The River Wild (1994)

Thanks for the memories!

Powerful

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

The River Wild is classed as an action movie but I would say that it has aspects of horror in it as well. I would not say that it is a pure horror movie, especially since people expect horror to have nasty creatures in it, but there are elements of it there. This movie is about a family who decide to take their son, Rouke, on a rafting holiday down a river. The wife (Meryl Streep) is an expert rafter and rower and she used to be a ranger in the park where they are rafting, but now she has moved to the city where she rows in much calmer waters. At the same time, three men are also rafting down the river, but their guide supposedly leaves after a fight and they must join up. The family soon begin to distrust the two men and it soon turns out they they are armed robbers and very violent ones at that. They want to go down river so that they might escape the police and live on the spoils of their heist.The horror of this movie comes out with the dominance that these men have over the family. They are in the stituation where they have absolutely no choice but to follow the orders of these men. Everything that they try to do fails because these men are both armed and physically stronger than the others. The husband is an architect who is on his first rafting adventure, and the wife, though she is quite fit physically, is incapable of fighting the men. Thus they must bow to these men's every demand or face the consequences.In true Hollywood fashion, they defeat the bad guys and none of the good guys die. The dog escapes and the husband, who flees in the night, narrowly misses being shot. In the end this movie is thin on theme and plot. The men are suspicious right from the start as they look rough and are very impatient. They begin friendly but behave in a way the is quite unfriendly. This is a horror because we, living in a world where we believe in our freedom, do not want it taken away from us, and in this situation the men have done that. They live by no law and serve nobody. They are unpredictable and dangerous. Still, I was not scared and found the movie reasonable. The journey through the Gauntlet at the end of the movie is the best part and it is worth seeing for that only.

This is a good drama, set to nice scenery and enough action to keep it afloat on a "river Wild" of course.Three bandidos (sounds cooler than bandits, so I'll say it) are on this "river wild", as are a man, his wife, and their son.Issues arise between the couple, and when the two groups meet, one of the bandidos is dead, and the husband becomes weakened, which of course you know, because Meryl Streep has to be the star.This is all leading up to a final confrontation with the psychopath played by Kevin Bacon.So what makes this interesting is the wild card. The accomplice, played by Reilly, is not any of the stereotypes we are used to seeing. He is not the sicko, killer, maniac, or complete low life. Neither is he the good hearted kid who means well. He is the one we don't know throughout the movie, and that plays a key role in its ending.It ends with a decision that must be made by Meryl Streep, when she has one bullet for two men. One with the physical force and power of the knife. The other with the mental control. It becomes a throwback to the bad guys from "Rope" in a way.Does she make the right decision? Does she miss completely? I won't spoil that.

Gail (Meryl Streep), brings her workaholic husband Tom (David Strathairn) and son Roarke along on a white river rafting trip for a bit of family bonding and partially to salvage what's left of her declining marriage.The family vacation turns awry however, when they stumble across two mysterious strangers (Kevin Bacon & John C Reilly) who are in need of help as, so they claim, they are stuck in the middle of nowhere and need Gail to help them get out. Gail previously having worked as a guide on the river agrees. This is their story which differs somewhat to the actual truth as to what they are up to and soon husband Tom gets suspicious of the pair, as well he might! What follows is a roller-coaster ride of thrills, splashes, action and tension which successfully make this 90's action thriller a force to be reckoned with. It manages to keep the audience entertained and enthralled as Streep goes head to head with the two villains and of course the gushing river that cuts through the movie. The River Wild does what it says on the tin, all the while refraining from hiding behind any CGI effects, instead just using good old fashioned stunt work and great acting.Directed by Curtis Hanson who had previously directed 'The Hand That Rocked The Cradle', he uses his previous skill in pumping up the tension successfully and there are some great moments that make you wonder what is going to happen next.Meryl Streep is great as usual and plays the strong, level-headed female lead well, yet still with an air of vulnerability at the same time. Kevin Bacon is an excellent primary antagonist as Wade, along with his dumb partner in crime Terry. It's actually fun to watch as he uses his superficial charm to gain the trust of Gail and her family and then switching to a malevolent bad guy as soon as his motives are exposed. The scenes between Streep and Bacon are tense and dark which increases the pace even further.There are strong supporting characters too, including David Strathairn's serious yet underestimated husband role. Joseph Mazzello, from Jurassic Park fame, is Gail's son who puts in a good performance here. Benjamin Bratt also makes a small appearance as a guide on the river. John C Reilly appears in an early career role and has since had stronger roles in film.I have rated this film highly as it kept me entertained throughout. This is mainly due to the acting and direction which keep the pace going at break neck speed.Good old 90's action thriller.

Meryl Streep gets a totally different kind of role in "The River Wild". She and her husband (David Strathairn) and son (Joseph Mazzello, of "Jurassic Park") go on a rafting trip and encounter some guys (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly) who turn out to be not what they seem.The obvious similarity is "Deliverance", but I also detected a similarity to "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle", the way that Kevin Bacon's character turns the boy against the mother. I once did a boat trip down the Snake River, and some of the rapids here look like what I remember (although the movie may have exaggerated the rapids).Overall, it's a pretty fun movie. A real jolt of nature, if I may say so. Also starring Benjamin Bratt. Director Curtis Hanson also directed "L.A. Confidential", "Wonder Boys" and "8 Mile".