Much about this Arctic adventure film looks to be inspiration for JURASSIC PARK.
Although there are no prehistoric beasts, there are beasts. It is the characters and the nature of the experience which reminds a viewer of Jurassic Park.
The characters are all quite believable, making for what typically makes the best story line, credible characters in incredible situations.
However, this situation is not as incredible as Jurassic Park.
Still, the characters remind us of it. We have "good" guys for the most part, and the "bad" guys are not really "bad" so much as victims of circumstance of their personalities.
Jurassic had three bad guys, and didn't contrive too much in their fates, as two bad guys perish along with at least two heroic types, leaving the most insane and irresponsible of the evil men alive and smelling pretty and still rich.
Here, there is a similar character, a maniac who risks the lives of his group in folly, not waiting for the time to tell him when to explore, but deciding he is a god who tells time when he can explore.
In real life, such a maniac would perish, and the other unstable character can actually be excused his madness, for he does so out of a hunger we probably can't imagine.
And like Jurassic, there is no contrivance to save heroes, bad guys, the brave, or anyone. The chips fall where the chips fall, with just enough miraculous survival to be credible.
The experience is harrowing, and full of adventure. It is a bit chaotic, as we aren't sure who these people are for a long time, but we gradually learn to care about them.
This is an exciting film, and has all the credentials of a good film. Thumbs up.
