ALASKA

ALASKA is a standard B-grade wilderness movie on a big budget. The scenery looks great; the animals are terrific; the adventure is breathtaking; but, the dialogue and direction are noticeably weak. What is worse is the fact that the movie is peppered with obscenities and profane exclamations. In the story, after his wife died, airline pilot Jake moves his two teenage children Sean and Jessie to Alaska. In one of those classic scenes, Sean tells his father, “I wish you had died instead of Mom.” The next thing we know, a storm arises while Jake is delivering medical supplies, and he crashes into the side of a mountain. Sean and Jessie decide to brave the wilderness to find their father. Along the way, a polar bear cub becomes their guide. Even though some poachers make it difficult, everything turns out all right in the end.

Much of this movie is pretty far-fetched – almost laughably far-fetched. Even so, the beautiful photography and wholesome storyline would be enough to attract most families if it hadn’t been for the Indian mysticism and the foul language. You may have seen a better version of this movie last year. It was called THE AMAZING PANDA ADVENTURE. If you want wilderness adventure, you may want to rent GRIZZLEY ADAMS or SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON from your local video store. ALASKA will probably leave you cold.