Viewed in
2010
Formats
HD TV
Premise
John Wayne stars as the leader of animal hunters sent to Africa to capture wild animals for zoos.
Loved
Cinematography.
Liked
The cute elephants.
Hated
The two hour forty minute screen time.
Thoughts
An likable film that was light on drama, but heavy on minutes.
I enjoyed the cinematography on the vast African plains, especially in high definition. At times it felt like a cool nature show, as there were everything from leopards to ostriches to monkeys. There was also numerous scenes with thrilling footage of live captures of these indigenous creatures by chasing them down in jeeps and lassoing ropes around their necks (a method now banned). I cannot imagine how expensive/dangerous/difficult it must have been to shoot this stuff with wild animals.
Overall, the characters were all likable, and the film makers went through the trouble of making sure each non-Wayne character was distinguishable. Having them come from different countries and speak in different accents helped a lot. Wayne brought his presence, Red Buttons brought the comedy, and the ladies brought the beauty.
Probably the most memorable parts of the film were the incredibly cute baby elephants. There was a running subplot as they collected these orphans, and they were quite adorable as they occasionally ran amok. The best/worst thing about them was Henry Mancini's "Baby Elephant Walk" song. Written for this film, it has been stuck in my cranium for over 24 hours.
The problem was the combination of time and tension. It was pretty much a string of episodic moments of animal capture, sitcom, and simplistic romance. The closest thing to a main storyline was the Moby Dick of rhinos that the crew had trouble capturing. You knew instantly that nobody would be in serious physical danger and all the complications would have neat and tidy resolutions. A hundred minutes in, I rolled my eyes as I realized it was going to be another full hour of the same repetition. The two flaws were a deadly combo for my attention.
It had wonderful imagery, diverse animal chases, and cute elephants. Too bad it could not find a tight plot to keep me interested. If you needed something to play in the background for two hours and forty minutes, this would be an excellent choice, in which you can just look up every once in a while.
What I would change
Shortened it by forty minutes by cutting out some of the subplots. We only care about Wayne and the elephants anyway.
