On E List of Movie Reviews

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The Edge (1997)

Rate: 5
Viewed: 1/06, 6/24

Edge
1/06: The Edge is a mediocre film that's similar to the story of Robinson Crusoe.

The characters of Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins are underdeveloped while everybody else is useless. I wish the focus was on the first two to allow the plot to be more fleshed out because it's interesting to follow. Also, disappointing is how the movie ends. By the way, I hate seeing a movie poster that shows the actors' faces but the names don't match them, and that's the case for The Edge.

All in all, The Edge suffers a lot from bad direction.

6/24: I'm upping my rating for The Edge from '4' to '5'.

It's just not a well-thought-out movie. Had the murder angle been completely removed, I would've enjoyed the show more. I don't see why they had to add more stuff on top of the survival story which is already enough to make a film that was shot on location in Alberta, Canada. David Mamet is a fine writer, but it doesn't show a great deal here in terms of quality dialogue. The other issue is that some of the scenes look fake, especially when a dangerous moment occurs.

The pairing of Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin is impressive, but outshining them both is the bear. I thought he looked familiar, and after reading up about him, it turns out to be the same one from The Bear, The Great Outdoors, and Legends of the Fall, among others. His name was Bart the Bear. When the two characters tried to kill the bear, one should've been in front of him while the other guy stayed on his side. That way, the bear is distracted in two different directions, and his belly can be attacked in turns.

For a smart person, Anthony Hopkins' character, Charles Morse, is an idiot. Forget the freaking compass. Just look at the sun. Wake up in the morning and see where it comes up. That's "east." Then, just before night, notice where the sun sets, hence "west." That's how he can figure out where "south" should be in general. I thought the funny part was when the three survivors came back to where they started at, but I find it preposterous anyway.

One thing is for sure: it's impossible to outrun a bear. Speaking of that, I hate it when the filmmakers decided to apply deux ex machina for convenience's sake. The most obvious is the present of a knife; how totally useful it becomes at the right time. Gee, I wonder what would've happened if Morse never had it to begin with. Ditto for finding an abandoned house in the middle of nowhere that's replete with useful stuff such as a gun and a canoe. By the way, when Morse said at the end, "They died...saving my life," which may seem an odd thing to say, I interpret it as "They saved my life by making me want to save their lives first."

All in all, The Edge had a workable premise going, but I'm ultimately let down in the final thirty minutes.