Anything related to Alaska, grizzly bears, or survival is something I’m likely to be interested in. In fact, one of my interests is hiking carry for black and brown bear defense! Recently, I added the movie “The Edge” to my Netflix instant queue. My opportunity came to watch this movie when my wife had a late meeting on a Saturday night, so I took it! The premise of this movie is a billionaire (Charles Morse, played by Anthony Hopkins) taking a photo crew to Alaska to promote his business. The key supporting character is Robert Green (played by Alec Baldwin) who is a somewhat slick-and-slimy employee who works for Charles. The other key character is the giant grizzly bear (played by a real grizzly bear named “Bart the Bear” 🙂 ) who contributes by far the most exciting and scary live action bear footage I’ve ever seen. The move was excellent, but not perfect. The footage of Alaska was breathtaking – worth watching the movie for this spectacular scenery alone. The character development was very strong for the two lead characters, but not for all of the other supporting characters. I won’t give away what happens in the movie, because I think you should watch it!
I would consider this movie gun-neutral. During the intense action sequences, I had the urge to reach out to these guys and offer them a 44 Magnum, but they didn’t have anything with them except a buck knife during these sequences. I think this movie makes the point that pepper spray or playing dead is “not enough” for bear protection.
Rated “R” for graphic violence and language
Gavin’s Rating: 4.0/5.0
-Gavin