The Canyon

I, like this movie, have very little to say about it. It has been done before. In various locations, with a variety of protagonist and with very similar ending. The writing on this one was not very memorable with the one exception of the alcoholic guide played by Eion Bailey. The cinematography was outstanding, great images of one of the United States great remaining natural wonders.

That being said, I do wish that the filmmakers had given a little more time to the script and less to the backdrop. While I was watching this movie the one thought that did come across over and over was that of Darwin theory of survival of the fittest.

I don't think this movie deserves it's low rating. I enjoyed watching it even if I found it somewhat predictable it did have an interesting ending.

I went into this movie with certain expectations. The expectations were met. There are no real surprises in this movie. Early in the movie, you know the set-up, man (and woman) against nature. All of the main players are likable. Their character is developed. You care about these people! The scenery is beautiful. There are plot contrivances, like shoddy cellphone coverage and random injuries. Of course, there has to be poor cellphone coverage or there would be no movie! You would just call for help and that would be the end of the movie! There has to be injuries to add insult to "injury" to the players struggling against the odds already. The ending is truly thought evoking instead of cliché. It could not have ended better. I recently saw the movie "Thirst." The two movies are very similar in plot line. This movie was enjoyable. I found "Thirst" tedious and overly predictable.

The wilderness can be a great place to visit, when everything is going okay. But introduce some unexpected problems, and an excellent adventure, far removed from other people, morphs into a nightmare. It's a story premise that has a long history in cinema, and it's the premise on which "The Canyon" is based. An attractive newlywed couple hires an old backwoods coot (played by Will Patton) to guide them through the back-country of the Grand Canyon. Everything goes well ... for awhile.

The script's characters seem credible. But the plot lacks creative imagination. One particular adversity propels the film's second half, which goes on and on, tediously. Either the editor needed to chop off some of the plot repetition, or the writer needed to introduce additional, more varied, adversities.

Further, the story's inciting incident, which involves a reptile, is not remotely credible. And the characters react to this event in ways that add to their misery. What would films be without characters who make stupid decisions?

Casting is acceptable. Acting is okay until near the end when one performance becomes almost laughable. Sound effects and background music are fine.

Scenery is spectacular, helped along by competent color cinematography. And the final scene is arguably the best scene in the entire film. As the camera zooms out, viewers get a stunning visual perspective, one of the best such perspectives I have ever seen in any film.

An unimaginative and at times silly plot renders the story somewhat tiresome and tedious. But this is partially offset by terrific visuals, the most impressive of which is right at the very end.

Basically, this is a mediocre movie. I was primarily led to watch it from comments that the setting was the Grand Canyon and that the cinematography was good. However, apart from a few shots of descending into the Grand Canyon, the rest of the story was actually filmed near Moab, Utah, and not in the Grand Canyon. The slot canyon in the movie was Antelope Canyon near Page, Arizona (also not in Grand Canyon). There are slot canyons in Grand Canyon (such as Deer Creek and Matkatamiba) but they are a lot harder to get to for filming and are not seen in the movie.

Moab is certainly a beautiful place, but for those familiar with the territory it looks nothing like the Grand Canyon. It is understandable that the movie was filmed in Moab rather than in the Grand Canyon because Moab is much more accessible and filming there would be cheaper and easier on the personnel involved. But those expecting or wishing for a movie filmed in the Grand Canyon won't find it here.

The Best part of this survival film is Will Patton as the ill fated 'Guide'. Now I've been to the Grand Canyon many times and my experience is if you go down on mules you go in an organized group. So this one made little logical sense. Of course it is possible I've not seen all the parts of the Grand Canyon, private ones anyway. Most of those open to the public I have seen and I don't recall too many wide open spaces where these people could access like the ones they do in this movie.

Anyhow. It's kind've a mediocre little flick. You get a little bit of The Grey, and you get a little bit of 127 Hours. But Will Patton is the only thing that makes it halfway decent. 5/10.