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'The Edge' Directed by Lee Tamahori, is An Interesting Survival Drama, that is served with a consistent pace & effective performances. Its never razor-sharp, but it holds you for the most of it.

'The Edge' Synopsis: An intellectual billionaire and two lesser men struggle to band together and survive after getting stranded in the Alaskan wilderness with a blood-thirsty Kodiak Bear hunting them down.

'The Edge' is about two men fighting it out in the Wilderness. The Bear, of course in the main antagonist, but 'The Edge' is more about the fight between its two strong leading men & how they are as unpredictable & fierce as the Bear. I was engrossed for the most part. The only glitch, lies in its final-act, which drags on for a bit.

David Mamet's Screenplay is interesting & successfully captures the violent & unpredictable journey of two strong men. Lee Tamahori's Direction is excellent. Donald McAlpine Cinematography's is a sheer delight. 'The Edge' is a visual marvel, as it captures the wilderness & the beauty of it, without ever looking overdone. The Late/Great Neil Travis's Editing is well-done. Art & Costume Design are superb. Make-Up merits a special mention.

Performance-Wise: Sir Anthony Hopkins & Alec Baldwin are in great from. Hopkins excels as the billionaire with a strong will to survive, while Baldwin oozes subtle menace as well as induces some nice comic touches. Both of the terrific actors work superbly here. And of course Bart the Bear, who's contribution here is tremendous. R.I.P, dear Bart.

On the whole, 'The Edge' is definitely worth watching.

The Edge is a powerful motion picture that satisfies in every way. First of all, it delivers as an action/adventure film (which is what it is) by giving the audience some heart stopping sequences, and it never slows down. The Edge also delivers as a dramatic film, with an ending that is painfully sad, yet satisfying. This is one fine movie, and the performances by Hopkins (one of my favorite actors today) and Baldwin are superb. They portray their characters with an honesty, and with a realistic nature that only great actors can accomplish. As the plot twists and the pace picks up, you start to become so involved that you forget time is passing by. I strongly suggest this one to action lovers and to anyone who enjoys a good story.

This film was a revelation! When it was on general release in the cinema, I gave it a wide berth. I can't remember why, probably the combination of a weak title, Alec Baldwin in a starring role and a really unimaginative trailer. I've just seen it on a 14-inch TV screen and am so sorry I didn't catch it on the big screen (or even a 26-inch TV!).

David Mamet can write but he knows his place! This is an action adventure movie and so Mamet is not trying to make any great philosophical point. He does provide a wide variety of thematic ingredients (man V nature, youth V age, brains V brawn, machismo, infidelity) to ensure that the story line is far more interesting than most of Hollywood's action-movie schlock. And, of course, a furry killing machine that can smell a man from 10 miles and run through the forest at 30 mph!

Charles, (Anthony Hopkins' erudite billionaire character) starts out as the vulnerable, isolated character of the film. He's married to Mickey, his photo-model wife(Elle can act herself!) flirts quite openly with Bob the handsome, younger photographer (Baldwin). Charles seems set up for a fall. In his self-effacing way, he confesses to knowing a lot "in theory" but not being great at "practical application".

So when the plane crashes into an icy lake, Charles is the one for whom you most fear but that's when all the surprises start..........

The biggest disappointment for me is that a fine actor such as Harold Perrineau finds himself playing a role that is a classical Hollywood cliché, the nice black guy who gets killed. When are they going to cut this crap out? Either kill the guy in the crash or give him a character but don't just make him plot fodder. Seeing Stephen (Perrineau) with the other two on the lake shore, you just knew he would have all the longevity in this film as James Bond's first female conquest. As David Mamet doesn't share the writing credits with a studio committee or an executive producer, I suppose he has to take responsibility.

That said, this is a really gripping film. Well directed photographed and acted (even by Baldwin!). And the bear! How long do you have?

The shots where you (from Charles point of view) are staring down the roaring bear's throat and can see his uvula through an emerging cloud of steamy breath are just brilliant. I could almost smell that bear. I believe they made extensive use of prosthetics. Excellent FX!

The Edge is an original movie. There have been movies with stranded people, fighting for survival and movies with jealous lovers trying to kill the rich spouse, but how often has there been such an adventurous story combining them both? It seems Hopkins has befriended Bart the Bear with multiple appearances with the new star. The scenery in Alaska is magnificent. It's almost as if the viewer is there on the plane. I wonder if Charles Morse did start a new life.

I vaguely remembered The Edge from a trailer on an old VHS from when i was a kid and it would pop in to my brain from time to time over the years as "That Anthony Hopkins bear movie" but i never actually watched it. I just picked it up today on DVD and i really enjoyed it. It's well acted, has satisfying plot twists and the scenery is beautiful to look at. It starts off a little slow but once the pace picked up i was on the edge of my seat during the scenes where the characters have to fight for their lives against a massive man eating bear and it looks great as a real trained bear was used in the scenes. Another thing i liked was the story and action felt more grounded and based in reality, it was exciting but no one did anything which regular humans wouldn't be able to do and it made it seem more realistic and convincing. Highly recommended if you're looking for some old overlooked movies or something a little different, it's a good time.