Eight Below

Starring: Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood
Directed by: Frank Marshall
Rating: PG
Genre: Adventure, Drama
Box Office: $
2006

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An Antarctic research team (Paul Walker, Jason Biggs, Bruce Greenwood) are forced to evacuate during a severe storm, abandoning their eight sled dogs behind. As the dogs fight to survive in the harshest conditions over six months, the humans try to mount an unlikely rescue operation.

Review:

Tim: This is your typical, feel-good Disney sports movie, but without the sports. Instead, we have a number of sled dogs fighting to survive, and their dedicated owner trying to get back to them.

The scenes with the dogs battling to survive are all the best ones of the film. How could this go wrong? You have cute dogs, fighting the elements, predators, and their own fears. This is a proven formula, and it should be of no surprise that these scenes work and are very entertaining.

The scenes with the human are far less enjoyable. They derail the movie and grind the film to a halt. Paul Walker is perhaps the most boring lead of all time. The dude just puts us to sleep, seemingly effortlessly. Jason Biggs, on the other hand, annoys and frustrates us to no end, with his absolutely terrible attempt at humor. He is so cheesy and so ridiculous, I fear I will hold a grudge against him forever. He's blown through all his goodwill from the American Pie movies, and I doubt he will ever get it back. The rest of the cast isn't very exciting at all.

Eight Below succeeds when we're left to watch the eight sled dogs on their own, fascinated by these animals' struggle to stay alive. This is good family viewing, and I'm sure kids will love these scenes and not recognize the terrible acting by the humans during their scenes. Adults, however, will find this a bit annoying. Combining the great sled dog scenes with the terrible human ones amounts to a less-than-good movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Milo & Otis, Homeward Bound