An absolute waste of money

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

We all know when humans try to manage ecosystems it all goes bad, Yellowstone was the perfect example. The film starts well, but fails to say why 1 man is set adrift in the wilderness or which organisation is to blame for such incompetence. At the end it just gets silly and pointless. True hunter / gatherers, fishermen and farmers do not cause adverse deprecation of wildlife, it's their livelihood to maintain those stocks. The hunter dog and cat breeds are even more inclined to avoid the large hunt, it's usually desperation of survival demands. Buffalo, Caribou, Deer along with Lions, Tigers, Elephants are the victims of sad city dwellers who think killing them from a safe distance makes them a big hunter. A certain US dentist comes to mind, but he killed the one that angered the host nation, that actually allows many more.

About a man who goes to the Arctic wilderness to study wolves, "Never Cry Wolf" displays fine cinematography amid some spectacular scenery of the North Country. And the native wildlife, wolves and caribou mostly, present themselves with majestic dignity.But the script gives us a main character, Tyler (Charles Martin Smith), who is not the least bit convincing. Anyone sent on a serious Arctic mission would be more in-the-know than Tyler. His wilderness innocence seems contrived to add flavor and lighthearted adventure solely to entertain viewers.Similarly, the voice-over (VO) narration is annoying. It's been inserted presumably to give a sense of dialogue that film viewers expect, given that for much of the plot Tyler is alone. The VO communicates what Tyler is thinking, but that only amplifies his ignorance, which diminishes the credibility of the story.If I had been in charge of casting, I surely would have selected someone other than Smith to play Tyler. Smith tries hard. But he is about twenty years too young to be taken seriously as a scientist.And given the absence of civilization, why are we listening to background music? However light and airy it may be, it's totally out of place in a wilderness setting. All it does is manipulate viewer response as the plot moves along. The most potent scenes are those that maintain silence and stillness."Never Cry Wolf" conveys a simple, straightforward story, lightly humorous in tone, suitable for kids. There's nothing complex or opaque here, which is okay given the film's genre. Yet, I could have wished for a script with a more daring, and less conventional, story, a script and accompanying production aimed at adults, not children.Despite a slightly dumbed-down story, this Disney film is worth watching once, for the spectacular scenery. And the visuals alone make a good case for the preservation of wilderness and the protection of endangered wildlife.

The puppies were cute, but this film retained none of the magic present in the book. This movie took forever to get going, and then it never climaxed. It seemed that some of the events and names were frivolously altered. If you see this movie before reading the book, don't let it deter you from getting into the novel. I was bored the entire time. If you see this movie, make sure you have something else to do while it's playing. If and when you feel like shooting yourself in the face while suffering through this film, just remind yourself that it will be over eventually. Maybe it was just not my cup of tea, but I wouldn't wish this movie on my worst enemy.

This is a great film. It succeeds on every level and really needs to apologize for nothing. The casting is exquisite - Charles Martin Smith is simply perfect as the somewhat overwhelmed academic who finds himself smack in the middle of his most anticipated/feared situation. Brian Dennehy is terrific as Rosie. "How do you beat boredom, Tyler? ... Adventure!". That may be one of my all-time favorite movie quotes. Many of us wish we had the nerve to accept this type of challenge and the self-awareness it will reveal. I have experienced the horror of finding myself lost, miles from any vestige of civilization, and the reaction of Tyler is spot on. Unlesss you've been there, you really can't get it. This film captures the experience of a man virtually alone in the wild as few have.