Walking Thunder

What can I say about this film? It is not a very well known film, but it is most definitely a more well known film than the films that I have been reviewing lately. I have three different years tied to this film but I believe this film was made in 1994, released in 1995, widely released in 1997. (Don't hold me on those). Walking Thunder notably stars John Denver in one of his final film roles before his death in 1997. Other than John Denver, Bart the Bear is the only other actor I noticed in this film.

Walking Thunder starts in the relative present day where a kid is visiting his grandma. His grandma decides to show him a box of old stuff from way back in the mid 1800's. She said that his dad learned about their family from way back when and she thinks that it is time that he learns as well. In the box is a journal which is what this story is. We see the McKay family coming from New Hampshire to California to start a new life. One night, their wagon breaks so they decide to build their home there. They meet a mountain man named Abner Murdock and a Sioux Indian named Dark Wind. Also, there is a bear named Walking Thunder. Both Abner Murdock and Dark Wind decide to help the McKay family get started on their new life.

I enjoy movies that take place in the mid 1800's It is just something about them that seem to appeal to me. Walking Thunder is one of those films that I find appealing. It actually is not bad. Not great, but still decent. The story is a typical story of a family moving to a new place to start a new life only to find that they need assistance from the locals. The part of the story that I do not like is that they add the kid at the very beginning and the very end reading the journal. To me, it could have been removed for the fact that those are the only two instances that it appears in. The beginning and the end. But with that being said, the film does have me invested (even though it does not have 100 percent of the time). But when it does, the film is quite enjoyable to watch. The acting is fine here with John Denver giving a really good performance. The only person was the kid playing the main character. Maybe it was his voice that I found annoying..... The film is called Walking Thunder which is the name of the bear in this film. It took me a while to realize (and only then it was the film that told me) what Walking Thunder represents. Walking Thunder represents the land. Honestly, I can buy that even though I would have loved to see a bear terrorize this family or prove troublesome in some way. But, it does make sense. This film has this theme about becoming a man with our main character having to step up. There are several instances when this does become apparent. I know several of the other films that I watched in the Echo Bridge 8 Adventure Collection, they try to have this grand theme (which in most cases is what makes the film not very good). With this film, the theme is not all that grand but much like everything else in this film, I can buy it even though I can have something a little better. The whole scenery in this film is fairly beautiful and I am glad that the people working on this film decided to use this opportunity to get some beautiful shots of the land. If you are someone who has not been in that area, films like this give you a viewing of what it is like. I suppose that is why films like this appeal to me. The score is fairly nice here as well. The characters here are alright. There are typical bad guys here and there is something that bothers me here. Why do they wear the brightest clothes they can find? They wear bright red clothing and it is like "Do you want to be seen?" That is one thing that I do not buy in this film is the bad guys attire. It really bothers me.

Walking Thunder is a decent film. It gives just enough that I buy it, but I could give a little bit more.

This is the sort of 'great outdoors' movies that you can watch once, enjoy, and then promptly forget about. The movie provides a good sweep of Colorado, and the story - about a family trying to catch up with the gold rush - passable. However, when all the humans on stage are out acted by Bart the Bear, you know you are watching a straight-to-video movie. John Denver, the only recognisable actor, stares into space for long periods of times (probably writing a song for his next album), and all the others are Legends of the Fall rip-offs. However, the most amusing sequence in when Denver erects and furnishes a cabin in about an hour. Don't let me put you off, this is lightweight entertainment and good fun when there are nothing but repeats on the T.V.

Best Bit: Bart the Bear's dramatic drooling.

This was said to be John Denver's last film. As I watched it, I couldn't help but feel sadness over that aspect. I thought this was a wonderful family film with John Denver playing a role I had longed wanted to see him in. A pioneer. A man blazing a wild mountain trail in a covered wagon. Being in the Rockies, with native Americans, bears, eagles, wolves, and mountain men. The story was very well told. The actors all played their roles to perfection. I love these kind of stories. Whenever they are made on modern film, we are able to re-live the past with these stories. I remember seeing James Reed in the mini-series North and South. I liked him as the Union soldier. He was great in this as well. The boys who played John Denver's sons looked familiar, but I couldn't place them in other projects. Entertainment Tonight highlighted the story about this final film. I wouldn't have known about it otherwise. When it was shown on cable, my sister taped it for me to see. All in all, this film will be forever treasured by true-blue John Denver fans. And we all wish, more than anything, that he was still around to give us more of the same. Ten plus in my book.

This movie was shown on the Discovery-Animal Planet network.

The bear, if there ever really was a bear, is the second supporting character. A delight and disconcerting at the same time. There is a native-american belief that animals could take on human bodies and vise-versa. This idea was only briefly exposed in a few spots.

The opening scenes are of a modern teenager who has problems. What teen doesn't, especially about parents? He learns he is to inherit his great-grandfathers journal and other personal affects. The journal was written late in life and starts with problems encountered while moving west in the fall of 1850. Time shifts to and from 1850 carry the story back and forth as the youngster reads about his ancestor, his problems, ideas, hopes and fears. They are similar to his.

Historical discrepancy aside this movie would appeal to

teens and adults. As with all material one should inspect and verify fact and falsehood. The lad was allowed to travel with a "real live mount'n man" to trade for supplies. The last rendezvous took place in the spring of 1840, ten years before this family arrived in the Rockies.

Background views are great. The highest points of violence were a skillet defense by an expectant mother against a scalp'n knife wielding attacker and a couple of daring fisticuff events. Alfred

Hitchcock would be proud of the drama left to the viewer.

I agree with the former reviewer about the cabin. I mean, they are trapped in the wilderness because this guy, who can build a log cabin in one day, CAN'T FIX A WAGON AXLE BEFORE WINTER! Sheesh, believable. I'm sure wagon axles were a lot tougher to make than houses.

You also may not want to show it to impressionable young Indian kids, since some characters use derogatory language and racial slurs, and the one Indian character is something of a stereotype.

The movie won't make you laugh or cry, but it won't kill you with boredom either, and if you have the hour and a half to kill, there are worse things to watch out there. Bart the Bear is always good, and there are a few charming moments.