User reviews

The Alaska scenery in this movie is spectacular and varies: sea, rivers, mountains, snow, rock, skies, shot with sweeping helicopter and crane shots.

But the soundtrack is embarrassing: like something out of the Ten Commandments, great blaring trumpets, soaring strings, Tibetan bass horns, South American flutes, tom toms, fanfares, all preposterously overblown like something of a bygone era. It was seriously distracting.

The dialog is silly, like something out of 50's cowboy and Indian dramas e.g. "Trust the bear" and "Dad, can we keep him?" The movie has no subtlety. Everything is spelled out with the explicitness of a TV sitcom.

The plot is utterly improbable, with various anomalies that distress, like packing no more than a sandwich for a four day hike without it turning into a problem. Even the bear finds a adoptive mother, something that never happens in real life. No bad guys were harmed in the making of this movie.

Cubby the orphaned polar bear cub is the star of the show, sort of like Wookie in Star Trek, who repeatedly saves the day from the evil poachers. It is a bit like the old Rin Tin Tin adventures, only Cubby is much cuter.

However, the movie far from boring. I could not help but fear for the actors creating the film because they do so many dangerous stunts. Kids or adults without problems suspending disbelief will most enjoy this film.

This movie is great with a great cast including Oscar-Winning actor Charlton Heston who plays a Villainous Poacher and Dirk Benedict who plays a pilot and father of 2 teenage kids who moved from Chicago to Alaska (played by Thora Birch and Vincent Kartheiser) goes missing after a airplane accident and gets stranded in the mountains, but of course these two embark on an incredible journey to find him and learn not to give up, great cinematography of the Alaskan landscapes and some scenes of the Northern Lights, great music score that you don't find in any other family film unlike "the Rescuers Down Under", "Balto" or "Free Willy", great adventure sequences, great action sequences, a cute animal sidekick which is a Polar Bear cub who is captured by the poachers in this film and this truly has a great plot. this is the kind of movie from the mid 90's you would want to watch with your family and friends over and over again and destined to be an instant classic for years to come and it's worth it!

A family movie that is worth your time. The scenery alone is worth viewing. The shear beauty of the mountains and Lakes is deftly filmed. Also interesting to see Charlton Heston in one of his few heavy roles during a long career. The cast did a very creditable job on this movie. I rated this movie 7.

This movie is visually stunning. In a nutshell this movie is about a father who is a pilot and delivers toilet paper around the Alaskan wilderness. His plane crashes and his kids go out to search for him after being angry at the authorities for not doing enough to find their father. They free a cute little polar bear cub who has been caught by a poacher and the polar bear helps them find their lost father. The storyline isn't anything special and basically we have all seen a movie like this many many times. You know the..'kids go out to rescue mother/father/uncle/grandpa and get into lots of life threatening situations with cute animal in toe, but everything is a just fine and dandy in the end'.

Was good to see Dirk Benedict who played Jake Barnes in Alaska, in something as I loved him in The A Team all those years ago. Thora Birch plays the part of Jessie Barnes his daughter and does the kind of acting job that we have come to expect from her... excellent. Vincent Kartheiser plays Sean Barnes the typical anx ridden/angry teenager who comes good and to the aid of his father.

If you like visually beautiful movies and don't need them to be intellectual masterpieces, then watch Alaska

I watched Alaska several times with my kids when they were younger, and just rewatched it last night. It's a cute film with the central theme - never give up. Dirk Benedict does an OK job as the father who moves his family to the Alaskan wilderness. This role was no stretch - he basically flies a plane and acts hurt, with brief interlude of arguing with his son. Sean, his son, has the typical teenage angst of not being happy in his own skin, while his daughter Jessie adapts seamlessly to her new environment.

I love the cinematography of beautiful Alaskan landscapes. Even more amazing is that the kids, Thora Birch and Vincent Kartheiser, do all their outdoors stunts, like sea kayaking thru rapids, rock climbing, and mountaineering. The flight scenes are exquisite. It's been almost 20 years since this 1996 film was made - I wonder how much of the glaciers in this film are left.

Charlton Heston is the bad guy, and makes you laugh when he has to pretend he is not into guns. By far, the little bear Cubby, is the star. He plays a key role throughout.

Just put reality into the background when you think about two kids doing what these kids did and how they did it, with their background. It's an enjoyable non-reality ride that will leave you happy and content. That should be enough for you and your family. Kids will enjoy this a lot.

Hard to figure the negative comments about this film. It is geared to an elementary school audience who will find it very entertaining. But it is also good family viewing because the scenery is terrific and the polar bear cub is very cute. Since there was never a conspiracy to keep the demographic identity of the target audience a national secret, those complaining about its lack of sophistication were just too lazy to check it out before actually viewing it. The film delivers exactly what it promises so there is no real basis for that kind of criticism.

The editing is first class; especially on the canoe down the rapids sequence where the second unit stuff is perfectly cut into tight shots of the two stars. Thora Birch turns in another excellent performance and Vincent Kartheiser shows that even before "Angel" he modeled his acting on William Shatner (this is not a complement).

There are a number of plot holes but nothing that really matters. One interesting thing is the scene where the bear cub helps in the rescue effort by pulling the rope with his teeth. Seldom can you point to a "single" stupid detail that drastically dumbs down a film but that is the case here. Lose that one moronic shot and the film gains about 20 IQ points and could add a couple years to its target audience.

This is an oldie but a goldie! I remembered watching this when it first came out (I must have been 10 years old) and I always liked it. It is always interesting when you re-watch a movie because it is almost like you have never watched it before! It is that new of an experience, I didn't really remember much of it. The brother and sister duo were so fearless, and the visuals were really beautiful, plus the polar bear was so cute! A nice relaxing film I watched the other evening before bed - however I tossed and turned all night for some reason...maybe I was scared of the poachers! All in all a great family film but I would actually caution against showing it to some children as there are a few scary scenes especially dealing with those pesky pachers!

Breakaway Daily www.breakawaydaily.com

Average family fare has the face man (Benedict) a pilot and widowed father to two teenage kids, one of whom is struggling with the transition to manhood, manifest in his strained relationship with his father and general disaffection for his adopted home of Alaska. Benedict sets out on a late-evening flight as wild weather approaches, and predictably, his plane crashes leaving his kids potential orphans. Not content to accept the presumed verdict, his kids mount a life or death mission through the Alaskan wilderness to locate their father, with a curious polar bear cub leading their way, and a pair of poachers on their trail.

Heston's son directs this formulaic adventure tale with glorious scenery and cinematography and a few reasonable stunts involving wild river rapids, and precarious mountain climbs. Heston is uncharacteristically low-key, mainly a background character, although he does command the more grandiose dialogue and manages to snare most of the one-liners. Like him or loathe him, he's understated and his presence has little overall impact on the quality of the film, other than to give his son's film a marquee headline.

The hallmarks of "Call of the Wild" and "White Fang" are present, the polar bear cub is cute-as-a-button, and Tootoosis' sage advice on human interaction with the local ecology, gives the film a conservation quality that is appropriate for the kids. Obviously it's clichéd and predictable with few surprises, but if you're after a sincere family friendly film the kids can comfortably watch under limited supervision, then the Hestons' "Alaska" should tick the box.

"Alaska" is a family movie directed by Fraser Heston, Charlton's son...who also happens to be in the film.

The film begins with Dad (Dirk Benedict) having a run-in with his obnoxious son. The boy does NOT want to live in Alaska and he seems determined to make sure everyone hears about it! As for the daughter, she loves the wilderness and is not whiny or annoying.

It seems Dad gave up flying airliners for being a bush pilot in Alaska. Not sure why...something about his dead wife apparently made him do this. One day, he crashes into a mountain and nothing is heard of him...so the teen and tween both decide to do what anyone would do in this situation...set off in search of Dad without telling anyone or having adequate provisions. Along the way, they come upon some poachers and you aren't sure if the poachers or nature itself will kill these kids. Either way, a polar bear they rescued from these jerks follows them...presumably out of curiosity to see how the pair die.

I like the basic idea of the story. But the annoying, bratty son who whines about how much he hates Alaska seems more like a trope than anything else....and I wish they'd eased up on this part of the story. It just seemed like an over-familiar cliche. It also was weird how sometimes he was whiny...other times he was like "we gotta rescue dad"...even though earlier he told his dad how much he hated him. Even worse is the baby polar bear, especially when it helps rescue Dad near the end as well as the dumb scene where do gooders bring the bear to other polar bears and release it in the wild. This only would have resulted in this cub being eaten and bears do NOT just adopt orphaned cubs...except, of course, in movies.

So is this any good? Well, it's an undemanding family film with enough Mother Nature in it to keep parents from being too bored. As for kids, really young ones would likely be too scared by all this to enjoy it but if your kid is reasonably mature and can understand that it is a movie, then they'll likely get something out of the story. As for me, I just thought it was awfully pretty even though the story was VERY tough to believe and sagged quite a bit towards the end (such as the bear taking out the poacher's helicopter!).

Captivating scenery of Alaska and a casual but simple story. I am not sure why this movie rating is anything less than 7 as I am freak of Adventure movies with simple plots. This one stands out.

Have not seen Alaska being captured in such finesse in any movie or documentary as natural as this one.

The Polar bear looks great. Also the poacher problems highlighted in the movie are so real and a fact of life in Alaska. The Kids acting are natural and superb. For the technology available in 19996, the whole movie is incredible in terms of everything. Looking at the movie, I have decided that it's high time that I need to make a travel plan to go to Alaska sometime soon. The real beauty is captivating.

A great movie for the kids, family and everyone.

This is a typical "made for tv" feel-good kids drama. Lots of National Geographic style scenery, predictable storyline, wooden acting and over-stated moral values.

Although it's a bit too glossy and flat-footed for its own good, it is still a reasonably entertaining view for the kids. This is an endearing and educational movie at best.

The clean cut stuff. Oh, don't forget the whole "family sticks together" moteef. Got to love it. The way I say this movie was through my family. You know, if you want to teach a lesson, that's fine. Why through this movie?

The movie "Alaska" is alright. It's not horrible. But if a family member is lost in Alaska, which is one of the biggest states, would you go searching for them? In freezing weather, with polar bears? It's almost impossible to find that person. It was just a little hard to believe, that's all. The acting is alright. It's nothing too special to watch.

I'll give it credit for it's moral lesson though.

6/10

The cinematography

is very good in this movie they did a good job at the scenery. The acting is good and its safe to take a family to see this movie. If you are an action adventure movie fan this isn't a movie for you. The plot was pretty weak. I don't know why the poachers were in the movie in the first place they just didn't tie into the movie very well. I guess the only reason charlston heston was in this movie is because the director is his son. I think children under ten would enjoy this movie it seemed like it was geared more for a child audience. If you are a action adventure fan you wont like it at all.So if you have a family this is a movie for you.

I watched this movie because I'm a big fan of both its teen stars, Thora Birch and Vincent Kartheiser, not to mention anything starring Charlton Heston. Sorry, but not even they could save this cheesy and ridiculous family action movie and its indescribably bad script. It's not only completely unrealistic, but also predictable, saccharine, and trite. I was tempted to turn it off long before the end. This movie was too dumb even for the Disney Channel.

Pilot Jake Barnes (Dirk Benedict) has moved his two kids Sean (Vincent Kartheiser) and Jessie (Thora Birch) to Alaska from Chicago after his wife's death. Sean is angry. A late delivery goes wrong and Jake is lost in the wilderness. The authority's limited response drives the kids to go searching on their own. Meanwhile, poachers Colin Perry (Charlton Heston) and Mr. Koontz have captured a baby polar bear for sale overseas. The young kids run into the poacher's camp and release the bear.

This reminds me of an old high-adventure kiddie movie. There is plenty of grand majestic nature. There are so many wonderful wilderness obstacles that the poachers are not really necessary. Heston keeps them from being cartoon villain but they still feel artificial. This would have been a good adventure into the wilds and there are some great outdoors action scenes. The polar bear is a constant reminder that this is an artificial kids movie. I get that this is a kiddie movie and a cute polar bear is suppose to bring in the audience. I just think the kids would be more excited with a great wilderness adventure.

If you put A-team's Face, A future b-movie sex icon, and Ben-hur's...Ben-hur together, what do you have? the one and only Alaska.

6 months before, Jake barne's family had a great life in Chicago, until the fateful day that his wife died. then, he and his remaining family, Sean and Jessie Barnes, moved to Alaska to start a new life. while Sean is reluctant to the idea, the family moves anyways, and Sean immediately wants to return to the windy city.

so, Jake takes advantage of his pilot's license and becomes a bush pilot, while Jessie and Sean do whatever they feel like. So Jessie goes kayaking, dating a local native boy, and spends her time doing things a person in Alaska might do, while Sean spends his time playing street fighter: The movie arcade game at the local store. this is pretty much where the movie begins.

This movie, in my opinion, was very good. aside from a family that loved each other, it sported some awesome camera views and great scenery. unlike Grizzly mountain, which had next to no good acting or anything, except for scenery, this movie had decent acting. some parts were as cheesy as a pizza, but it was at least entertaining.

Unfortunately, i don't recall this movie being promoted as a classic or anything like that. which is disappointing because this movie is worthy of that, unlike some of the trash we're all fed these days that gets too much promotion.

and just like the cover says, it all leads up to a real cliffhanger. while other cliffhangers might make you laugh (Ultraviolet ring any bells?) this one will have you on the edge of your seat.

8/10

Alaska is one of those films that is just there. There is nothing groundbreaking involved in it, but there is nothing offensive about it either. Directed by Fraser Clark Heston, Alaska tells the story of a father, Jake (Dirk Benedict), and his two kids, who lived in the lower 48 states until Jake's wife died and the family moves to Alaska, for the reason of making this movie it looks like. If the director's name looks vaguely familiar, it's because Fraser's daddy is an actor named Charlton, who also plays a polar bear poacher (imagine that, Charlton Heston wielding a gun, what are the odds?). Jake flies airplanes, and of course on one of his trips, the plane goes down, and it is up to his two kids Jessie (Thora Birch) and Sean (Vincent Kartheiser) to find him. With the help of a baby polar bear, the kids go out into the Alaskan wilderness, meet bear poachers, Eskimos, and other fun things. Alaska is an OK movie, nothing that will make you wish you hadn't seen it, just don't expect the Ten Commandments.

If it were only for the splendid and breathtaking scenery i would still recommend this movie. However this film also delivers on the emotional level and follows a journey of transformation as beautiful as the visual aspects.

A single father apts for a change after losing his wife by moving to Alaska with his two children to become a bush pilot. His son is resentful at best, ungrateful, and unappreciative of the vast and stunning riches Alaska has to offer. When their father's plane goes down and rescue efforts fail, they begin a spiritual journey that will forever change their lives. The son, Shawn, played by Vincent Karthieser, soon comes to terms with the death of his mother, the love for his father, and the respect and appreciation for Alaska. Thora Birch, an actress with a promising future, provides the level-headed and sensible approach to the journey in contrast to her brother's cockiness and arrogance which provides for great chemistry between the two.

Along with the natural beauty and landscapes just about every other aspect associated with Alaska is present from: poaching, bushpilots, kayaking, rustic cabins, rock climbing,, moutaineering, camping, and the northern lights along with Cubby, a baby polar bear who tags along and even provides for some tear jerking moments and light hearted humor.

Overall this is a great movie for the entire family or for one with a fascination with the wonders and beauty of the last frontier. It truly evokes a sense of appreciation delivered in a manner without the concept of strong language, violence, and nudity, the three marketing schemes of the industry. It is a fantastic adventure, with great camera angles, stunning visuals and a powerful message. Very well done IMHO.

The above line, which is actually spoken in "Alaska", should be enough for you to decide whether this is your type of film or (hopefully) not, but let me just add a few more details. They say that when a music score calls attention to itself it's either very good or very bad. The score of "Alaska" falls into the latter category: it's an insultingly overemphatic piece of work that is constantly telling you what you're supposed to be feeling (awe, danger, joy, mysticism). Apart from that, the story is dull, since you always know that everything will turn out all right in the end, and the bear cub is way too cute - its "assistance" in the climax is a real groaner. All this film has going for it are some dangerous and well-performed physical stunts. (**)