I don't like films that make idiot of you - spectator, and this is one of that sort. The story is fine, the plot is dramatical, but all the other things are unbelievable - lot of luck for the family, lots of coincidences, and insoluble situations. What I mean: 1, i don't know anything about guns but is it possible that a revolver squelched 15 times (at least:) is still able to shoot?? 2, how can a wounded man climb a mountain, then fall down from it, swim across quite wild river, run through thick forest to follow a pretty quick raft - all this without disinfectant and food and in his sopping clothes.. - and finally build a sophisticated trap! Well, great performance - but the man in the film was not Chuck Norris :-D 3, was the ranger blind? he managed to find a small camera somewhere in mud and driftwood, but he didn't notice a cut-up raft. 4, smoke signals must have been pretty secret! Seen only by mother and her child, not by villains. And so on.. Btw, in my opinion a 12-year-old child would end up with psychical trauma and nightmares after seeing a few murders in the flesh. Just one plus for the film: I don't know if it was camera, dramaturgy or good acting - from the very beginning I knew that there was something wrong with Wade, that he was bad. I didn't know anything about the film but I felt it'd be thriller :) The character was well performed i think. However, the film was another US junk.

If you love the wild outdoors, fishing, camping and riding a raft down rapids like Niagara Falls, this is definitely your kind of picture. Meryl Streep,(Gail Hartman), earned her salary in this film, not just acting but having to take part in some of the water scenes. Gail Hartman every year visited her parents home and enjoyed camping and water sports. However, Gail's husband was deeply involved with his work and some what disappointed his family the last minute. Kevin Bacon,(Wade) meets up with Gail and takes a great liking to her, as well as, her son and it looks like things are going to work out for a great vacation. What appears like a great story becomes a horrible situation that you will have to find out.

The River wild Is an amazing film!! There's action all the way when they finally get into the boat, And from then on, Its breath taking!! A family go on a boating holiday with their dog but it soon turns out to be a nightmare, as they pick up two robbers who killed their guide. The robbers want to go down stream, but that means they have to ride some rapids which no-one have ever survived riding. Its a winner.

If Meryl Streep were not in this movie it would have been much better. She is seriously talented but badly miscast in this role and did it indeed badly. Kevin Bacon is good as the psycho and David Strathairn is his usual excellent self in a supporting role. But we see way too much of Streep doing her "I'm a great actress so this must be good" routine dragging down the story. See Glen Close in Fatal Attraction to see a great actress working the role rather than a good actress ruining the piece as Streep does here.

OK, so get this -- the husband walks faster than the raft travels on the river. That means he gets ahead and sends smoke signals to his wife and son who have been raft-napped. Then he races ahead and constructs an elaborate underwater trap AND paints hand signs on a rock face explaining the plan to his wife. (And when he sees an unmanned canoe floating down the river, he says "Oh no" ominously, as if he knows exactly what happened to the canoe's onwer.) So, she maneuvers the raft into the exact spot for the trap, which flips the raft, tossing out only the bad guys. Then the husband manages to tip the giant raft again by hand. Meryl Streep shoots the bad guy with the gun that still works even after being repeatedly dunked in the water. And did I mention that the gun has conveniently fallen to a place on the river bed where she can stil see it? Look, I can handle implausibility in my action movies, but there comes a point where implausible because ridiculous, and a point still after that where it becomes insulting. "The River Wild" is truly insulting.

The River Wild (1994): Starring Meryl Streep, David Strathairn, Joseph Mazzello, Kevin Bacon, John C. Reilly, Victor Galloway, Elizabeth Hoffman, Benjamin Bratt William Lucking, Diane Delano...Director Curtis Hanson..Screenplay Dennis O'Neill This 1994 Curtis Hanson film followed the more successful "Hand That Rocks The Cradle" in 1992. It stars Meryl Streep as Gail Hartman, an expert camper and white-water rafter who is stuck in an increasingly stale marriage to Tom (David Strathairn). For her son Roarke (Joseph Mazello) 13rth birthday they decide to go out into the wild for a weekend. They come across two other rafters, Wade and Terry (Kevin Bacon and John C. Reilly) who take an interest in the boy. At first, it appears they have an agenda- they provoke Tom's jealousy as Gail is drawn to Wade, possibly because he reminds her of herself as a young girl. But Wade becomes a menace. He's a wanted theft and he forces the family into a precarious situation. They must cross extremely dangerous waters to get to their destination and fight off these baddies. This hard experience ultimately brings the family together. Tom, who changes from a weak father to hero, is a rather interesting transformation to see on film and he is played well by David Straithairn, a fab actor who is unfortunately underrated. Meryl Streep appears to be doing a film she would normally not attempt. She proves her versatility as a "cool" nature-loving mother and does not possess any of the Hollywood-fed glamour for this role. She is convincing as a middle-class American wife. The cinematography is stunning. The rapids are gorgeous and exciting to look at, the grand scenes of mountains and forests, rocks, steep cliffs. The music score is also lovely. A great film from the 90's by a director who's had fine and different-themed films in his repertoire.

Curtis Hanson's box office hit 'The River Wild' is well-shot and even gripping in parts, but what really stands tall in this thriller and balances the film even when it dips, are the performances by it's talented star-cast. The story involves a family on a whitewater rafting trip, who encounter two violent criminals in the wilderness. 'The River Wild', which has been written by Denis O'Neill, offers some gripping moments, that truly manage to hold your attention. The characters, are nicely presented and executed. But, I would like to point out, that, the writing in the latter hour tends to drag a bit. The film surely could've been shorter by at least 10-15 minutes. And I believe if it had been trimmed, it's impact would have only enhanced. Curtis Hanson's direction, like always, is efficient. Cinematography is Striking. Editing is fair. Performance-Wise: Meryl Streep is superb, as expected. She carries the film on her shoulders and delivers with ease in each and every scene. Kevin Bacon makes a really interesting bad guy, and proves his potential as an actor. David Strathaim is first-rate. John C. Reilly is good. Joseph Mazzello supports well. On the whole, A decent one-time watch, that offers strong performances to sail it safe.

One of those films that makes you wonder "why?" Why, if Streep's husband could *run* past the dreaded Gauntlet rapids, couldn't the bad guys just *walk*?? Why did the cop turn up for no apparent reason except to provide someone expendable for Kevin Bacon to shoot?? Why did that gun fire first time after (repeatedly) falling in the river??? Why did the dog reappear only to play no part whatever in the plot? And why did Streep give even a second thought to the cheesy character of 'Whitewater' Gail?? And why didn't the critics pan it more thoroughly?

Gail used to be an expert rafting. Years later, during a family excursion in a wild river, she finds out the nightmare. Two cruel bandits, in the same river, try to escape and need her to help them. The pictures of the river and the open country are magnificent and we don't really have violent scenes in this movie. I appreciated the "zoom" on the heroes' faces, as we can see their emotions and reactions. They all were good. Kevin Bacon, much younger than the experienced M. Streep stands by her equally and proves once more his great talent.

I love this movie! Primarily because I love movies where girls kick ass! This is the only action flick I've seen Streep in and she holds her own. (Rumor has it she did a lot of her own stunts.) But I'm also a big fan of sleeper actor David Strathairn, and he does a great job, as always, and proves himself a superb supporting actor. Kevin Bacon is great as a creepy bad guy, it's a natural role for him. Sure, the plausibility gets a little thin in spots, but hey, it's a movie! Sit back and enjoy the action and some really good acting.