CALL OF THE WILD (2020)

CALL OF THE WILD (2020)

Tagline: Based on the Legendary Novel.

(Drama, Adventure, Animals) [PG]

Some say that's the legend. Not so. You see, I knew him once when he was just a dog at a men's side. And even all this land is his, every summer, when he comes down to the valley, he remembers kind hands and old masters... before he went to his own... became his own master... before he heard the call.

This movie is about this dog named Buck that is basically a huge pain but ends up getting kidnapped and taken to the Yukon for his size and value. He is then sold to a kind man (played by Omar Sy famous for being a raptor trainer in JURASSIC WORLD) and his wife (played by Cara Gee mostly known for The Expanse TV show), who deliver mail across the snow and ice via dogsled. Buck must overcome incredible odds, fierce winters, and the sinister side of man in order to finally hear the call…of the wild. 

Let me first say there are some whacky freakin editing choices in this movie. Like the Mountie being given a digital arm because the production president thought the actor actually catching the mail pouch in that scene looked dumb. Buck is given ridiculous facial expressions that only further draw out that they used a CGI dog for the movie. I guess the studio was worried about dogs getting hurt, which is fine, but at the very least, if you are going to digitize a dog…make that thing look real in every scene. 

The good: This movie is very heartwarming, but still contains some of the rough elements of the original story.

Harrison Ford plays John Thornton in the movie and narrates it, which is awesome. It did take me a while to get used to the more gruff version of Harrison Ford on screen in comparison to when he was younger in the original STAR WARS trilogy, but overall I get super excited when he’s in something, even that crazy INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL flick.

The producers actually did a great job with the dog for the most part. Aside from some of the expressions you kind of forget you are looking at CGI in most of the scenes. Ford also does a great job of playing against that because when he’s shooting these scenes, there isn’t even a dog there.

We also get another Karen Gillan sighting and I never think it’s a bad idea to have her involved in your movie. She plays a rich woman that thinks it’s going to be totally fine to just ride into the wilderness to find gold with her idiot husband, or boyfriend, or whatever this dude is. I haven’t read the book since the 3rd grade. 

The bad: In the book, Buck was more of a wolf looking dog. I think they should have gone with that here and found ways to keep the dogs safe without using CGI. I think that turned a LOT of people off to this freakin thing. Now, the movie is the movie and the book is the book, but there is a scene where Buck starts to be embraced by a wolf pack. I think it would have been more realistic if Buck looks less like a giant house pet because in the wild, it’s more likely he would just have been eaten or at the very least attacked. Wolves have attacked regular dogs for what is said to be “resentment” over their decision to abandon freedom for humans, but if Buck was looking like a giant wolf, all bets might have been off regarding that. I also normally am not trying to get realism out of my movies, so this is barely a complaint. It’s more like an observation. 

Overall I have to give CALL OF THE WILD a 4 out of 7. I would watch it again and there are some middle scenes with the postman and his wife that are just really epic. However, this one has been done before and I am unlikely to buy it. 

GRAPHICS ARE THE PROPERTY OF 20TH CENTURY STUDIOS AND ARE USED FOR REVIEW PURPOSES ONLY. 

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