Buck is a big-hearted dog whose blissful domestic life is turned upside down when he is suddenly uprooted from his California home and transplanted to the exotic wilds of the Yukon during the Gold...
It goes without saying just like every dog story out there, “The Call Of The Wild” has its heart set in the right place even if it’s presentation suffers from a cheesy script and odd direction. The acting is very strong, even if some of them do tend to go over the top in a lot of instances, the cinematography was solid and compact, editing was never a problem, it created such a rich, wholesome atmosphere that actively made me want to get out of the house and explore beyond the confines of my boundaries, a part of me had come to appreciate the earnest tone that it set while still somewhat sticking to some of the novels roots (via upping the danger and spectacle) and as a tale of survival, love, trust, loyalty and redemption, I don’t think it completely misses the mark on the bare necessities.
However, outside of the multitude of cliches it packs, the villain storyline (yes, there’s a villain in this) and the fact that this was more or less a light-hearted version of what is essentially a much darker story, the CG, even from the looks of the trailer, was the most problematic aspect for me. It immediately gave off the impression of just how obvious it looked. To be completely honest, it did make getting into the story a little tricky at times because since the entire dynamic of the story is mostly centered around these animals, you want to get as immersed into the situation as possible to make it look believable so the fact that EVERY ANIMAL in this movie are rather unnecessary splices of CGI baffles me especially when you consider this film had a budget of 135 million. It’s just so disorientating and it almost serves as emotional bankruptcy.
So yes, the poor visuals definitely hurt the overall experience, but the solid execution on the overarching plot allows you to have some fun with it.
