The River Wild (1994)

Kevin Bacon can so beautifully play a sadist, a charming and vicious creep, a bad guy that it's almost like he's not acting. And Meryle Streep, trying her hand here in an action film, NEVER seems to be acting she's always stellar, completely immersed in her character. In The River Wild, Streep plays a suburban mom and former white-water rafting guide who is taking her family on a raft trip for summer vacation. She's a bit on the outs with her husband, who is, at the last minute, too busy to go along so she and her son go it alone and quickly run afoul of some killers on the lam. Bacon and a buddy, of course. They coerce Streep to take them down a terrifyingly dangerous stretch of river rapids to escape from the pursuing cops.

Marvelous. And Streep did all the river scenes without the use of a stunt double which, if you've ever been white-water rafting on a Class 4 or 5 river, is utterly amazing.

An entertaining journey down a beautiful whitewater river with an age old theme of good vs evil. This is a good movie to just sit back and enjoy the ride even though as the plot develops you may feel bit uncomfortable.

Meryl Streep is outstanding as usual, however I feel Kevin Bacon is even better as the deceptive, yet charming 'bad guy'. There is also some excellent acting by David Straithairn (who portrays Meryl Streep's husband) even though his character is annoyingly pathetic.

The nature cinematography is spectacular and the high intensity musical score only adds excitement to the journey.

I highly recommend watching this one on a home theater system with wide screen and DTS sound decoding.

Buy The River Wild (1994) Now

Here is an action flix that belongs is everyone's DTD DVD collection. Loaded with action, great acting on all parts, the DTS sound was awe inspiring to say the least. GET IT, YOU"LL LOVE IT!

Read Best Reviews of The River Wild (1994) Here

The opening scenes of THE RIVER WILD show a very buff Meryl Streep rowing in Boston's Charles River accompanied by stirring theme music by Jerry Goldsmith. This promise of quality is fulfilled throughout the suspenseful albeit rather predictable movie after the setting switches to the western wilderness. Meryl Streep and Kevin Bacon are among Hollywood's most talented and versatile actors and in this outing Streep believably plays a mom who meets extreme physical and emotional challenges (while piloting a white river raft no less) after she encounters Bacon a cunning criminal psychopath. The river scenes are beautiful and I've read that Streep actually did her own stunts for the most part. There are a couple of surprises along the way to keep viewers on the edge of their seats. A good movie for anyone but especially a family with older kids who want a little bit but not too much edge to their viewing experience.

Want The River Wild (1994) Discount?

I am not an expert on Blu Ray transfer, but have watched enough of them by now to judge one from another. I am very disappointed in this new release. The movie itself is one of my favorites. I was excited to hear it was coming out on Blu Ray. The quality, in my opinion is mediocre at best. Usually I am in awe of any Blu Ray release because the picture is usually so perfect and unbelievable. No cigar on this one. It looks like someone took the regular DVD, slapped it into a Blu Ray recorder and sent it to me! Not impressed at all.

Save 33% Off