Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

As Good As It Gets

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

I watched this late at night and I was surprised I didn't fall asleep. But you know how sometimes a movie is so bad you just have to keep watching it? That would be this movie. Wooden acting by all the actors involved. Bad plot, with none of the relationships worth paying any attention to. Hyenas showing up at the oddest, yet most convenient, times. Hmmm, and they are in Africa and unprotected from the elements and the only animal that they ever run into is a hyena? OK, one snake. And I hate snakes, but that wasn't even frightening. Totally unreal. Did this even show in the theaters? I can't imagine it lasting more than a week before word got out how awful it was. Bah.

I've never seen as blatant a lie as this in filmmaking. I can only imagine that the producers knew they could not legitimately advertise this movie on its on merit, so they actually took to staging a poster image that had nothing to do with the actual film.IMDb, however, was more than honest in the plot summary. This is where our trusts must remain.This is no spoiler because I'm telling you what's NOT in this film and what's not in this film is Stephen Dorff with a gun defending his girlfriend and daughter. Ever! This actually NEVER happens. Stephen Dorff's character doesn't even SEE a gun, let alone, hold one. I'm actually baffled and appalled. Stephen Dorff, very poorly I might add, played the role of a dead-beat dad with the parenting skills of a dead tick. This was NOT a Stephen Dorff film. It LITERALLY had nothing to do with Stephen Dorff. This was a Svetlana Metkina and Maisie Williams film. And who the heck are they?? No one good. Let me tell you, I tried to give them the benefit of not doubting unknown faces. But, the best either of these two girls had for them was their ability to shed tears. Other than that, the most flat and ill-fitted actors to be cast in an attempted thriller like this were in this movie.AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THIS SCRIPT!! HA!! MY GOD IN HEAVEN! It's actually cringe-inducing. Seriously, you will cringe at how lame the dialogue is in this film. The actors, some of whom are reputable actors, couldn't even deliver these lines organically. Just don't pay for it!! For the love of all that is sacred in this life, just don't spend your money.

Sveta's character is more interesting than meets the eye, plot notwithstanding. Her attitude towards reality and survival was declared in a few, brief bits of dialogue. One scene where she is beating herself up in Russian, feeling guilty for the death of her partner, comes across as a natural emotional response to a horrible event. The second refers to "civil war" as an irrevocable educational crucible, in not so many words, when she is responding to the kid's question about where she learned to recognize something evil. These bits are profound and convey quite a lot of depth and meaning to a character too easily dismissed by a less insightful viewer.

This movie could be used in filmclass on how not to make an effective dramathriller.The first third establishes Stephen Dorff as the main lead, at that point of the movie it's a familydrama.That changes though in the second third, where without spoiling anything "something happens" and Stephen Dorff "dissappears from the movie".Which of course is a surprise as the movie markets itself as a Stephen Dorff-movie on the cover and he's the dominating force in the first third as well as said.He's also sporting a gun in the cover to make you believe it's a actionthriller but in the movie he does not have a gun, he plays a very non-threatening hyena expert.The movie then pretty much out of the blue turns into a thriller with Dorff's girlfriend and daughter trying to escape badly written stereotypical "bad guys" played by Peter Stormare (who could play a role like this in his sleep) and 2 unknowns.The acting overall is uninspired and occasionally just plain bad, the kid does try and gets it right occasionally but she can't save this movie although I'm sure in another movie with the right director she can shine but it's just a lackluster production overall.3.5 out of 10 from me, there are hints that there are some talent involved, but overall it just fails to entertain and make you care about what's gonna happen.