Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Sabah Hensley This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

Blake Rivera If you like to be scared, if you like to laugh, and if you like to learn a thing or two at the movies, this absolutely cannot be missed.

Fulke Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

jackasstrange That is everything you'll get from this turd named 'The River Wild'. Awful piece of trash. Meryl Streep did very well, but for what? Character development was awful. I couldn't care for the characters any less, and everything was black and white (either good or villain). In the end I was rooting for Kevin Bacon's character, but since his character was also poorly built and unbelievably dumb I couldn't care less for him either. But calling his character dumb is not very fair. The whole film is about events that will challenge your mind, but not in a good way. I could start talking about how unconvincing the entire thing was, like, for example, how many times the family could've escaped from the bandits but didn't because of an utterly dumb move. And the Deus Ex Machine moments too. But would be a pointless exercise. There is also some cliché scenes that are cringe worthy. But pointless to go further. Just take my words for it. This film is a mess. Weird for a project with names such as Kevin Bacon, John C.Really and Meryl Streep in the cast. 4.6/10

david-sarkies The River Wild is classed as an action movie but I would say that it has aspects of horror in it as well. I would not say that it is a pure horror movie, especially since people expect horror to have nasty creatures in it, but there are elements of it there. This movie is about a family who decide to take their son, Rouke, on a rafting holiday down a river. The wife (Meryl Streep) is an expert rafter and rower and she used to be a ranger in the park where they are rafting, but now she has moved to the city where she rows in much calmer waters. At the same time, three men are also rafting down the river, but their guide supposedly leaves after a fight and they must join up. The family soon begin to distrust the two men and it soon turns out they they are armed robbers and very violent ones at that. They want to go down river so that they might escape the police and live on the spoils of their heist.The horror of this movie comes out with the dominance that these men have over the family. They are in the stituation where they have absolutely no choice but to follow the orders of these men. Everything that they try to do fails because these men are both armed and physically stronger than the others. The husband is an architect who is on his first rafting adventure, and the wife, though she is quite fit physically, is incapable of fighting the men. Thus they must bow to these men's every demand or face the consequences.In true Hollywood fashion, they defeat the bad guys and none of the good guys die. The dog escapes and the husband, who flees in the night, narrowly misses being shot. In the end this movie is thin on theme and plot. The men are suspicious right from the start as they look rough and are very impatient. They begin friendly but behave in a way the is quite unfriendly. This is a horror because we, living in a world where we believe in our freedom, do not want it taken away from us, and in this situation the men have done that. They live by no law and serve nobody. They are unpredictable and dangerous. Still, I was not scared and found the movie reasonable. The journey through the Gauntlet at the end of the movie is the best part and it is worth seeing for that only.

FlashCallahan Gail is a professional at water rafting.She twigs every day, and she is in a very good shape. She takes her family, one day, to a rafting trip down the river, but she has no idea that the planned trip is about to become a nightmare.Two escaping robbers with a handgun, meet the family in the way, and join them to the trip.Only later Gail realises that their new friends are dangerous criminals, but it's too late.The two men force them to stay together, and to keep cruising down the river.The family's life are risked not only by the two men, but also by the river which becomes more stormy and wilder....Thefirst thing that you notice about this movie is that it's the first time since 'Aliens' that a woman has taken the lead in a Hollywood action movie. Streep is an odd choice, but as the heroine, she really brings a vulnerability to her character which makes her wholly believable.The story isn't up to much, but thanks to such good direction and brilliant rapid sequences, this becomes more than an average thriller.Bacon is as sinister as needed, but he too has his vulnerable side. Sub plots involving marriage break ups and Benjamin Bratt are an added bonus, and Joseph Mazello proves he wasn't a one trick pony in Jurassic park, he's just as annoying in this.It's a shame it's not a well remembered movie, because it is a thrilling movie with some wonderful performances.

Leofwine_draca For a conventional Hollywood adventure story, THE RIVER WILD isn't bad at all. While it lacks the rawness of similarly-themed independent fare and the kind of twists and surprises you'd expect from the best this genre has to offer, it tells the story it sets out to tell with a large amount of success, mainly thanks to the lean script and no-nonsense pacing. Much of the action comes from a series of spectacular white-water rafting sequences in which the stunt team are really put through their paces. These mark the film's highlight. The human plot, involving a couple of hostage-takers, is less spectacular, but the film still gets by thanks to the calibre of the cast.Meryl Streep, although a little too earnest in some places for my liking, takes plaudits as the outdoors expert who has to use her wits to survive both nature and the evils of mankind. Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly are fine as the no-good criminals, and Benjamin Bratt bags a nice little role as a good-guy ranger. Youngster Joe Mazzello is a more mature presence than in the previous year's JURASSIC PARK, and David Straithairn (THE BOURNE ULTIMATUM) gets to have some fun as the straight-laced father forced into becoming a hero. Okay, so you know the outcome from the outset (and in a 12-certificate family adventure nothing THAT bad is ever going to happen), but this is nonetheless a mildly entertaining little movie.