This has ended up being just over a year of pushing this back. From what I can tell, the reason for these changes has been due to larger films being released around those previous dates that the studio feels would effect their box office.
All of that gradually reduced my confidence for this film, especially when the studio does not feel this could compete with expected box office hits and not be a sleeper hit.
Nevertheless, I still went and paid good money to not only watch it on the big screen, but in IMAX after receiving a few recommendations. That ended up being a good decision.
Right from the first scene, already the cinematography and landscapes felt captivating. The locations used and the way they're shot were gorgeous, ;ooked convincing for the time period and were totally fleshed out. The shots were like something you would normally see on the National Geographic Channel or in a David Attenborough programme. That alone made me feel entranced
As for the story, it moves at a solid pace has simple cohesion and perfectly fine development that is simple to follow.
Kodi Smit-McPhee is in the leading role, as does a good job. I remember seeing him in The Road, Let Me In and playing Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse. I felt he did enough to carry the film and had some nice chemistry with his supporting cast.
The only other performance I wanted to mention was from Johannes Haukur Johannesson. At first, I thought his role was being played by Pilou Asbaek from Game Of Thrones fame. But in the end I worked out that it wasn't. I felt his performance was committed, but sadly felt better suited in a TV series in something like Vikings. That's not a bad thing. It's just that when it comes to something being shown on the big screen, it needs to be taken to the next level of engagement.
As mentioned before, the visuals are its strongest aspect. But I'm afraid a film can only be good up to a point. The plot may end up being something that I was not expecting. But it's just not as engaging as it thinks it is. There was rarely a sense of urgency and it just plodded along. It also feels shorter than it should be. It almost feels like something is missing in the final act.
In a nutshell, it's like a poor man's The Revenant with a different motive for the main character, and a wolf.
But if I wanted to give it some justice, it's a decent survival/coming of age story with gorgeous locations used and beautiful visuals throughout. Plus, I thought the connection between our two main characters was sweet and reminded me of Dances With Wolves.
You can feel that a lot was given to the production. But I think the story not being strong enough and the lack of star-power will prevent it from being a success.
If you want to check it out, then you have to see it in IMAX for the visuals and locations. Plus, it's just over 90 minutes. So it shouldn't feel like a slog. But was the almost one year wait worth it? Not quite.
Just to warn you, there are subtitles in this. But if are not a fan of reading during the films, the films is mainly telling the story from its visuals. So there is not that much subtitled dialogue to deal with.
Review: 7/10
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