Alaska

If it were only for the splendid and breathtaking scenery i would still recommend this movie. However this film also delivers on the emotional level and follows a journey of transformation as beautiful as the visual aspects.

A single father apts for a change after losing his wife by moving to Alaska with his two children to become a bush pilot. His son is resentful at best, ungrateful, and unappreciative of the vast and stunning riches Alaska has to offer. When their father's plane goes down and rescue efforts fail, they begin a spiritual journey that will forever change their lives. The son, Shawn, played by Vincent Karthieser, soon comes to terms with the death of his mother, the love for his father, and the respect and appreciation for Alaska. Thora Birch, an actress with a promising future, provides the level-headed and sensible approach to the journey in contrast to her brother's cockiness and arrogance which provides for great chemistry between the two.

Along with the natural beauty and landscapes just about every other aspect associated with Alaska is present from: poaching, bushpilots, kayaking, rustic cabins, rock climbing,, moutaineering, camping, and the northern lights along with Cubby, a baby polar bear who tags along and even provides for some tear jerking moments and light hearted humor.

Overall this is a great movie for the entire family or for one with a fascination with the wonders and beauty of the last frontier. It truly evokes a sense of appreciation delivered in a manner without the concept of strong language, violence, and nudity, the three marketing schemes of the industry. It is a fantastic adventure, with great camera angles, stunning visuals and a powerful message. Very well done IMHO.

Though I enjoyed certain components of this movie, being a former resident of Alaska, having lived in Skagway, Ketchican, Palmer, Wasilla, Anchorage, Soldotna, Kenai, Homer, Kodiak, and even Nome, and I think people should know that this movie wasn'nt filmed in Alaska, but British Columbia, which also rivals Alaska in beauty and wildlife. Also Polar bears do not venture much further south then Nome and never, I mean never make it to the panhandle. There is a disputed photograph, on record, of a dead polar bear on an ice floe, that drifted south, but it is argued that the bear wandered onto an ice floe, died, and then drifted south. Any way the movie "Alaska" does have enough authentic visuals, in the background to give a viewer some idea of the majesty of Alaska. The story does have many loopholes, of a technical nature, example is the father's plane, precariously lodged at such an elevation, would have caused hypothermia and an inevitable death. Alaskan's have a saying, it goes like this, "Alaska does not forgive mistakes". Alaska is very beautiful, however it is very dangerous and the movie "Alaska" does not convey that reality. If you would like to see a movie that convey's what kinds of people go to and populate Alaska see the movie "Leaving Normal". However there is yet to be movie filmed in Alaska that captures the real Alaska. Why? I don't know.

This movie is great with a great cast including Oscar-Winning actor Charlton Heston who plays a Villainous Poacher and Dirk Benedict who plays a pilot and father of 2 teenage kids who moved from Chicago to Alaska (played by Thora Birch and Vincent Kartheiser) goes missing after a airplane accident and gets stranded in the mountains, but of course these two embark on an incredible journey to find him and learn not to give up, great cinematography of the Alaskan landscapes and some scenes of the Northern Lights, great music score that you don't find in any other family film unlike "the Rescuers Down Under", "Balto" or "Free Willy", great adventure sequences, great action sequences, a cute animal sidekick which is a Polar Bear cub who is captured by the poachers in this film and this truly has a great plot. this is the kind of movie from the mid 90's you would want to watch with your family and friends over and over again and destined to be an instant classic for years to come and it's worth it!

The Alaska scenery in this movie is spectacular and varies: sea, rivers, mountains, snow, rock, skies, shot with sweeping helicopter and crane shots.

But the soundtrack is embarrassing: like something out of the Ten Commandments, great blaring trumpets, soaring strings, Tibetan bass horns, South American flutes, tom toms, fanfares, all preposterously overblown like something of a bygone era. It was seriously distracting.

The dialog is silly, like something out of 50's cowboy and Indian dramas e.g. "Trust the bear" and "Dad, can we keep him?" The movie has no subtlety. Everything is spelled out with the explicitness of a TV sitcom.

The plot is utterly improbable, with various anomalies that distress, like packing no more than a sandwich for a four day hike without it turning into a problem. Even the bear finds a adoptive mother, something that never happens in real life. No bad guys were harmed in the making of this movie.

Cubby the orphaned polar bear cub is the star of the show, sort of like Wookie in Star Trek, who repeatedly saves the day from the evil poachers. It is a bit like the old Rin Tin Tin adventures, only Cubby is much cuter.

However, the movie far from boring. I could not help but fear for the actors creating the film because they do so many dangerous stunts. Kids or adults without problems suspending disbelief will most enjoy this film.

This movie is visually stunning. In a nutshell this movie is about a father who is a pilot and delivers toilet paper around the Alaskan wilderness. His plane crashes and his kids go out to search for him after being angry at the authorities for not doing enough to find their father. They free a cute little polar bear cub who has been caught by a poacher and the polar bear helps them find their lost father. The storyline isn't anything special and basically we have all seen a movie like this many many times. You know the..'kids go out to rescue mother/father/uncle/grandpa and get into lots of life threatening situations with cute animal in toe, but everything is a just fine and dandy in the end'.

Was good to see Dirk Benedict who played Jake Barnes in Alaska, in something as I loved him in The A Team all those years ago. Thora Birch plays the part of Jessie Barnes his daughter and does the kind of acting job that we have come to expect from her... excellent. Vincent Kartheiser plays Sean Barnes the typical anx ridden/angry teenager who comes good and to the aid of his father.

If you like visually beautiful movies and don't need them to be intellectual masterpieces, then watch Alaska