The Call of the Wild – Movie Reviews by Ry!
The Call of the Wild – Heart of the Bark … A Journey’s Call
When you think about an adventure, you think about traveling into the unknown. Looking onward towards a journey, you witness bridges of strength and truth. An adventure predicates itself on ideals, pushing forward stories that seek meaning through character and revelations. The Call of the Wild is a tale that provides the journey of a dog thrust into a new world. Even with some generalization and obvious use of CGI, this story provides a genuine tale of what it means to be on an adventure.
The story centers around Buck. A dog living a good life, he is taken away from his home and sent off to the Yukon. Taken into a world unknown, Buck embarks on a journey to a place where he truly belongs. The outline uses the basics of the adventure genre. You have a character that is faced with a conflict. This conflict leads them on a linear path to learn truths or revelations about their place in the world. Through this, the filmmakers use common themes of personal conflict, finding yourself within a mixing of coming-of-age tropes to move beyond the general outline. By making Buck the main character, it allows for a centralized focus of believability. You understand the conflict, but the obviousness never lifts completely above the fictionalized creation. As convenient plot devices move the scenario from California to the Yukon, the story kicks into high gear for the adventure.
The rest of the story centralizes around the journey into the unknown. Through secondary characters, general growth moves beyond the basics, driving a factor of wholesomeness and realism. As Buck ventures into the Yukon, he crosses path with Perrault (Omar Sy) and John Thornton (Harrison Ford). These two provide a genuine feeling of companionship, providing subtle layers of characterization. Within the obviousness, it does rely too much on forced exposition and CGI created situations. This lack of depth takes away from meaningful growth, but it doesn’t take away from the fun of the adventure. As you move into the third act, the audience is witness to Buck finding his true place in the world. The climax gives the heart of revelation, leading into an epilogue that leaves a good feeling about the journey. The Call of the Wild is an adventure tale that levels out the basics within its own creation. If you are a fan of the material or like watching adventures on the big screen, I say go check it out at the theaters. Even at a discount, there is fun to be had within this journey into the Yukon.
Full Score – 3 out of 5 (Theater Discount)