One hell of a "Feel Good Movie" during the time of pandemic. If only this movie was given more time in the cinemas, surely it would have been a major Hit. Enjoyed every moment of this movie!! 8/10
A movie with a CGI dog as starring??? what the..??? I don't know what are smoking in Hollywood these days, but they should change the supplier.
It's cute. The story jumps around a bit and there's a few emotional rollercoasters but overall it was pretty good.
The CGI animation of Buck was surprisingly well done. Good movie, would recommend.
A functional adaptation of Jack London's classic story, and one told with too much CGI. There have been better adaptations of the novel, but at least this one has the talents of Harrison Ford lending it a bit of gravitas.
The dogs have more expression than any animal from new Lion King movie.
What a great movie!! The cinematography was breathtaking. Really enjoyed every bit of it.
The CGI dog can be a little distracting at first but other than that there is nothing memorable about this movie.
I'm a fan of Jack London's novels, but this movie is just bad. Besides, I don't understand the need to make a CGI dog, and not too believable either, it looks more like a cartoon.
A nice feel good movie where Harrison Ford plays a supporting role to a dog.
Really beautiful movie, in multiple ways. If you want a warm story for a family evening, this one is perfect.
Nicely done. Honest, heartfelt, sad.
I shed a few tears during the film. It touched me very much. It is not a feelgood movie. This one follows a faithful line, a life line if you will. That of the dog Buck. He meets many different people who walk a part of the way with him. In the end it is the wonderful Harrison Ford. Sometime before that, the at least equally wonderful Omar Sy.
It’s a story of life. Invented? Yes, perhaps. Is Buck a CGI dog? Most certainly so. Did that bother me? Not in the least. It’s a heartfelt adventure that I recommend without reservation.
From the beginning, I was thinking that I wasn’t going to be able to sit through an entire movie with such an obvious computer animated dog. I would say about 20 minutes in, I realized that there was no way they could’ve pulled this movie off using a real dog. At times, the dog appears completely real. That just shows how well made the movie is.
So heart whelming and motional. This is by far the best movie I've watched.
Ok we start with the obvious the CGI on all the dogs and animals it starts very bad.
It is very distracting at first but you get to used at it. The movie is of course a feel food movie with very unexpected cute and laugh moments. The cinematography was fantastic and the story was decent. It is worth the watch.
7/10
Fun family movie.
At the beginning you can see very good that Buck is made with CGI but after a while it gets better and you forgot about it to. Story is good. Loved the part with mailman Omar Sy and his girlfriend.
Great cast, lukewarm story development. They could have done much better. The CGI completely takes me out of the scene sometimes because it draws too much attention.
I really wanted this to be better, if nothing else for Cara Gee and Omar Sy, I always enjoy seeing them.
The dog, he just didn't seem real. Like he was CGI or something, but not a real dog. All the dogs in the movie, actually. Computer generated, I believe. They were good, though.
Cara Gee was the only exciting factor in this movie. Previously I only knew her from The Expanse and I was quite impressed to see her perform such a different character here.
The plot was pretty dumb and generic, to rely on (silly) CGI dogs certainly didn't help either.
Awful adaptation of the classic story.
THE UGLY: ‘THE CALL OF THE WILD (2020)’
WRITING: 40
ACTING: 50
LOOK: 35
SOUND: 50
FEEL: 35
NOVELTY: 55
ENJOYMENT: 40
RE-WATCHABILITY: 40
INTRIGUE: 30
EXPECTATIONS: 45
The Good:
Harrison Ford stands out as the only actor who manages to make his character seem real and likeable.
The second half is better than the first, and Ford manages to strike a rapport with the CGI Buck and act out his scenes naturally despite the fact.
The end credits song by X Ambassadors is decent.
The Bad:
Considering he's such a central character, Buck is a huge letdown. He's completely CGI, and not very good CGI either. The same goes for all the other dogs as well. Buck never feels real and I didn't connect with him, since he looks so obviously computer-generated. He makes me miss the days when dogs were played by real dogs.
The overall CGI work is very shoddy, which sucks most of the life out of the adventure and the spectacular Alaskan winter landscapes.
The artificial nature of the characters and landscapes in this film ruin most of the potential emotional content, make most characters feel lifeless and ensure the viewers are never immersed in the experience.
I also didn’t enjoy the fact that the film was trying to humanize Buck, by essentially making him a goofy character. It would work for a human character but seems out of place for a dog in an otherwise realistic film.
There's no real plot for the first 40 minutes or so of the film. It's mostly Buck trying to be the best dog possible in a new setting as well as pointless character moments that exist only to usher the film towards the real story. And why does the end of the first act feel like the conclusion of the entire film?
Omar Sy and Cara Gee come across as incredibly annoying and forced characters, who lack any kind of onscreen chemistry.
I'm surprised by how much focus this film puts on the terribly stereotypical or annoyingly over-the-top characters that aren't Harrison Ford.
Even after Harrison Ford appears, the film seems to lack a true direction or goal, making it just a floating piece of superficial cinema and not a very engaging family film.
It's a pity that the film fails to capture the emotional aspects of the story, because the potential is definitely there, at least during the final act.
The Ugly:
Never thought Ford would look so great with a big beard like that one.
VERDICT:
Not even a fashionably bearded Harrison Ford can save a film with superficial characters, a thin plot and zero emotional investment.
42% = :heavy_minus_sign: = UGLY
Where can I see the deleted scenes where the wolves eats the old man? ':)
Didn't know it was a children's movie....
Harrison Ford's acting was boring. The CGI was bad. The movie took wayyyy too many liberties from the book. It's a very very very PG rated movie meant for kids, however...I think that does a disservice to the book and teaching kids the reality of life. Plenty of other stories out there for a feel good movie...
Don't waste your time with this if you're looking for a serious or even semi-serious movie version of the book.
No bone for the white she-wolf!
No bone for the white she-wolf!
Jack London’s classic story adapted to a movie. I really liked this movie. It was family friendly and the story is a great one. My only criticism is the cgi..... it could have been better but all in all if you want your kids to watch a movie this is a good one.
I would not recommend this movie to anyone above 12 years old...It is very naive, childish, there is very little for grown ups here. Plus it is a CGI fest, with contrasted colors like a Samsung Phone on steroids, and it's looks so faaaake. You can totally tell if was all shot on breen screen it's really ugly
Welcome to uncanny dog valley
I'd give it 2 out of 5. It's beautifully filmed and Harrison Ford is, as usual, very good - but a dog who thinks like a man, who is really a super-hero and always thinking of the welfare of other dogs and the man who owns him ... well. No wonder they had to fake it. I haven't read Jack London's book but if the film is true to the book, I won't bother.
For context, I've never seen the other two films or read the book. It was a nice family version of the book as far as I could tell. The main problem I had with it was that all the CGI was extremely noticeable. One saving grace of this movie was the great actors who had to work with what they had.
This film was really meant to be a post Christmas family film, and it probably succeeds at that. What really bothered me is that the dogs are completely CGI. I can understand it for the scenes where the animals would be in peril, but for the close intimate scenes between man and dog, it really hurts the film to not have a real dog in the part of Buck. Also, this tale is of a kinder gentler Buck, not the tale in the Jack London novel.
You can add an extra star if you are just trying to entertain some kids for a couple of hours. For the adults, seeing that Harrison Ford is the old pro he always has been is probably going to save the experience for you.
It's nice seeing Harrison Ford taking on supporting roles - hahaha! Buck, or whatever team animated him, disappeared into his role, and the "dog's" character was well supported by all the other actors.
Don't expect anything, invest yourself...it'll pay back in spades. I'm 57, I know it's CGI, I know what ray-tracing is...hell, I can figure out 95% of any magic tricks I'm shown, but I also enjoy them much more than most of the other People because I was sort-of into it as a kid (even saw Slydini do a half-day demo for magicians.
Anton Petrov is a YouTuber ("What da Math") who regurgitates the latest scientific papers he reads. Most are about astrophysics, but one recently was about how scientists have recently found proof that dogs love their People, but for an unusual reason...it turns out dogs have William's Syndrome. And, I'd recently seen another YouTuber who interviews People with different rare conditions, so I knew what William's Syndrome was.
My Dad and Grandfather used to take us camping. We went target shooting on open gun ranges. I helped grease lead loads he poured.
All the reasons above helped me invest myself into this.
Whatever details you can remind yourself about how what you're seeing relates to you...if you want to enjoy this movie, it'll pay back in spades, just sayin'...I don't rate movies above an eight too often ("Fanny and Alexander" hahaha).
Twas okay. But they gotta stop making these dog movies.
This is a must see for dog lovers. We all at some point in live would have one (or many if we're lucky) a dog like this.
Shout by Saint PaulyBlockedParent2020-02-27T21:09:32Z
(AKA Beethoven Goes to Alaska)
Look, this is a kid's movie about a dog in nature and if you like any of those things you'll already like it more than me. Yet, even objectively, this retelling of the classic Jack London book has none of the rugged poetry or naturalist lyricism. Instead, it's a CGI dumbing down of the novel targeting an audience who's too young to dislike movies. So, if the wild calls, don't pick up.