Mark Grifith tries to make everyone cry when Brian stabs the bear and blood unrealistically sprays everywhere, where after Brian discovers that the bear was trying to raise cubs and helps them out. Again not quite realistically. The movie also really downplays Brian's struggle to find food and to create fire, as well as to accept the crash. Everything in the movie happened much to abruptly and viewers who haven't read the book could never follow any of the events because they are completely out of order. The book's main idea is Brian's change where as the movie blows up unnecessary details that lead to confusion. Another very strange and unnecessary added detail to the movie s the ending when Brian suddenly slabs more hair jell onto his hair and accepts his mothers boyfriend. There are also some weird elderly people involved for reasons that are not clear at all.I think this movie deserves two out of five stars for it's lack of attention to the meaning of the book. What would have improved this movie is if everyone, in particular Jared Rushton and Mark Grifth, had sat down and thoroughly read the book instead of just scanning it for details.

I have read Hatchet and it's sequels multiple times now and this movie was very far off the book. In the book he was near a lake (not mountains and lake) so the mountains totally ticked me off. At one point there is a cut scene to a wolf howling (just totally random). The movie was made in 1990 and was mostly for teens, but a movie that should have closely resembled Cast Away resembled Homeward Bound more. They added many cheap scenes that took away from what the book had left the reader with. While this movie should have shown a boy forced to adapt (like the book), it more showed a boy out on a camping trip. Instead of leaving the viewer with a sense of appreciation for the wild (like the book), it left you feeling afraid to enter your own backyard. At the end of the movie, after all of the horrible wilderness things you've seen, it tries to close out with the whole "appreciation" factor, but it was like arguing one thing throughout only to change its point at the last second.I do believe that Hatchet was not justified in this movie and that a movie based on Hatchet (and Brain's Winter) should be made. Not only does the book put you in the head of a teenager (fighting teenager problems) he also deals with the secret of his mom's affair and his parents divorce. He adapts to the wild, only to find after every adaptation more hardship. It is in my mind the ultimate survival novel (for all ages) and was no where near given its dues by this movie.Therefore I didn't like the movie, because it felt as a disservice to the book, but others who didn't fully visualize the book or just want a feel good, without much thinking, it is an "alright" movie.

i think the book hatchet is great. it is my favorite book right now. have read hatchet a few times and now i understand finally what it means. i think hatchet was very well written and edited. i think Gary Paulson the author of the book has lots of knowledge. it also teaches us a lesson on how to live int he wilderness, just like what Brain did. Brian was visiting his dad in the Canadian oilfields when the pilot of the two seated plane that he is traveling in gets a minor heart attack and dies. Brian is forced to land the plane int he forest because soon the plane is going to be running out of fuel. when Brian crashes all he has left with him is a box of cookies,a bottle of water,two oranges and the hatchet his mother had given him. he learns how to live in the wilderness and faces many dangers like, animal attacks, hunger and even a tornado. he learns how to make fire without matches and catch fish without a fishing rot or a net. he is finally rescued and taken back to normal life, but Brian is thinking of going back to the wilderness as he is used to it.