The Call Of The Wild (2020) Review

The Call Of The Wild (2020) Review 

 I am a huge fan of Harrison Ford so when I saw the trailer for this film I was interested and I have now seen The Call Of The Wild and this is my review. The premise of the film sees a dog taken from a life of luxury and attempt to adapt to a new lifestyle when he meets humans and animals that will have a huge effect on his life. 

Main Character

Now I know I mentioned Harrison Ford but the actual main character of the film is that of the dog Buck. Now this film could have been very cheesy and silly especially if the dog had started talking but luckily it doesn't do that. Buck is one of the most fleshed out characters of the year so far and that is crazy when you consider he doesn't speak one word in the film. You just see in his body language and the way he acts the way he is speaking and you really do grow to care about Buck and want to see him succeed in the film. 

Supporting Characters

Now on to Harrison Ford, he isn't actually in the film as much as the trailer makes out but when he is he does a great job. He seems to care in this film which is important for Ford and leads him to give a strong performance which has a great blend of drama and humour. He has the most personal connection with Buck in the film and you really grow to see there friendship and it is really nice and powerful to watch. It is especially impressive when you think that the majority of his acting in this film is with a CGI Dog. Omar Sy plays the first person to come across Buck and I thought he bought a real energy to the film, I liked how his character and Buck interacted and grew a bond, it was nice to see how it comes across and how both of them benefit from their friendship. Dan Stevens is in this film and he plays an antagonist that is after Ford and Buck in the film and even though he isn't given very much to work with he looks like he is having quite a bit of fun in the film and seems to revel in his corny villanous role. 

Story

Now the first half of the story for me was excellent, it was fun and exciting but also had the appropriate amount of depth especially between Buck and the head of his new pack, it is a compelling part of the film and one that really works. However, the 2nd half of the film moves at a slower pace and I didn't really find it that interesting, seeing Ford and Buck interact was nice to see and it had a good ending but I just feel like the film couldn't quite keep the energy that the first half of the film had. 

Script

This is an interesting script as the main character doesn't speak one word in the whole film, with the dialogue for the human characters it is fine. The drama feels well handled especially for Ford's character as he has quite an emotional backstory and it is well handled and some of the little bits of humour was nice. But, there is nothing that is very memorable about this script, not many lines I can remember or exchanges that I found to be overly interesting.

Style

The style of the film looks great mostly, the film is shot really nicely and there are some stunning visuals to look at. There are also some really fun sequences that are exciting and sometimes dramatic to watch. Though the biggest issue I have is that Buck himself looks incredibly CGI, now obviously I know he is a CGI dog but the good CGI is when you forget that the character is CGI such as Thanos in Avengers Infinity War, in this film it just looked really fake and at times it made me feel like i was watching a CGI creature. 

Overall

Overall this is a really good film, it has quite a bit of heart to it and this is a good watch for families and people who are dog owners for sure. It's not one that you need to rush out to see but if you do see it you will be entertained for sure.

Rating - 7/10