Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Thanks for the memories!

Absolutely Fantastic

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

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.

In Meryl Streep's astonishingly awards-packing filmography, this film has no chance to be singled out (not even among top 20 maybe), it actually botched the chance of Meryl's Oscar nomination that year (after a surprisingly gratifying Golden Globe nomination), I think it is its skin-deep kernel and the entertainment-first priority sabotaged it, if only speaking of the cast, Meryl's acting is completely Oscar-worthy. From A to Z, this intense adventure thriller holds one's breath tight with its suspenseful aura and splendid river torrent scenes, however the throwaway adrenalin-thrusting doesn't guarantee the same amount aftertaste, there are a touch indelible plot-holes emerging into my mind, which I assure you it is not a pleasant feeling (still, it's much better than most annoying pop-corn movies which I cannot even fluently commit myself to the moment). Meryl proves once again that she is the most versatile actress if not in the world, at least in Hollywood. The sports/action area is a rare attempt, yet she did most of her stunts, which is surely not able to be learnt from acting classes I suppose.With respect to the fore-mentioned skin-deep kernel, I have a hunch that both feminist and non-feminist would feel offended on account of in one hand the female protagonist's tough prevalence over her husband would exasperate man's ego, in the other hand, the inward- for-no-reason husband eventually resurrected his role-model father/husband image would be too obvious to feel empathetic (especially after a ludicrous rescue ploy). Poor David Strathairn, he had tried his best to save this badly-designed character. As for poor Kevin Bacon, he has been vying for an Oscar nomination since then, still in vain. (I would have taken Susan Sarandon's nomination for THE CLIENT to Meryl and also given one to the viciously- charming Kevin Bacon).

I'll grant that the last 15 minutes or so of "The River Wild" are a pretty exciting and suspenseful white water rafting adventure. The unfortunate thing about it is that these are only the last 15 minutes or so. Up to that point what we have is a pretty slow moving river journey, with the added complication, of course, being that the troubled family on the trip finds more trouble as they pick up a couple of guys who robbed the local cattle auction. In the end the movie turns out to be pretty formulaic, with movements and plot points that we've definitely seen before - many times, in fact.Meryl Streep was an interesting choice as Gail - mother and white water guide - and while she was interesting (basically because this isn't what you'd think of as a normal Meryl Streep role) I didn't find her convincing in the part, either (which is probably why it's not a normal Meryl Streep role!) Kevin Bacon was somewhat more credible as Wade, the guy apparently in charge of the robbery, who decides to take the family hostage in order to use Gail's rafting expertise to run a particularly deadly river in the hopes of escaping the law. Along for the ride were David Strathairn as Gail's husband, John C. Reilly as Wade's sidekick and Joseph Mazzello as young Roarke, Gail's son.It's a decent enough cast. The story isn't especially original, though, and I just didn't find the movie to be all that exciting. Watching a rafting trip (which is essentially what we do for the bulk of this movie) with a few bits of drama thrown in as we become gradually more suspicious of the two strangers doesn't exactly make for a gripping two hours of viewing. There is, of course, the requisite ending as it seems that all the family's troubles are solved by having gone through this adventure together. (3/10)

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".