Just a badly made film

I think it's a good movie, but the acting isn't very good.

I thought it was made quite well. Though I agree with Ebert that the actors didn't look the look for men trapped in the mountains for how many months? And only eating human flesh for some time.


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I'm watching it now and i'm surprised how hilariously cheesy it is considering the serious subject matter based off a real tragic event.

I mean, really. I find it almost disrespectful the way they handled this.

Stuff like this reminds me of "Movie Poop Shoot.com" from Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.

Could not disagree more. Terrific film.

The movie was a bit Hollywood--are there really this many pretty (mostly white-looking) men on an Uruguayan rugby team? And these men speak unaccented English? And yes, look pretty damn healthy and relatively clean for crash survivors who have been living off of an all-protein diet. And yes, it is a bit emotionally manipulative to <spoilers> kill a woman in an avalance who just said that she wanted to have another baby </spoilers>. And I just don't like Ethan Hawke in this movie--he seems really smug.

Nevertheless, the movie has some very good points. For example, it explores some really profound questions about religion and the sorts of judgement that people cast upon each other.

Yea this movie was pretty poor, I don't know how it has a 6.9 rating. The story should definitely be remade. It seemed like the film was rushed to me, Malkovich shouldn't have had a part at all, it could of been simply narrated.

I think the film suffers, ironically, from its efforts to be faithful to the book. Thus the screenplay/dialogue is very weak in places but it is using lines that the survivors recalled were actually said. However, the conversation and dialogue often appears stilted and unnatural. A good scriptwriter, trying to be faithful to the story but not necessarily the exact words, could have made it much more compelling and given it better "flow."

The pace seems slow by today's standards, which is a good thing IMO (we are rapidly approaching the age of the One Minute Movie to accommodate all the attention deficit disorder viewers out there). And of course special effects and CGI have changed audience expectations. However, I think the film stands up reasonably well to the test of time. Obviously those who like it rate it higher than 6.9 -- and IMDB ratings are, in general, not some kind of imprimatur in any case.

The additional documentary films mentioned flesh out the story nicely, as does Nando's book. The story is a very compelling one, but the most inspiring part, to me, is the sequel -- what these men made of their lives subsequently, and how they have maintained their close friendship and support for each other.

I agree that this is a disappointing movie. It reminds me of "A Midnight Clear", which I thought it was going to be gritty and realistic but they both come across like a mixture of made for TV movies and high school senior plays. It's like the difference between a drive-thru meal and a gourmet meal, this movie was definitely cold greasy Taco Bell.