The Call of the Wild (2020)

“This is a map of the Yukon. My son was always reading adventure stories, crazy about the news coming out of the Yukon. Wasn't the gold, he didn't care about that, it was the mountains.”

Filmology Rating: 2 out of 4

The Call of the Wild is possibly the first film released by "20th Century Studios." It was directed by Chris Sanders who is very involved in animation having directed 'How To Train Your Dragon' and writing scripts for several other films in animation.

Harrison Ford phones it in as he acts alongside a tiny man in a mo-cap suit pretending to a dog, Buck -- who seeks adventure as he hops from one master to the next.

Movies with dogs are often very hackneyed because of how easily pathos can be achieved with a dog. The concept of shooting a dog, for example, is a gateway to a cheap emotional response because of how easily said response can be to elicit (everyone loves dogs). Hence why a film like 'Marley and Me' is not good. So having a dog as the main character of a film is pretty hackneyed in itself, no matter what the source material may be.

This film chooses a very strange, but also daring perspective by having Buck (the dog) be the main character of the film. It's also very strange that Buck looks as if he has stepped straight off a Pixar film. It's a weird and kind of dumb decision to make as a director in terms of either going 'The Lion King' 2019 route, where there is no emotion on the animal's faces, or a cartoonish route that allows for that kind of emotional emoting you may want. It's a strange decision to make for a film like this, but the cartoonish dog may be been the way to go.

Buck is the anchor of the film so emoting is very important for that "character." So the director just had to bite the bullet and get bagged-on for a cartoonish-looking dog that interacts with real elements.

There is no story at all. It's basically three different movies. The first act is the desperation act where the film pulls the "let's beat the dog" card to get the audience emotionally involved in the hackneyed film.

The second act is something to do with Buck and mushing. Then the film abandons that subplot to get to Harrison Ford, who is not in the first half of the film much.

Harrison Ford is the best part of this film because I could tell how little he cared. This film is full of voice-over from him (for no reason) and he is the first thing you hear in the film and it's very laughable. I'm surprised Harrison Ford even went as far as to take his earring out for this film, but there was obviously a tradeoff...he wasn't shaving or getting his hair cut. He also gets to drink for fifty percent of his screen time. God bless, Harrison Ford.

There is this aspect of the film where Buck interacts a lot with other dogs and they communicate through barking and growling. It felt like the first half of the 'Star Wars Holiday Special.' But don't worry because Harrison Ford provides voice-over to tell you directly what the dogs are doing so there is no confusion.

All of this begs the question: "Who is this film for?" It may seem like kids because of the wacky dog, but no kid is going to the theater to see the new Harrison Ford movie when he's almost eighty. I suppose it's for families?

As far as movies pulling "the dog is a character" card, 'The Call of the Wild' is certainly not terrible in that regard. It's an okay film, but largely unfocused in its narrative and consists of nothing but one-dimensional human characters.

Rating: Rent It

-Nolan