Mark Griffith's unique movie "A Cry in the Wild" is a movie adaptation of "Hatchet", a novel written by Gary Paulsen. The movie features Jared Rushton, acting as the 13-year old Brian Robeson, who is on a plane flight to visit his dad for his summer vacation. Unfortunately, the pilot suffers from a heart attack and the plane crashes into a lake. Only carrying his clothes and a hatchet, Brian has to learn how to survive in the sometimes mellow, otherwise harsh wilderness.
The movie crew does a decent job trying to portray the same events that occurred in the book; however, not all of them are described as vividly as in "Hatchet". Jared Rushton does an exceptional job acting as Brian because he expresses the "main" emotions in a pretty detailed way. The scenery and props are fitting to each situation, so the setting of this movie is superb!
Now to change my tone, and direct attention to the negatives. Jared Rushton is not behaving as Brian was in the book, for example his facial expressions are very mild and he doesn't cry at all or act as anyone would if they were in his state. I mean, wouldn't you be scared? Also, expressions such as wonder, disappointment, scared, etc. are basically not shown, so Jared R. could have expressed those more distinctly. There were lots of occasions in the movie that didn't exist in the book, for example the bear showed up several times in "Hatchet", as to replace many other wild animals, so someone should know the book before watching the movie. Brian Robeson had no exact memories of his parents before the divorce either, while in "A Cry in the Wild" he does.
All in all, I would rate the movie "A cry in the Wild" 2 and a half stars out of 5, because the movie team didn't exactly mirror the novel "Hatchet". Jared Rushton could not invoke the same emotions he was feeling in me. Also, the movie has scenes that don't occur in the book, and the events also take place in a different order than in "Hatchet". There isn't much drama either, a characteristic you'd expect in most movies. To get a 5 out of 5 stars , Mark Griffith and his crew could have added more excitement in certain parts of the adaptation and made Jared Rushton act out some feelings more precisely. I would advise you to read the book before you see "A Cry in the Wild". Although not a must watch, this movie adaptation still is worth a look, so if you have time to kill, check it out.
The movie crew does a decent job trying to portray the same events that occurred in the book; however, not all of them are described as vividly as in "Hatchet". Jared Rushton does an exceptional job acting as Brian because he expresses the "main" emotions in a pretty detailed way. The scenery and props are fitting to each situation, so the setting of this movie is superb!
Now to change my tone, and direct attention to the negatives. Jared Rushton is not behaving as Brian was in the book, for example his facial expressions are very mild and he doesn't cry at all or act as anyone would if they were in his state. I mean, wouldn't you be scared? Also, expressions such as wonder, disappointment, scared, etc. are basically not shown, so Jared R. could have expressed those more distinctly. There were lots of occasions in the movie that didn't exist in the book, for example the bear showed up several times in "Hatchet", as to replace many other wild animals, so someone should know the book before watching the movie. Brian Robeson had no exact memories of his parents before the divorce either, while in "A Cry in the Wild" he does.
All in all, I would rate the movie "A cry in the Wild" 2 and a half stars out of 5, because the movie team didn't exactly mirror the novel "Hatchet". Jared Rushton could not invoke the same emotions he was feeling in me. Also, the movie has scenes that don't occur in the book, and the events also take place in a different order than in "Hatchet". There isn't much drama either, a characteristic you'd expect in most movies. To get a 5 out of 5 stars , Mark Griffith and his crew could have added more excitement in certain parts of the adaptation and made Jared Rushton act out some feelings more precisely. I would advise you to read the book before you see "A Cry in the Wild". Although not a must watch, this movie adaptation still is worth a look, so if you have time to kill, check it out.