The Call of the Wild

Yesterday my Mom and I went to see The Call of the Wild, a heartwarming adaptation of Jack London's classic tale of adventure and friendship, and we both enjoyed it.  Buck is a large and high-spirited dog belonging to a prominent judge in Santa Clara, California when he is stolen and transported to the wilds of Alaska during the gold rush of the 1890s because dogs are needed and top dollar is paid.  He is sold to Perrault (Omar Sy) and Francoise (Cara Gee), French-Canadian mail carriers who use him as a sled dog on their route along the Yukon trail.  Buck is challenged by the lead dog Spitz and, after defeating him, he becomes the lead dog and makes the trip to Dawson in record time.  Eventually the Canadian government determines that the mail route is no longer needed and the dogs are sold to a cruel gold prospector named Hal (Dan Stevens), his sister Mercedes (Karen Gillan) and her husband Charles (Collin Woodell).  They are inexperienced in the wild and abuse the dogs.  Buck is eventually saved by John Thornton (Harrison Ford), a man trying to escape his tragic past by hiding out in the Yukon, but it is Buck who really saves John.  Together they go on the adventure of a lifetime where Buck finds his true place in the world.  I may be biased because I love dogs but I found this movie to be incredibly touching.  I loved the relationship between John and Buck and I really enjoyed Ford's earnest performance as a grief-stricken man brought back to life by a dog.  The Alaskan and Canadian scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and I loved all of the action sequences, especially an avalanche, an incident on a frozen lake, and a canoe going down a waterfall.  Much has been made about the CGI used in creating the dogs but I honestly didn't find it distracting at all (there were a few moments when Buck's size in comparison to John is a little bit inconsistent but that is the extent to which I noticed anything amiss).  While there are a few scenes involving animal cruelty, I think this is a thrilling action adventure with a great message that the whole family would enjoy.  I highly recommend it!