Talk about one dimensional characters. Everyone here is either practically perfect in every way to quote Mary Poppins or rotten to the core, your typical smug patriarchal prig, Roy Schneider, or his typical teen bully nephew who is rude to newcomer Shane Meier simply because he is a city boy. For young Meier, dealing with the death of his father and being forced to move with his uncle Michael Biehn to the middle of nowhere, to then finding a young wounded wolf is the one thing that sustains him there in addition to his friendship with Schneider's perky daughter. Going up against Schneider and his nephew has to desperately try to keep the affectionate silver alive after he nurses him back to help. Kimberly Warnat is a talented young actress, very good in the part of Schneider's daughter although she is way too young to be his offspring.
The snowy scenery is a definite plus in addition to some great action sequences, particularly a bicycle race and later a snowboarding contest that results in Silver attacking one of the bad guys. Silver is completely dedicated to his new human friend, and that is the one touching element that shows how the bond between wild animal and human can occur when the human shows love and the animal begins to actually trust. A touching twist at the end is certainly a tearjerking moment.
There is a lot to like in this action film which really does make some good points, but the characters are drawn in ways to where they are completely flawless or as absolute jerks. Schneider is one of the best actors in the business, but his character isn't well developed and show some major inconsistencies, which tries to redeem him even if for a good percentage of the film, he's an absolute jerk. Still I have seen much worse in this genre of film, and the pacing and heart of the film do make you want to stick with it in spite of its flaws. The majestic scope and grand score are magical touches that manipulate into becoming hooked.
Silver Wolf
1999
Action / Adventure / Drama / Family
Silver Wolf
1999
Action / Adventure / Drama / Family
Plot summary
A ranger (Michael Biehn) and his 16 year old nephew (Shane Meier) struggle to save a wolf from a rancher (Roy Scheider),who is out to kill it.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEBMovie Reviews
They're either too good or too bad.
A great movie full of action and of course skijoring.
Well, this is an AWEsome movie.Bein plays a pretty good part as the uncle and "Jesse" was pretty good too.Ecspecially at the snowboarding(if that was really him).But my absolute fav character of the whole entire show was the guy in the crowd at the end of the race scene.He's wearing a blue jacket and grey pants.He is over to the right and four people back.NO No no I was just joking.My fav character was, of course "SILVER".He was totally FANTASTIC.But that also may account because of my love for wolves and dogs.Especially WOLVES.
a movie with great intentions
I love films like this. Films that try to put a positive spin on animals and many of the misconceptions that humans have towards them. Silver Wolf is a film that has it's heart in the right place. It is a good film with two film giants from days past. It is also a film that has a conscience and for that I really like it.
First I want to comment on the casting of the film. You have to like a film that has Reese and Martin Brody in a film together. Michael Biehn and Roy Scheider play the two lead adults in the film and it is fun to see two guys that were in two of the biggest film franchises ever, square off. I can't help it, every time I see Scheider I expect him to say " You're going to need a bigger boat. " But in here he plays a nasty man that seems to hunt wolves just because he can. He really is a bad man just for the sake of the movie needing a bad man. I didn't really understand his reasons for hating wolves in the first place but it's okay here because there is so much to like about the film that small things like that are easily overlooked.
The other two leads in the film are Jesse Meier as the young nephew of Biehn and Kimberly Warnat as Scheider's daughter. They are both quite good in their roles and I have to say that Warnat is quite the looker. Her beauty was one of the reasons that kept me watching the film when it was on viewers choice. After looking at her filmography in the IMDb you can see that she hasn't done a lot as of yet but I think she will become a star one day. She is a very good actress and she will continue to grow physically as well. Sorry if that sounds incredibly sexist, but hey, sue me, I'm a guy.
Silver Wolf has some incredible photography and it's choreographed snowboarding scenes are breathtaking and quick paced. But what I enjoyed most about the film was the relationship with Meier and the young wolf. The wolf takes to him after a while and they develop an honest friendship. When it is time for the wolf to go home to his family you are almost sad to see him go. But then to see a wild animal that was captive become free, well that makes the movie so much better. Silver Wolf has great intentions and it is entertaining. I think kids will like this movie but if you are a sucker for animals as beautiful as this, then you ( adults that is ) will probably enjoy it as well.
And remember, watch for the name Kimberly Warnat in the future, she will go on to do bigger films, I'm almost sure of it.