Powerful

Admirable film.

It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A female expert on white water rafting takes her family on a rafting trip in the remote wilderness . The dream trip soon become's a nightmare as they run in to a couple of armed and desperate men .Is the above the premise for DANGEROUS WATERS . Yes it is and coincidentally it's also the exact same premise for THE RIVER WILD as we're introduced to a wholesome all American family that only exist within these type of TVMs . How wholesome are they ? Well Mom chastises teenage daughter for smoking and daughter tries to excuse herself on the grounds that the lighter she uses is a keep sake for her late father . You see Mom is in fact a widow and the smiling happy go lucky dude is her partner rather than husband . She's opposed to smoking but not sex outside of marriage so I take it she's votes Democrat rather than Republican It's important that her partner isn't someone she's known for many years because mindful how much the premise resembles THE RIVER WILD the story takes a different turn halfway through the running time . I have to confess that I'd had this down as a 100 per cent clone of the earlier film starring Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon so the producers of this TVM deserve some credit for making the teleplay go its own way . The problem is that is that it's too incredible to work even though it's a nice try

Just not very good. Despite beautiful river scenes and striking nature settings, the acting is stiff and unnatural. Even suspending belief for the purpose of dramatic effect, there's not enough substance (plot wise) to make it happen. Fortunately, it was a rerun on the local cable channel so I wasn't out the price of admission. What would have improved the show was different casting, a better script, and a more believable premise. Without giving away anything about the movie, (now very old since it was released in 1999), suffice it to say that the themes and movements of plot were frequently illogical, unbelievable, and untidy. Corny is not too strong a word on this one...

I just got done watching this film on the ABC Family Channel and wanted to set down my observations on it while they are still fresh in my mind. Yes, I agree this film closely resembles The River Wild in it's plot. However, it is still good enough to stand on its on two feet. Connie Selleca is a wonderful actress who has never really been given the credit due her because she is more a product of television series and movies then theatrical releases. She gives a fine performance in this film and plays a real gutsy heroine just like the one that Meryl Streep did. This film is beautifully shot, I don't know where it was filmed at exactly, but its beautiful to look at. It reminded me of those Mutual of Omaha Wild Kingdom shows Marlin Perkins used to host. Also, the music is wonderful to listen to, it is expertly composed. The story moves along like a steamlined Greyhound bus, taut and suspenseful. The scriptwriters made Connie's character and her children really likeable. You really care about what happens to them when they are in danger and that is one of the basic rules when you are doing a thriller like this. You feel sorry for them because her husband had been killed in an accident. These characters are so lovable that you feel like screaming at the bad guys "IF YOU SO MUCH AS HARM ONE HAIR ON THEIR HEADS, I'LL KICK YOUR ASS". The ending of the film is a real nail chewer when the real villian is unmasked. SPOILER ALERT SPOILER ALERT, it is the man that she trusted all along. He is a first class scumbag and you hate his guts. You are cheering for them in the final scene when they are coming close to the rapids. I guess that in the end there is a little bit of what you would call poetic justice. Connie goes down into that cave and finds his money bag and in the end when he tries to climb on the raft as they are going so close to those rapids, she throws it into the water and says "You want your money, go get it". He tries to get it and drowns as a result. His own selfish greed kills him. Its almost like Biblical justice. The two kid actors that play her children also do a good job as well. There is a difference between kids who act cute and who are cute as they are. You really care about them and you feel good at the ending when they are all safe and Connie says that the next time she dates a man, she will date someone boring and ask for at least three forms of identification. I suspected that this guy was involved from the beginning so there wasn't a lot of suspense, but this is still a good film.

Dangerous Waters delivered a good solid thriller.Connie Sellecca and Matt MCcoy stars and they were both very good. The film also had great locations on land and on water, the beautiful locations really heightened the entertainment value. Fine background music was another positive element.All round the film gave me what I expect from a good thriller.