Rent The Edge (1997)

Excellent wilderness survival thriller - The Edge review by RP

It's a wilderness survival thriller - and a very good one, too.

Anthony Hopkins plays a billionaire with a beautiful wife (Elle Macpherson, aka 'The Body') who travel to a remote location for a fashion shoot. Hopkins suspects that photographer (Alec Baldwin) is having an affair with his wife. The men decide to fly further inland for some more shots, the plane crashes and the three survivors trek back through the wilderness where they have to fend off a ferocious Kodiak bear and Baldwin attempts to kill Hopkins. There is (of course) only one survivor.

Anthony Hopkins is a 'hammy' actor, but here he is quite restrained and plays his role well as a quiet, highly intelligent man who rather enjoys putting his theoretical learning to practical use in the wilderness. There is much male bonding and some scenes that will have you on the edge of your seat.

There are two real stars of this film: the magnificent scenery (it was filmed in Canada) and of course, Bart the bear.

This is a thoroughly enjoyable adventure film with good acting, an excellent script and believable characters and I'm surprised that it isn't better known - it deserves to be. 5/5 stars - highly recommended.

5 stars - The Edge review by JD

I try not to award 5 stars for good films unless they are really memorable. This is Hopkins at his very best. The dynamic between his character Charles Morse and Robert Green is complex and very intriguing. There are fight scenes with a grizzly bear that will take your breath away. The Canadian wilderness is awesome.

Superior thriller - The Edge review by CM

Above average - David Mamet screenplay - thriller which leaves the viewer to puzzle out a few things for themself, with stunning scenery, great action takes, & a near-fatal oversight by the survivors of a plane crash in the frozen North of Canada which wastes precious time & leaves them vulnerable to attack by a hungry Kodiak bear. There's one tedious & unfortunate film cliché that a lot of viewers are likely to anticipate. Brain vs brawn, expediency vs thrift, solidarity against danger vs personal desire while time is running out to get back to safety.