Against the Wild (2013 TV Movie) User Reviews

not bad but not that good either

[matskiuk · 4/10 · 13 May 2014]

kids might like it, its an OK waste of an hour and so on acting not that good, from the lead actress, script could of been better, for example, when the see plane lands, they young lad says "i think the plane is here", really? when the plane crashes, )i wont say that as a spoiler as it so obvious that's how it all starts off), the kids are hardly scratched, the young lass asks her brother, have you got your phone?, he gets it out of his pocket, "broken he says", wow weak phone!

but the most laughable part is just before the plane crashes, the person in charge of doing the background window shots (obviously not in a real flying plane), just watch the direction of the trees, each shot of the kids the outside view looks like they are flying sideways sometimes right sometimes left, and one of the last shots, from the lads view is the plane is appearing to be going backwards!!

i would say this as a Sunday afternoon family film where kids might get bored whilst the parents doze on the sofa.

Could Have Been Rated G

[byson5186 · 6/10 · 4 August 2014]

I saw this film on demand. It was an OK film, I'd agree that it wasn't bad, but not that good either and a film maybe worth seeing once, especially if you're going camping or going out in the middle of nowhere, because this film will make you feel like you're in those areas. The film is somewhat enjoyable, but it won't be your favorite movie and it is definitely an appropriate family film you could watch. It could have and should have been rated G as there was nothing really PG about this film except maybe blood in the plane crash. It didn't have any curse words in the movie, and despite the kids being out two days in the middle of nowhere, there is not one mention of them having to pee in the woods which we frequently think about if we're camping or in the middle of nowhere. The kids also appeared pretty clean in 2 days in the same clothes. Their hair was always straight and they weren't that dirty, when anybody who's been camping knows how dirty you get. There also wasn't much action, the action scenes they have weren't that big or long. Also, there could have and should have been a better conclusion because the conclusion seemed all of a sudden with little explanation. However, this movie was somewhat enjoyable, again getting a setting in the wilderness. The kids in the movie were likable characters. The characters Zach and Hannah are brother and sister and they get along for the most part and are especially protective of each other in the wilderness. It seems like it's Hannah that picks more of the fight than Zach when they argue. Zach seems more laid back and his scout techniques put him to good use. So, yeah you could watch this movie if you want an easy family friendly adventure film.

Why?

[alassnsane · 1/10 · 18 September 2015]

I agree with everything PrarieCal had to say. What a colossal waste of time and effort. Never before have I witnessed a movie more heavily weighted down with clichés. However, I will, generously mind you, award it one star for the scenery.

As horrible as this movie is my biggest gripe doesn't even stem from how bad of a film it is, it stems from how bad the information about the wilderness and wilderness survival is. If indeed the boy truly was a former Cub Scout he should be stripped of any related badges because he did Nothing right that had to do with the most rudimentary of survival skills.

There was just so much wrong with this movie...but I will limit myself to three examples which ought to give you a pretty good idea of the degree of thought that went into this flick...

1. My favorite moment of the film....the parents are waiting at search and rescue's command central for any word of their kids who have been missing in the wilderness for days...the father bursts into the mothers tent and spouts "Great news hunny!!!" with a massive smile on his face...."Charlie is going to be okay!"...Charlie being the pilot who had crashed the plane stranding the children but who was no longer with them and, weirdly, who had already been found and who they already pretty much knew was going to be okay. Any normal mother would have first punched him in the nose then burst into tears.

2. The kids have matches. Having seen the search and rescue helicopters they know people are looking for them and despite being surrounded by woods and supposedly possessing the training to know how to gut a fish and create a travois never think to light a single signal fire....okay.

3. My third example is possibly the only reason I would recommend anyone check out a moment of this film because you will be treated to, yet another clichéd moment, that features the most obese raccoon I've ever seen, quite possibly weighing 4x what a wild raccoon could ever hope to attain...sadly, I am serious, the poor critter could barely move, same goes for the prerequisite grizzly....But, simply put and to be brutally honest? There is no reason good enough for anyone to watch this movie, not even a 3 year old.

Better Family Movies Out There

[scottkissinger · 2/10 · 25 January 2015]

This is a low-budget film, supposedly $2M Canadian, but I'm not sure where they spent the money. Writing is not good, cinematography is not good, editing is horrible, acting is bad. If you watch it with your 6-9 year old, then it's probably okay. Older kids than this will laugh at the movie (adults will too). This particular director and writer specializes in these family films with pet dogs. Good clean family movie though. But, I'd say spend your money elsewhere. Dialogue is very abrupt and awkward in many parts. The film has a decent beginning and middle, but ending happens very suddenly and is very contrived. If your kids like animals, then they will probably like this film - aside from the dog, there is a bear, raccoon, wolves and salmon!

Dumb kids do dumb things

[TRRosen · 2/10 · 25 October 2015]

A very bad and very formulaic film. May entertain very small kids and adults in comas but that's about it. Very standard dad works to much, family is strained, kids feel abandoned, kids get in trouble, family fights, family comes together flick set in the wilderness. To avoid spoilers ( not that there are any surprises in this film ) I'll just say that the kids seem to do everything wrong in this movie while the adults take incredibly unrealistic actions. Adding to this are the standard convenient plot complications; phone doesn't work, sprained ankle, etc. Acting is standard made for TV quality with fairly poor cinematography. The efforts to hide the unrealistic portions of the plot are more obvious then the plot defects they are covering. Avoid unless treating insomnia.

Against the wild

[startrekfan72 · 1/10 · 24 January 2015]

Very predictable in every way the plot was a dead give away. The cinematography was lacking in every way. the way they used the radio was lacking in radio procedure IE the lack of call sign or unit number. also the seen where the bear was after them and all it took was one bite from the dog to scare that 200 pound bear way, totally UN believable. the dialog was very weak and had no depth to it the acting was sub par at best this movie is a good waste of time for an hour but that is all it is worth, I have never been so disappointed in a movie in my life this film earned a 0 out of ten Stars . a total looser and a waste of time I would say don,t waste your time with this film. leave it on the shelf and walk away.

Scenery was pretty, everything else, yikes!

[skaterinasch · 2/10 · 10 November 2018]

What an awful movie. The script is horrible, acting is worse. People's reactions are so far removed from reality. Awkward, pointless scenes throughout. Constant incongruencies. I was especially offended that for most of the movie they made the girl appear dumb, then roles reversed and both kids were about equally dumb. My 2 y/o enjoyed it until even he gave up. My 10 & 12 laughed at the stupidity though they were reacting more to the adults criticism.

Great Movie!

[johnroberts-3 · 9/10 · 24 March 2021]

Really enjoyed by our family! Terrific acting from the cast and the animals were wonderful to watch. Incredible scenery!

Awful movie

[rasangab · 1/10 · 5 January 2018]

We watched this movie because it seemed ok from the trailer. We were hoping to see an interesting plot, some intense action and some survival skills in it. But we got nothing. A complete waste of time and money. The acting was so, so bad!!! I do not remember having seen such a stupid dialogue in another movie. Nothing believable, cliché over cliché... A good movie on a similar subject that we saw and liked is Far from Home: The Adventures of a Yellow Dog (1995)

Did they really drink the lake water????!!! Head shake....

[sheldonlinda · 4/10 · 24 March 2021]

Did they really leave the airplane? Did they really drink lake water? Oh yeah and fighting off wolves.

Family flicks are good bec. they are family flicks no matter how bad, but really folks.

Oh and the acting...

Kids don't drink lake water without boiling it first!!!!

Awful!

[thewildflowerstudio · 1/10 · 12 February 2021]

This movie is the worst. As a child movie I would have expected more realistic emergency situations. Through the entire movie I felt like I had to give my 7 year old a lecture on how unrealistic this situation was. Don't leave the plane! Why would make a movie that goes against normal survival instincts! Dumb!

Unbelievably cheesy

[latinfineart · 3/10 · 3 April 2021]

They have an expression in Mexico called super Velveeta. It means that it is pure Cheese. This just had nothing in the way of good writing, very mediocre acting and the script was just like a cheesecake. It was just really poorly done. Save your time, really I tried to enjoy this just for the hell of it but. But it was tough.