Will seeing Shadow limp into sight in "Homeward Bound" (1993) or witnessing Lassie rescue Gramps and Timmy from a burning building ever get old? Will the human spirit ever go unmoved while observing eight of our most loyal friends struggle for survival in the new Disney creation "Eight Below"? Most likely the answer is "no."
This factor, and this factor only, is the foundation for this predictable and initially flat adventure story directed by Frank Marshall, the man who produced recent thrillers like "The Bourne Supremacy" (2004) and the feel-good animal flick "Seabiscuit" (2003).
The movie is more reminiscent of the documentary "March of the Penguins" (2005) than fictitious tales like "Lassie" or "Snow Dogs" (2002). In fact, for most of the film, the restless human characters and their active canine counterparts are at opposite points of the globe (the film contrasts a mild and serene Oregon with a severe Antarctic winter), adding a touch of Discovery Channel to this predictable Disney tale.
The film commences with a knowledgeable, young and oh-so-tan expedition leader named Jerry Shepard (played by Paul Walker) at play with eight of his team's most impressive members -- sled dogs.
Shepherd and his team prepare to guide the ambitious geologist Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood, of "Capote" [2005]) into one of the world's most far-reaching mountains. The audience learns that, along with a crew of three others, Shepard is vital in running one of the world's remote Antarctic stations on this continental hinterland. Jason Biggs and Moon Bloodgood help him to complete this task, playing Shepard's goofy tomfool of a friend and his lost love, respectively.
As the story develops, an extremely foreseeable storm interferes with the scientist's plans of finding a rare meteor on the storm-ridden mountain. After two brushes with death and countless mishaps, McClaren and Shepard - along with their trusty crew - arrive back at their station frostbitten, injured and on the verge of exhaustion. In order to care for their wounds they are forced to evacuate to one of the few hospitals on the continent -- without their dogs, who are chained and for whom they promise to return for in a couple of hours.
When the storm proves even more sizable than they had first believed and their window for rescuing the dogs is firmly shut, they are forced to return to the United States without them, knowing that their actions will soon cause the death of eight of their most staunch friends.
Although the movie is (perhaps hyperbolically) tag-lined as being "the most amazing story of survival, friendship, and adventure ever told," the "friendship" the film speaks of has less to do with a human-to-canine bond as it does with the friendship between the dogs.
The sled dogs are gracious and righteous all 155 days of their struggle, showing a deep understanding and affinity for each other. When one hound is crippled, they do not leave his side until he eventually freezes to death. The dogs devise nothing less than brilliant ploys to catch their fill of birds, showing that they have more acting abilities in their paws than Paul Walker has in his entire parka-clad body.
This said, don't expect to avoid breaking down a few times during a movie that at first glance seems to include only trite drama and a picture-perfect happy ending. Even though it is clear that the film would have to end with at least a majority of the dogs surviving, this does not stop the leaking of a few dozen tears in sympathy for the lost dogs.
As with many Disney movies, the human acting leaves the audience yearning for more animal screen time, as the days the dogs are left to their own devices stretch into weeks and months. Consequently, the budding love story between Walker and Bloodgood is an unwelcome diversion, and Biggs' slapstick humor couldn't get any sadder.
The movie shows how hard it is to live with decisions that you are helpless to change, especially when time is your enemy. It very subtly suggests that in order to live with your past decisions, you must do that which "puts your heart at rest."
It is also inconspicuous in its mockery of the improvement of science at the cost of lives. The editing cleverly contrasts a brief episode of the dogs starving with a scene in which the "famed" meteorite is met with applause to an unsuspecting academic audience.
Fortunately, although the themes of the movie evoke major heart-tugging, there is always a good amount of appealing cinematography to focus on, including images of the tepid Pacific coast and the snowy expanse of Antarctica. The storyline, too, is captivating and never really drags, although the movie doesn't vary from its portrayal of dogs, then people, then dogs, until they meet again at the end.
Regardless of the acting flops and humans' lack of ingenuity, there is something that shines in all Disney movies which is indeed present here. Maybe the filmmakers succeed at portraying life as we wish it to be, maybe we just like to stare at loveable huskies for two hours. Either way, even the most skeptical viewer will be captivated by this surprisingly entertaining film.
