8 Below

*minor spoilers, read at your own risk*

I was bored and spaced out and the ease of ordering a movie through the dish was just the thing to occupy me. Having scrolled through the crappy selections that I had passed on previously, I ended up with 8 Below. A typical Disney movie and not my cup of tea, but I was deperate. I live with a husky and couldn't resist. How bad could it be?

The answer is "not bad", considering. As it turned out, I didn't actually know what the movie was about beyond a team of sled dogs. I assumed it was a typical Animal Saves Human plot and while this is exactly how it started, I realized that with an hour to go, there had to be something else to it. This movie is the story of the sled dogs being left behind in the wake of a giant storm and how they manage to survive for approximately six months on their own in the polar wilds. In the mean time, Paul Walker struts around DC looking for some funding for a return trip for his dogs while his dopey "friends" tell him to stop fretting and get over it. As the owner of a couple of dogs, I offer them a hearty Fuck You! You don't have to get it, but when you don't, just keep your mouth shut.

The human drama was what you would expect from a movie primarily made with children in mind. The dialogue is simple and overt, the acting lacking any grand subtlety. This is not to say that the actors performed below par, they were fine; however, the pack is the highlight of the show. The dogs' story was not what I had expected and watching them battle the elements, hunger and an angry leopard seal (rather a trashy special fx moment, all-in-all) was entertaining. Not all of them survive, which was more realism than I expected from this Disney film and just the element that made their story interesting.

The movie claims to be "based on a true story" and I won't dispute this, but I would guess it is based on an amalgam of different stories and not a particular incident. Either way, I chuckled more than once seeing the very obvious husky behaviour on film that I witness every day at home. At the very least, I wasn't scratching my head wondering who I need to sacrifice on my basement altar to get back those 2 hours. I was also doing a little tippling, which never hurts.