The Brad Pitt nature retirement film, Recapped (Kinda…)
~Spoilers ahead obviously~
It’s not hidden that Brad Pitt is getting into his old man era of film projects. This latest one is the impediment of old people films. Now if you’re not acquainted with the film its about a Retired Combat Pilot Veteran Named James Belmont, and his medic dog Odin as they get stranded in Alaska. Now the movie itself isn’t exactly awful in terms of the writing being bad, but oh my gosh! You have a dog and a dude it isn’t rocket science to making the audience care. Odin was a good boy but he isn’t in the same level of dog as A Dog’s Purpose or Airbud.
The intro is simple it’s literally just a girl stopping because there was a dog on the road.
After that, first ten minutes is literally just Brad Pitt doing retired rich nature dad stuff like making a fire, fishing with his dog, and flying through the mountains.
Here’s a Trailer to the film so that you have a taste for what I’m gonna be getting into.
Now I’m gonna tell you a real highlight of the movie. J. K. Simmons. This guy is always a character worth watching in whatever he’s in. Now in this one he’s just a Retired Miner named Watkins. And let me tell you he had this Santa Claus Beard going and it was a pleasure actually hearing a normal conversation instead of this half-human conversation that James and Odin have throughout the film. Sadly Watkins is only in the movie for like 20 minutes before he disappears into the Alaskan wilderness like a ghost in the mist.
James flies a seaplane through a bad storm, and of course everything goes fine because James is a confident Pilot- Oh he had a Heart Attack and Odin got sucked out of the Plane…
However, due to plot armour James survives the crash at the bottom of a lake in his plane. He’s kind of injured with his heart being a big issue for him. So what does James do? Thats right he begins to tap into his endless supply of Asprin. Real respect for finding Odin fast though, his spring into action to care for his injured dog is probably better than how he has been treated before.
Odin does recover but, James realizes that they gotta make a 58 Mile (93 Kilometre) Journey on foot through the Alaskan Wild with just his dog and whatever he could salvage from the plane (A tent and some medical equipment)
Now there is a major problem that I have with this movie and it’s the CGI with the wildlife. It’s pretty noticeable at certain points and especially with the bear. They had this massive grizzly but his fur just did not look right and he jiggled like jello when he left.
Another thing, The flashbacks. I know you’re trying to show the trauma that plagues James and Odin. But reusing the same footage without any changes over three times is kinda lazy…
There is a lot of beauty in this movie from a nature lover perspective but it’s subverted by the amount of weird pain that Brad Pitt goes through in this movie. For example, Odin and James have to cross this bridge of two tree logs. And instead of taking the much bigger and more stable-looking trunk, James goes on the trunk below it just to get back on top of the top trunk. Now James has no issue with this bridge but Odin has his issues with heights but brother, you only need to take your baby-steps on through the top trunk to get by!
Anyhow this leads to James falling and breaking his arm in a series of unfortunate events going by one-by-one. I’ll save you the gross details of his treatment but he’s working with just one arm now along with his supplies getting low.
As their journey through Alaska continues they encounter this pack of Wolfs, who see them in the morning. However they’re fighting a pair of Meese so they just stare back. Later that night Odin gets this sense of being watched in the night. James gets that feeling as well after getting jolted awake in the night.
They realize the wolfs are stalking them, which is really bad news since James is working with one arm and theres four wolfs, so you do the math. The encounter begins and Brad Pitt puts up a good fight against the CGI wolfs but it’s not enough, Odin gets hurt and the inner barbarian awakens in James.
Through pure Adrenaline and pain-killers he fends off the wolfs.
This does come at a cost through, who knew that fighting a bunch of wolfs would result in you becoming a oozing mess. To put in bland terms, James is on borrowed time and he knows it. His arm is messed up, his guts are leaky, and he’s still got another 10 miles to go.
It’s getting bad, James is getting worse and they have to get through a massive swamp that wasn’t there during his last visit. While travelling through the deep and muddy water, James is trapped by a log (wow! Yet again!) and this causes him to go through yet another flashback. This time it’s not reused footage which is nice to see that they didn’t blow the entire budget yet.
But he gets out of this troubling situation eventually after a long memory of him hearing that he’s the last of his old military unit from a mission gone wrong.
James and Odin get past the swampy mess and begin their last stretch before the injuries begin to be too much. That endless supply of aspirin is empting out as James is slowwing down and loosing speed through this last part of the journey. Now, he makes it to the top of this hill overlooking the road, but he’s done, finished. And in the most cliche way to end a journey movie, he sends Odin on one last mission, to find a new owner. Along with literally all of his assets to make sure that he’s well taken care of.
You’re are then taken back to the beginning intro of the movie with the girl. Who of course, takes Odin like a lost child while the letter that James wrote is read out.
Now personally. I am okay with the movie, it’s incredible how they got some of the flying shot sequences and the beauty of the Alaskan environment was amazing to see in the big screens. But the story could’ve been a little bit more giving for my tastes. This is definitely a movie you put on your living room tv, forget what you’re watching while doing chores, and occasionally admire while doing other things.
It’s pretty to watch if you have the time but its not a movie you should go out of your way to watch it.
