Eight Below Review
by samseescinema (sammeriam AT comcast DOT net)February 11th, 2006
Eight Below
reviewed by Sam Osborn of www.samseescinema.com
rating: 2.5 out of 4
Director: Frank Marshall
Cast: Paul Walker, Bruce Greenwood, Jason Biggs, Moon Bloodgood Screenplay: Dave DiGilio (based on the film Nankyoku Monogatari) MPAA Classification: PG (some peril and brief mild language)
At least it's better than Snow Dogs...my initial reaction to the film as I exited the theatre. Eight Below is admittedly surprising, working as a film that has an eye on both excitement and practicality. It runs 30-45 minutes long, and will probably lose the interest of the little ones as it sags and drags in the latter half, but Director Frank Marshall doesn't insult our intelligence and offers up a survival story that floats above the usual Disney live-action sinkers. Its premise is of no new invention, but its execution is, at worst, mildly engaging.
Paul Walker takes the lead as Jerry Shepard, an Antarctic dogsled guide charged with leading a mild-mannered geologist, Doctor McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) to Mount Melbourne. The season's late and the going rough, but Jerry and Doc make the trip alright, just escaping a storm close in their wake. But Doc's injured and the storm's larger than expected forcing an order for the entire base to be evacuated immediately. And as the storm flurries thicker and Doc's condition worsens, it's soon made clear that there won't be room for Jerry's dogs. His old flame, Katie (Moon Bloodgood), promises they'll make a trip back, but as the storm conveniently mounts to "storm of the century" status, it's soon made apparent the dogs are on their own. From there the narrative diverges, taking us now to both Jerry's story and the dogs'. The dogs are granted the most screen time-almost an hour, in fact-wandering about the arctic plains, slowly finding means of survival, while Jerry--whose screen time is now shortened--fights for his chance to fly back in the perilous winter season for a chance at his dogs' rescue.
Frank Marshall does well to turn his film away from the roads of narration Disney typically tends to follow. The first act of the film mostly concerns Jerry and Doc's trek to Melbourne Mountain. As is expected, the two run into some fairly dangerous snags, each requiring the heroic expertise of Paul Walker. Fortunately, Marshall downplays the heroics, and instead executes the rescue efforts as systems of procedure. Jerry instructs Doc, when he's fallen through the ice and broken his leg, as a trained lifeguard would if he/she were dealing with a shark in a pool. He promotes a calm and steady following of rescue procedure, even bringing into play some believable lifesaving jargon. Not only is it convincing, but it also mutes Walker's image as the beefcake superhero; something we should all be thankful for.
But don't be turned off by the lack of superhero antics; Marshall allows for some harrowing moments of credible danger. Especially memorable is the leopard seal sequence; a frightening combat between canine and vicious sea monster that has a taste for surprise and brutality.
Where Eight Below falters is in its insistence on the dogs' story. The film could have been cut virtually in half. Marshall obsesses over these animals, and lets them prance about onscreen for nearly an hour, asking us to treat them not just as beasts, but as dimensional characters. And for as many human traits Marshall can squeeze out of the dogs, we're mostly unconvinced. The animals are still animals, and a large chunk of their performances should have found homes on the cutting room floor. The human story also scrapes in the second half, with Walker's tedious begging act as he travels from agency to agency, looking for a way back to Antarctica. But Marshall freshens up the story with a couple squirts of romance, rising above the usual Disney boy/girl hand-holding. Katie and Jerry's PG fling is bold enough to acknowledge adult relationships, despite being limited by Marshall's fixation with the dogs.
Paul Walker does fine work here as Jerry, this time mercifully avoiding his usual surf-style usage of "bro". Jason Biggs also pokes his head in on occasion, spitting out some hit-and-miss humor. The surprise performance, however, is Moon Bloodgood as Katie, finally shedding her Maxim modeling days and donning some film-acting caliber delivery. Her screen time's small, but she's easy on the eyes and works her lines with ease.
Eight Below is another pleasant surprise in the usual cinematic drought of February. Marshall shows courage with his direction, showing an adept sense for practicality. His dogs may be too dominant with their screen time, but at least he has the mind to let the weather sway its hand over the dogs' chance for survival. It's still Disney, but at least it isn't Snow Dogs.
-www.samseescinema.com
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