Review of The River Wild (1994) by Tyler G — 17 Jun 2011

A bit of a forgotten action flick...River Wild was a pretty interesting suspense movie that was entertaining and fun to watch even if it got increasingly annoying, thanks to the snotty kid, "Roarke" (Joseph Mazzello). The irritating kid, and a husband (David Strathairn) who unfairly was the object of scorn for much of the film, Anyway....

"River Wild" is a really good adventure thriller which keeps you in its clutches, as much as they were in the raft, and at any point you could fall off. Basically white water rafting expert Gail Hartman (Meryl Streep) takes her family, son Roarke Hartman (Jurassic Park's Joseph Mazzello) and father/husband Tom Hartman (David Strathairn) on a trip down the river to go to their house. They have no idea what they are getting themselves involved with though when they are accompanied by Wade (Kevin Bacon) and Terry (John C. Reilly). They soon reveal themselves, after a short friendship, The bank robbers with a green bag with thousands of dollars turn The family trip into a nightmare as they travel down the river with the armed men, and encounter the dangerous/wild/stormy river stages, e.g. rocks and rapids. Gail and the other two are obviously trying to think and do anything that can get rid of the two men and get down the river safely.

Meryl Streep was an interesting choice as Gail - mother and white water guide - and while she was interesting (basically because this isn't what you'd think of as a normal Meryl Streep role) Meryl proves once again that at the time, she was the most versatile actress if not in the world, at least in Hollywood at the time. The sports/action area is a rare attempt, yet she did most of her stunts, which is surely not able to be learnt from acting classes I suppose.

Kevin Bacon always makes a convincing lead bad guy. He just has that face, don't you think? Bacon pulls off the charismatic bad guy so well you hate to see him turn, but when he does he's so damn good in that role as well. Just a perfect casting choice.

David Straithairn gets to have some fun as the straight-laced father forced into becoming a hero. John C. Reilly is always a trip to watch in his earlier movies. Until his comedic breakouts, He's played mostly dumb hicks who look like he has trouble tying his shoes and with that John C. Reilly always delivers. I've said my peace on Joseph Mazzello performance.

The River Wild is a very entertaining and suspenceful film, even though I am not a huge Meryl Streep fan, I've always respected her and her work. Mazzello aka Jurassic park boy just annoys but Kevin Bacon deserves the most praise of any of the actors in this movie, his work as Wade is classic. This movie is pretty good despite some short comings here and there, but The River Wild is worth your time for sure.