6.7 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
When a former river guide arranges a white-water rafting trip to celebrate her son’s birthday and salvage her marriage, her skills and courage are soon put to the test when three mysterious strangers threaten to turn their vacation into a living hell.
Starring: Meryl Streep, Kevin Bacon, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, John C. ReillyPsychological thriller | 100% |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Adventure | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: VC-1
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
BD-Live
Mobile features
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Stop me if this sounds familiar. A tough but tender mother struggles to hold her family together as a daunting crisis unfolds. Fighting to keep her wits about her, she faces her darkest fears, deals with her insecurities and taps into a dormant caldera of mama-lion ferocity to overcome a dangerous, dominant alpha male. Her husband, a negligent businessman and emotionally divested father, undergoes an evolution of his own. Initially an impotent weakling, dear ol' dad digs deep and discovers the fighter, lover and father buried beneath years of office paperwork and management meetings. Ring any bells? The River Wild is just one of many, many gender recalibration thrillers that surfaced in the '80s and '90s. Women weren't just housewives and mothers anymore, men were rapidly divorcing themselves from traditional hunter/gatherer roles and families were drastically different than they were just twenty years before. And Hollywood responded as Hollywood always responds: by flooding theaters with socially conscious fables in which crumbling families have to reconcile their differences and overcome the challenges of the changing times. The River Wild isn't the best of its ilk, nor is it immune to harsh criticism. It's simply a decent '90s family-in-peril thriller worth its weight in popcorn.
"If the raft gets caught in there, it gets sucked under the falls. Swimming? Swimming is beside the point."
The River Wild pushes upstream with an imperfect but spirited 1080p/VC-1 encoded transfer. After a poorly contrasted opening, matters improve dramatically when Gail leaves Boston. Colors are a bit chilly but altogether natural, the film's shores and riverbeds are bright and inviting, and black levels, while less than spectacular, are deep and earthy. Detail is also noteworthy, even if some pronounced edge enhancement (and subsequent ringing) makes the ride a rocky one. Fine textures are respectable, object definition is sharp and satisfying, overall clarity is quite good (barring a few scenes that take place over a campfire) and a pleasant layer of grain is present at all times. Efficient encoding bolsters the experience and there isn't any unfortunate artifacting, banding, errant noise or other eyesores to report. (Some minor print marks appear on occasion, but never distract.) As it stands, The River Wild looks pretty good. Had the studio minted a brand new master though, one primed for the film's Blu-ray release (sans the DVD-era edge enhancement), it could have been ever better.
No serious qualms here. Universal's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track delivers a thrilling lossless experience hindered only by the film's at-times dated '90s sound design. Dialogue is as crystal clear as Salmon River waters, prioritization is commendable and only a handful of lines sink instead of swim. ADR is a nuisance, but that's hardly the fault of the mix, and a few sound effects are rather thin and hollow compared to the rest of the soundscape. Again though, the studio's efforts are seldom called into question. The LFE channel embraces every roaring rapid and raging waterfall, the rear speakers are used to great effect to wrap the untamed wilderness around the listener, and engaging directionality and slick pans leave a lasting impression. And while the ever-tenuous balance between the various channels isn't always as impeccable as it could be, literally every criticism that stirred within my brain was quashed with a shrug of the shoulders and a simple response: "sounds like a '90s flick to me." Fans of the film will be more than satisfied with the results.
The River Wild doesn't include any special features. Not even a theatrical trailer.
The River Wild may be standard '90s fare, but it's good standard '90s fare. Streep pushes herself to then-unseen extremes, Strathairn lends gravitas to what could've easily been a thankless role and Bacon chews scenery with toothy glee as the film's Big Bad. Of course, Robert Elswit's cinematography and the film's harrowing rafting sequences certainly help. Universal's Blu-ray release is worth considering too. Its video transfer, though plagued by edge enhancement, is strong and its DTS-HD Master Audio track doesn't disappoint. There aren't any special features to speak of, but don't let that dampen your interest. At the very least, The River Wild warrants a rent.
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