Popular reviews

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  Review by Nakul ★★★★

  “Because today— I’m gonna kill the motherfucker!"

  THE EDGE is a highly underrated thriller, Lee Tamahori beautifully absorbing film is the ultimate journey of survival. It's a surprisingly moving picture that knows when to be quiet, and when to scare the shit out of an audience. It skillfully exploit genre conventions, but it's the clever writing & performances that sets it apart from other survival stories. The action sequences are incredibly tense & suspenseful. And as with all of David Mamet's work, the dialogue is flawless. The scenery is beautiful and expertly shot by Donald M. McAlpine. Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin are incredible, and their chemistry is great. Plus. Bart the Bear. Hopkins as Charles Morse gives one of his finest performance & brings to life a great character. The moment towards the third act when he fully realizes that truth is understated—and heartbreaking.

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  Review by Colin the dude ★★★★½ 6

  "Today, I'm gonna kill the mother fucker."

  A miracle movie. To a certain generation of children of the 90s, this wasn't just another overblown action adventure. It was a movie bible. There are certain things that are inherently cinematic no matter how poorly you present it. Planes. Trains. Waterfalls. Mountains. Bears. Tony Hopkins saying, "mother fucker." These things inherently make compelling drama. Throw in some spicy Mamet dialogue and an absolutely massive, rousing Goldsmith score, and you've unlocked the key to my heart.

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  Review by matt lynch ★★★½

  "Needing people...isn't it a bitch?" or "They died saving my life."

  Mamet's cold-sober but characteristically conservative (one thing he has never been about anything is ambivalent) treatise on class divisions. Only barely disguised as a kick-ass adventure story about three dudes trying to simultaneously floridly decipher their masculinity and figure out if they're gonna get the bear or vice-versa. I guess four dudes if you count yon aforementioned bear. A real blast.

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  Review by DreamScape40 ★★★ 1

  Bart the bear was cute pouncing on the tree log.. hehe

  Let's see.. how many times can Alec Baldwin say, "Charles"?
  A LOT!!! And man I tell you it got annoying!

  🐾🐻

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  Review by Helen ★★★★ 9

  I know I’ve said it before... but the 90s were really such a treasure trove for film, especially in the wilderness action/thriller genre. 

  While I really enjoyed the film, I think the bear was my favorite. I looked up some information about him and found out he’s pretty much *the* bear used in film. 

  His name is Bart and he’s starred in a ton of films as well as numerous tv shows. Some most notable films besides The Edge are 12 Monkeys, Legends of the Fall, Homeward Bound, The Great Outdoors. He also starred in The Bear which resulted in an Oscar nomination for Bart - this was unable to go forward because animal actors are excluded from receiving Academy Awards. (Kinda bullshit) I’m also so happy that he has his own Letterboxd profile. 

  He unfortunately passed in 2000, but he seems like he was best guy.

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  Review by Kylo ★★★★

  I really am a sucker for these wilderness survival movies. This was no exception. The setting was stunning. Plenty of gripping thrills. I loved Alec Baldwin and Anthony Hopkins as the leads. It dragged on a bit by the end but overall a lot of fun.

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  Review by 20oldboy03 ★★★½ 14

  Wo bleiben denn unsere klassischen Abenteuerfilme wie „Am wilden Fluss“, je nach Sichtweise „Rambo – First Blood“, ältere Werke wie „Beim Sterben ist jeder der Erste“ und „Der Flug des Phönix“ oder eben „Auf Messers Schneide“?

  Die Frage dürfen gerne andere beantworten, ich hab keine Antwort darauf, nur eine relative sparsame Auflistung, eine Zutatenliste die eben dafür spricht.

  
  -wo andere mit mehreren Filmcrews aufwarten (müssen), genügt hier eine einzige.

  -der oft teure Cast musst nicht zwingend aus der A-Liste Hollywoods bestehen.

  -Kosten horrende Kulissen bleiben aus, ein Wald, ein Berg, eine Wüste, Steppe, Eisscholle oder ein Dschungel genügen völlig aus.

  -Effekte, für was, greift ein Bär an wie hier, dann ist es ein halbes Tonnen schweres Ungetüm von Tier. Sonst…

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  Review by 🔦🎥Spencer Ross📼📺 ★★★½ 1

  Bart The Bear most captivating role! Never has Bart left me in such suspense and anxiety. Bart The Bear's talents should be studied by the next generation of animal actors. Also, Anthony Hopkins killing a bear looks all too easy.

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  Review by Rafael "Parker!!" Jovine ★★★½ 6

  Out of the many genres that made a big impact on the 90s, somehow, someway, survival thrillers and overblown action films found their way into this decade and built their own niche. The Alec Baldwin/Anthony Hopkins starrer is almost a rare beast of its own, as it follows many of the tropes known by the genre while adding some twists and turns along the way that makes it stand out. Lee Tamahori's does a great job balancing the drama and the "action" sequences (read: animal fighting) in a way where one feels tight to each other instead of two different movies. David Mamet's theatre sensibilities can be felt throughout the script, especially on its approach to the style of the…

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  Review by Fabian ★★★★ 7

  "We're all put to the test... but it never comes in the form or at the point we would prefer, does it?"

  Shocked at how much I loved this upon my second viewing, after seeing it for the first time years ago and not thinking too much of it. This is an adrenaline rush from beginning to end; an action-packed thriller that feels right at home using natural scenes and locations to create an overwhelming sense of tension and foreboding.

  Anthony Hopkins develops a fascinating character through a multi-layered performance and shows just how important it is not to abandon character development even in films that do not look like character would be their greatest strength. Alec Baldwin stands his…

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  Review by Daryl ★★★

  The Edge is a decent throwaway thriller from the ‘90s, however, the script is clunky and muddled. The scenery is excellent, but the film isn’t actually shot that well, it looks very washed out in places. Both Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin are excellent actors, and their performances are fine, but their chemistry is lacking which did affect the film for me. A survival film that certainly has good pacing, and I was never bored, it just lacked a spark.

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  Review by Andrew Jupin ★★★ 1

  Bart the Bear was the best bear thespian. 🐻