Malherida

The characters are straight, the story simple, the directing efficient, Maybe it lacks a bit of soul to have made it a secret favourite, and the plot twist that gives Madchen Amick the role of the revengeful Rambo-like woman is a bit out of hand - but at least the final confrontation was kept low-profile, more accent put on suspense rather than adrenaline action - precisely what heightens the value of this flick, comparing to the neighboring action movies in the videostore...

This is a fairly good movie that doesn't try to overwhelm the viewers with non-stop action, chase scenes and loud, hysterical goings on. However, I do feel that the movie would have been better with a little more action and sharper dialog. For much of the time, the dialog was spoken so softly that I had to keep turning up the volume on my TV just to be able to hear what the characters were saying. The finale, where the protagonist and antagonist meet to resolve the issue is just as low key as the rest of the movie.

This film, while not Oscar material by any means, is an enjoyable Saturday night movie. As many others have commented, the cinematography is creative and pleasant to the eye, enticing one to become a game warden in the northwest. It also has an impressive cast that does the best it can with a script that bounces around at times and is, for the most part, predictable.

The beginning of the film does a fine job of illustrating the setting of the northwest, with sweeping landscape shots that really gives the viewer an idea of vastness of the wilderness. Mountain fans will be inclined to rewind and play the aerial shots again just for the view.

Regarding the predictability of the story, there are a few surprises that keep it from being clichéd. There is also a subtlety about it that prevents it from looking like a female on a Rambo rampage. Unfortunately, this creates some lagging spots where the story must develop. Still, it does move along, recovering from those moments and jumping back into the story with both feet.

Amick's performance as Julie Clayton has some rough spots, but is otherwise enjoyable. However, the most notable performance is given by Graham Greene, as Nick Rollins, an SFPD officer with issues. The interplay between Amick and Greene is not over the top, keeping the film on an even keel. Graham's smooth delivery is what keeps the story afloat at key moments. If the movie had not been about Julie Clayton, Nick Rollins would have had his own story to tell.

One gets the feeling that WOUNDED would play well in book form, but it holds its own as a film due to its cast. Adrian Pasdar, of HEROES fame, does his best work as a voice on a phone line. He has an eerie tone that is taunting and cold. His dialogue could have used a little streamlining to increase the threat, but one could argue that it is not the character's way. Hanaghan is a very focused character, and perhaps the dialogue is that way to keep in line with that.

Overall, this film is worth picking up as a rental. It holds a viewer's interest long enough to see it through the end. Yes, there are some nitpicking points that could be made regarding the story or the actions of the characters, but that can be said of just about any film. There are no major sins against real life policies or physics that cannot be overlooked in the name of entertainment. If anything, check it out for the great wilderness shots. They are eye candy in and of themselves.

The best reason to watch this sleeper hit is for the duel of wits and wills between Amick's character and Pasdar's. They are more than just characters in this movie. They each represent values. Pasdar re- presents the cold-blooded, calculating ruthlessness of the hunter- competitor; Amick represents the compassion and thoughtfulness that blunts his unreflective violence. You don't have to be an animal rights activist or a feminist to be rooting with all your might for Julie Clayton as she struggles to outwit the trapper Hanaghan.

At the beginning, Julie is admittedly at a disadvantage in her battle with Hanaghan. She has been through the trauma of an attack in the woods and is wounded and weak. She's not only weak physically. She's weak psychologically as well. She has to overcome her own fear and co-dependency. She would nearly have died herself, were it not for a chance encounter with a veteran police officer, played well by Greene. He helps her marshal the courage necessary to outsmart Hanaghan.

To its credit, this movie resists the strong temptation to degenerate into a series of explosions and wanton gunfire once Hanaghan has found

Julie. He must outwit her. He must prevent her from having her say.

But he cannot afford to kill her. He is in her world and out of his own wild element. So it remains a battle of wits all the way through this movie. This is not John Rambo vs. the Establishment in the wilderness!

The movie succeeds on another level as well. Although Julie Clayton becomes more like Hanaghan as she confronts him, she doesn't become exactly like him. That is, she doesn't become the mindless killing machine that he is. She retains her compassion, her humanity and her sanity. She's as strong as he is on her own terms. This is a victory not just for herself but for human dignity, which she represents.

The year 1997 seems to have been a good year for movies, especially sleeper movies like this one. This is a little jewel of a movie! Whoever can should catch it on cable. It's worth three stars!!

The forest rangers Julie Clayton (Mädchen Amick) and her boyfriend Don Powell (Richard Joseph Paul) find several grizzly-bear slaughtered in the forest. They report to their superior and he comes with the FBI Agent Eric Ashton (Jim Beaver) and his partner and other rangers. They team-up and go to the wilderness by helicopter to seek out the poacher. However, the man kills the rangers and the FBI agent and Julie is seriously wounded. She miraculously survives and learns that her beloved Don was murdered. Julie is deeply affected but when she meets the alcoholic police detective Nick Rollins (Graham Greene), he motivates her to live with hate planning revenge. Meanwhile the FBI decides to use Julie as bait to catch the poacher Hanaghan (Adrian Pasdar). But Hanaghan has developed a weird attraction for Julie.

"Wounded" is an original thriller with a good story. Developed in slow pace, this film builds the tension between Julie and Hanaghan step by step. The climax is only in the very end, but the characters in the beginning are poorly developed. Mädchen Amick has goof performance. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Fúria Animal" ("Animal Fury")