The Canyon

Plot: The possibilities of getting lost in the Grand Canyon escalate dramatically if you choose not to properly plan your trip into the canyon, use uncertified guides (esp with drinking problems), no wilderness survival training, no maps or compass, and have no way of communicating with the outside world. Having no food or water, lost in the canyon, under high heat conditions can alone kill you, much less the idea of wild animals attacking you? I must point out that idea about wolves in the Grand Canyon Park and outlying areas attacking people is totally absurd! Whoever thought this one up did not do much research because wolves, though they have been spotted in these areas on occasion, are for the most part rare and shy of humans. Timber wolves, which the movie portrays, mainly exist in Canada and the northwestern states towards Canada. So this part is completely unrealistic for an already busy plot. Wolves only act like this when they are starving to death, but the Timber wolves shown in this movie looked pretty well fed.

However this movie does make you think twice about roughing it alone out in no man's land. If you don't have the stomach to see what people have to do under desperate circumstances, then perhaps you need to look for another movie?

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.

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.

I am well aware that us viewers have different taste and likes when it comes to movies, but I think this movie has been put down where as I think it is worth watching. The story line is nothing really new, but the acting was solid, sure no Oscar coming their way, but the actors got the story line across well enough. The film is set in nice surroundings even if it was not shot in the Grand Canyon as some people have pointed out, it is still eye pleasing. If the producers would have had a bigger budget, bigger stars I think this would have been received better by the general public, but it still makes for good viewing for what it is.

By far not the worst film I have seen, and it deserves a solid 7 out of 10

I'm not gonna say much. What struck me and really disappointed, which flavored the whole film, is how stupid they were to not stay put and find the mules. Idiots.