What else can I say? This movie starts so-so, then goes and make some promises.... which it can't keep, because 33% of its running time is mired in sloppy screenwriting, blatantly visible in the childish antics that start pretty early in the movie, and in the one-dimensional supporting character of the native-american girl. Bad acting doesn't help either. The father/son duo do a good job for the most part (though in the end there is some over-the-top performance by the kid), but the rest of the cast is kinda wooden.
Still, it gets one thing straight in the end: the depiction of loss, and the renewal of hope.
Anyway, I don't think this was a total waste of time...and I do think there is hope for the director/screenwriter, if next time he can seriously spend some quality time brushing up his script.