The Call of the Wild

The Call of The Wild is a solid, incredibly well made movie. Buck is an extremely likeable protagonist who goes on a compelling journey of self discovery. Despite being a dog and not having a word of dialogue, Buck is an incredibly interesting, three dimensional character with a well developed arc. The CGI used to bring him to life is amazing. While it doesn't always look natural, Buck's CGI model is so expressive and can cause the viewer to experience a variety of different emotions, despite not even being there. Harrison Ford also does well as the elderly, depressed John Thornton, carrying a great deal of tragedy and mystery about his past throughout the movie. The movie also features stunning cinematography, with several beautiful shots and camera angles. It's a true joy to look at. However, there are a few problems with the movie. For starters, John Thornton narrates a lot throughout the movie, despite not being present for, and therefore having no way of knowing about, the events that he's describing. Another issue is Dan Stevens' character; Hal. Hal is an entirely unnecessary, one dimensional antagonist, who just doesn't work with the story this movie is trying to tell. His presence also completely derails John Thornton's resolution. However, despite these problems, I still recommend The Call Of The Wild. It's a fantastic movie, with an incredible protagonist and stunningly beautiful visuals that you shouldn't miss.

There have been several movies "Call of the Wild" but this is the first time one has told the entire story in Jack London's book. The real main character is the big dog, Buck, and his transformation from house pet to sled dog to alpha male of his own hybrid Timberwolf pack.

This movie in its form could not have been made with real dogs. Instead they used state of the art motion capture to generate realistic animation for the animals. This is covered quite nicely in a series of "making of" extras on the movie disc.

Harrison Ford, almost 80 now, is very effective as the narrator and the old prospector that befriends Buck. This is a really good movie, at first the sight of an animated Buck threw me off but soon it made no difference, the story is so good.

I watched it at home on BluRay from my public library, my wife skipped, not her kind of movie.

I was actually very impressed with the CGI dog, who became more and more real as the film went on, probably because of how emotionally involved you become with his character. Harrison Ford is great (though in the film for probably 50% of the time). Anyway, it's all about the story of Buck the dog and it's a sweet, lovely, story with an old school feel. The CGI expressions on Buck's face are just slightly hyper-real, as in a bit overly emotive compared to a dog in reality, but it works, and if you like dogs, then you'll love Buck and his adventures in this movie. He gets treated quite harshly and violently at times, but that makes his story all the more emotional at the end. Great for kids aged 7 and up and great for parents who like an old school movie or fans of Harrison Ford too!

The Call of the Wild is a familiar but heartwarming adventure that's surprisingly funny and emotional. The CG dog is great and conveys lots of emotions and the CG in general is also great, though it has moments where it dips in quality. Harrison Ford is amazing and Omar Sy gives a really good supporting performance. Chris Sanders' direction is great and there are some thrilling set pieces. It's well filmed, well paced and the music by John Powell is fantastic.

I am not sure how the story in the book goes, but the movie was great! It had adventure, beautiful scenery, laughter, and sadness. The entire film flowed well, it had intensity and kept your thoughts wanting to discover what happened next.