Review of The Edge (1997) by Erich C — 18 Jul 2009

If you aren't the kind of person that is instantly interested in the idea of watching watching Alec Baldwin, and Anthony Hopkins going one on one with a man-eating bear then we simply have nothing further to talk about.

Stop reading this review, remove my number from your cell, and hit yourself on the head with a hammer until you forget I ever existed. In 1997's "The Edge" Hopkins stars as a billionaire whose plane crash lands in the mountains while on a shoot with his supermodel wife played by Elle Macpherson.

The film was directed by Lee Tamahori, who has had a hot and cold career over the years. While his work here is adequate, the film succeeds much more due to an exceptionally solid script by David Mamet, and some fine performances on the parts of Baldwin and Hopkins.

For much of the film it's just the two of them alone in the woods. If you don't have a good script, and some solid actors, this can be a hard thing to pull off. There are a few moments here and there that come across a bit hokey and a couple lines of dialogue that send the corny meter rocketing off the charts, for the most part though "The Edge" is a totally engaging thriller with solid action, a solid script, solid performances, and a solid message to boot.

(Which is an awful lot of solid.) If you've never seen it, you really should. It went mostly unnoticed during its release, which is a shame. High recommendation.