There was some beautiful photography of the natural environment of the Rockies that contrasted with the sordid story of kidnapping and torture in Yellowstone.
While the narrative structure was routine, there were good performances and the lively character interaction of the desperate mom Jessie and the cocky auto repairman Grant was the best part of the film. The buoyant dialogue between Jessie and Grant afforded some much needed levity to a grim story.
The one drawback of the film was the sadistic nature of the villain, a young man impersonating a park ranger. Nolan waxes philosophical about the bears in the park. But he and his sick father were the "generational" predators, not the bears. There were too many unpleasant scenes in this film that bordered on the horror genre.
There was one scene stealer in the show: a black bear out for karma. There was also an effective denouement that brought mom and daughter into harmony and offered a nice romantic touch with the wily auto mechanic and his new found love.
While the narrative structure was routine, there were good performances and the lively character interaction of the desperate mom Jessie and the cocky auto repairman Grant was the best part of the film. The buoyant dialogue between Jessie and Grant afforded some much needed levity to a grim story.
The one drawback of the film was the sadistic nature of the villain, a young man impersonating a park ranger. Nolan waxes philosophical about the bears in the park. But he and his sick father were the "generational" predators, not the bears. There were too many unpleasant scenes in this film that bordered on the horror genre.
There was one scene stealer in the show: a black bear out for karma. There was also an effective denouement that brought mom and daughter into harmony and offered a nice romantic touch with the wily auto mechanic and his new found love.