Eight Below Movie Review:

As a huge storm heads towards the Antarctic, Dr. David McClaren’s (Greenwood) expedition to Mount Melbourne had to be cut short by guide Jerry Shepherd (Walker). As they head back to base on the dogsled, Dr. McClaren accidentally falls through the ice and Jerry and the dogs faced a race against time to get him back. They succeed but as the storm hit, everyone had to be evacuated but there was no room on the plane for the dogs. Wanting to get back to them, Jerry is told that all flights have been cancelled and the dogs will have to be left behind.

A story of survival in one of the harshest environments on the planet is material for a great human adventure but when the protagonists are dogs it becomes all the more incredible.

Based on true events and influenced by the Japanese film ‘Nankyoku Monogatari’, this story of eight stranded huskies surviving in the extreme conditions of Antarctica is one that you cannot help but be touched by. This might sound like typical Walt Disney material but director Frank Marshall and his creative team have produced a family movie that everyone will enjoy.

Watching the eight dogs battle for survival against the harsh wilderness of the Antarctic winter is a roller coaster ride of adventure and emotions. Even the most hardened dog hater will find it hard not to be touched by their blight as these eight huskies try to find food to survive for over five months. These are some of the most adorable dogs you will ever see but not a cute way but in a working dog way meaning it is their courage that instantly draws you to them. The eight of them are supremely well trained and actually act their roles extremely well, making them just as much characters as the human cast members.

The human cast members provide the supporting story to the dogs and it does distract too much from the from their survival fight. The jury as always been out on the acting talents of Paul Walker and as Jerry Shepherd he won’t win any awards but he does do his best with the material. You do believe that he adores the dogs however and his motivation to get back to them. Bruce Greenwood is believable as a scientist. Jason Biggs provides move of the laughs are cartographer Charlie Cooper and Moon Bloodgood looks makes an impact as pilot Katie. The problem is that his just feels like an interruption of the main story and one that you really don’t want to see.

Capturing the grandeur and scope of the Antarctic settling with some stunning cinematography, Frank Marshall and his production team have produced a family film that you cannot help but enjoy. While it might be slightly overlong, you will be touched by this story of canine survival and it will be one that will stay with you for a very long time.

Star Rating = * * *   

Jamie Kelwick

 

"Inspired" by a true story and thoroughly Disneyfied by changing the characters into 1990s Americans (they were really 1950s Japanese explorers) and giving the dogs human qualities. It's entertaining and sweet, and rather annoyingly fake.

A skilled guide at an isolated Antarctic base, Jerry (walker) knows it's not a good idea to take a two-day journey across cracking ice fields. But the client (Greenwood) is insistent, so off they go. They make it back, thanks to Jerry's team of eight sled dogs, but they're forced to evacuate without the dogs. It'll be six long months until Jerry, his buddy (Biggs) and gal-pal pilot (Bloodgood) are able to go back. There's no way eight dogs could survive an Antarctic winter alone. Or could they?

Herein lies the problem with Disneyfication. We know full well what's going to happen, and instead of leave any doubt, we get the parallel stories of Jerry trying to mount a rescue and the dogs taking their Incredible Journey. It's beautifully filmed, with lots of adventure and peril, but we never have any doubts. So it's not hugely exciting. We're left to enjoy the acting (by humans and dogs), the cinematography and the spectacularly snowy cinematography.

Walker is fine in the role; he's always surprisingly likeable, and we do feel his connection with the dogs, his only real family. Biggs gets the wacky Steve Zahn role, joking at every turn and livening things up whenever he's on screen. Greenwood and Bloodgood fill their cliched shoes better than the script deserved. And the dogs are terrific, although the filmmakers give them human personalities so we can see which one is heroic, generous, selfless, stupid, and so on.

This is a very cheap storytelling device, and it's sad to say that it works perfectly. (Although the cheap CGI seal-monster thing isn't quite as convincing.) If there'd been a slight sense of intelligence about the script, or more raw honesty in the storyline, this could have been a ripping true-life tale of bravery and emotion that would have engaged grown ups as much as the doggy-loving kids.

Rich Cline

 

Inspired by a true story, Eight Below is an engaging family film that is driven by tender warmth and tactical adventure.  It works as a family Disney film, which is what it is, nothing more.  However, do not believe that you are taking youngsters to another Snow Dogs (2001) type of film.

The story follows Antarctic guide Jerry Shepherd (Paul Walker) and his team of eight sled dogs which he considers his family.  Of course he has a sidekick cartographer buddy, Cooper (Jason Biggs), living with him in the middle of the snow of Antarctica, but the dogs are his driving force.  Each dog has their own unique personality or visual feature to make each stand out throughout the story.  There are the twins, Truman and Dewey, the aging one Old Jack, the big brut Buck, the all white Shadow, the happy-go lucky Shorty, the rookie of the bunch Max, and the reliable leader Maya.  Jerry and his dogs take on the job of escorting a famous geologist, Doctor Davis McLaren (Bruce Greenwood) out into challenging mountains searching for a crucial meteor sample.  On the way back from their expedition, Jerry and the doctor learn that a dangerous storm is heading their way.  As they quickly try to get back to their base, the dogs save the doctor from an serious accident, which leaves him with a broken leg.  Once Jerry arrives back to their base, the storm is beginning to hit and he and all that are left must evacuate immediately.  Unwantingly, Jerry has to leave the dogs behind chained outside to get to safety in time.  He however promises each dog that he will come back for them. 

Once to safety, for one reason or another, Jerry is denied entry back into the area to get his dogs.  Filled with anger and guilt, he continuously looks for ways to wheel and deal a rescue attempt.   The dogs themselves break free from their chains to search for food and other ways to survive the bitter cold and the dangers of nature.

Director Frank Marshall does not try anything extraordinary with his telling of this story; he practically places the pieces and lets it tell itself.  Marshall is familiar with the snow and ice atmosphere as he previously directed another survival film of a very different light called Alive (1993), which many audiences could not stomach.  With Alive, Marshall’s camera choices were vivid, with Eight Below; the scope of the atmosphere is more balanced.  Eight Below is based off of the 1983 Japanese film, Nankyoku Monogatari (also known as Antarctica), which was directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara.  The inspiring true story of the film actually occurred in 1957.  Dave DiGilio scripts Eight Below with decent characterizations and development, though some scenes are winded.  The choice to make this a Disney film works in its favor; it is a good little story for families, especially children.  The choices by DiGilio and Marshall include intense peril situations for the dogs’ survival, which make the film realistic and thrilling.  However, some of the dogs get pretty banged up, which includes battles against the weather and an angry leopard seal, which might be a little scary for very young children.

Paul Walker takes a different turn as playing a character in a family movie as Jerry.  Walker has never emerged beyond his limitations as an actor and he does not stride incredible ground in this film, but it is one of his better roles to date.  Jason Biggs is typecast as the comic relief of the film that is at times is annoying.  The reliable Bruce Greenwood delivers the goods as always as the exploring doctor whose life the dogs save.  The dogs themselves are the endearing stars of this film, and none of the actors try to take away from them.

Eight Below is a solid family film that will entertain most audiences.  It is a Disney film, so all the usual “disneyish” clichés and moments are there, but what is different about this one are the realism and the intense nature of survival.  If a nutty Disney film set in the snow like Snow Dogs can be a box office hit, Eight Below should have no problem being successful.

3 out of 4 stars

By Bailey Henderson

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