There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

I thought this was a pretty good adventure flick. Perhaps not for everyone, but it was an entertaining midday movie if nothing more.This movie is definitely more for kids and families. Some of the elements verge on magical (which has got some of the commenters on this site up in arms but I think the point is to suspend your disbelief - it's an adventure flick for children), morality plays a huge role and the line between good and evil is clearly defined.Basically it's the story of how 2 children, Bonnie and Sam, find their way to safety after their plane crashes in the wilderness, helped by nature-loving wilderness-man Khonanesta and hindered by a group of greedy, selfish poachers with guns. The kids sort of find themselves the middle of an existing battle over the bears.There are a few moral issues raised, which is standard and I think appropriate for the target audience. The conservation of nature vs the greed of the poachers (who are clearly defined as "bad guys" from the get-go). Acceptance and looking beyond first impressions are major themes - the kids have to learn to trust Khonanesta who seems strange to them at first (they also have to trust the bear to a degree). There is also an ongoing moral sub-plot about how they can't let go of the memory of their dead father and have a strong resentment towards their stepfather which Khonanesta tries to help them resolve.Kirsten Dunst is always good, and always seems to have a knack for action/adventure- which this movie is certainly equal parts of. The Home Improvement kid was pretty stilted, didn't seem to really make much of his character which made parts of the script drag. Their relationship could have been more convincing. The Khonanesta character was a bit clichéd in the way he spoke, but I can't really see any other way they could have got the story across in a way that English speaking children could understand.If you're looking for gritty realism you won't find it here, but if that's the case get outta the family section and grab something based on a true story. If you're after a story of hope and courage - family style - then you're on the right track with this one.

Terrible film. Horrible dialogue. The underlying message to protect the environment is annoying. And why is it that in every movie with a Native American in a lead role, he must act exactly like every other stereotyped Native American character ever portrayed. Filmmakers need to understand that Native Americans are people too, not just Mother Nature's inexorable minions out to save the earth from the evil poachers. Ughh. Catherine Cyran, the writer and director (whose other writing credits include Slumber Party Massacre III), must be another one of Mother Nature's minions trying to save the earth through her film-making. I don't mind a someone making a movie that speaks about the environment and the way some people hurt it. However, I feel Miss Cyran did not really want to tell the story of two lost children trying to get home. She just wanted to make a movie that supported her environmentalist viewpoints, and needed this plot to do it. The problem is the end result is not subtle. It is obvious and stilted. Hence my vote of 1.

kirsten dunst can't even save this movie with its wooden, awful acting... the two teenagers are truly ignorant of their surroundings and the plight of wildlife so what they doing there anyways?... they repeatedly do stupid things... it could have been really well done but is pretty much unwatchable except for the beautiful scenery and nice music... but that's just not enough to save it... good message for children and family time though...

Bonnie and Sam are teenagers in a plane flying across a mountainous wilderness (we're never told exactly where, but the mountains are too high to be in the eastern U.S.). The plane goes down and the adults in the plane appear to be dead, so they are left on their own until an old Indian finds them and offers to help them get back to civilization. He says they will need his help because of the bad men. It turns out there are poachers in the area, and the teens would have been in trouble without him. The kids offer to find help, once rescued, to do something about the poachers, but the Indian does not want help (we later learn one reason why this might be true). The Indian teaches the kids a lot about getting along in the wilderness, and rescues them from several dangerous situations (they also get to rescue him once or twice). We also learn that the teens are brother and sister, and that they lost their father. Their mother has remarried, and Bonnie in particular doesn't like their stepfather. Among other things, the Indian teaches the kids that they still have their father inside. Later, the Indian goes back to the plane without the kids, fearing that the people searching for the kids will encounter the poachers.This was pretty good though it may not be a classic. August Schellenberg gave a fine performance as the Indian, though he talked like Tonto and that may offend some people (I assume this reflects a lack of contact with white people, since the Indian seems very intelligent). And I've liked Kirsten Dunst ever since she was a little girl in 'Little Women'; she didn't disappoint here. The scenery is magnificent, and wildlife shots quite good. The credits say nothing about animatronic bears but assure us animal action was carefully monitored so that no actual harm came to the bears. Some good work, then, was done with those bears. And the music was quite distinctive: nearly all of it sounded Native American or close to it, with some really good vocal performances in what sounded like Indian languages (there was even one song with children). Speaking of children, the youngest ones probably shouldn't see this. Among the reasons: the plane crash itself is quite scary, and there are several scenes where the poachers fire shots at people who they believe might be interfering with them (when the Indian is around, he fired back using arrows, but no one appeared seriously injured). The poachers threaten the children with guns when the Indian isn't around, and there are the usual scenes with one or both teens in danger. Also, one of the bears steps into a painful trap, gets taunted by the poachers, and is finally shot. The extent of the injuries to the poachers involved is not quite clear, but the other bear attacks several poachers. This was an edited version I saw, but there were still a few curse words (nothing too major). SPOILER: Also, one of the poachers is apparently killed by a bullet.