If you’re a lover of all things wild and nature or you just love bears like me, then you will enjoy this 1997 Hollywood movie, The Edge.
Billionaire Charles Morse and his wife, Mickey; Bob, a photographer and Stephen, his assistant along with others arrive at a remote village. Although Charles is quite older than Mickey, his love and devotion mean no less.
Upon arrival, the owner of the lodge where they stay warns them against leaving food open and about as it might attract bears.
As they prepare to sleep, Mickey asks Charles to get her a sandwich downstairs. As Charles prepares the sandwich, he is alerted by some noise and then surprised by Bob in a bear suit. This actually turns out to be a birthday surprise for Charles which Mickey had planned.
She then gifts Charles an engraved pocket watch while Bob gifts him a knife. The owner of the lodge urges Charles to give Bob back a coin as gifting someone a knife was bad luck that might break the friendship.
Bob possesses a book containing detailed instructions for survival in the wild.
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The next morning, Mickey models for Bob’s photoshoot. Bob sees the photograph of a local Alaskan man and becomes determined to have him model for his photoshoot. Along with Charles and Stephen, he flies to the man’s residence but a note taped on the door informs them that the man has gone bear hunting.
While looking about, Charles notices a bear trap.
As they fly towards the hunting site, Charles asks Bob how he intends to kill him. Just before Charles can answer, a flock of birds crashes into the chopper’s propellers and nose-dives into a lake. The pilot dies but Charles, Bob and Stephen swim out ashore.
Lost in the wild, Bob expresses the hope that Charles’ billionaire status will get helicopters searching for them. They build a fire and spend the night at the shore. The next morning, they start to hike towards the open ground and soon discover to their horror, that a large male Kodiak bear dominates that area. They run, hotly pursued by the bear but manage to escape it.
To get food, Charles hands over his knife to Stephen to make a spear with it but Stephen accidentally cuts himself, leaving a deep wound in his thigh. Charles attends to him while telling Bob to bury pieces of Stephen’s clothing that have blood on them.
Bob, however, hangs the clothing and the smell of blood allows the Kodiak bear to trace them that night.
The Kodiak bear then kills the wounded Stephen while the other two flee.
The next morning as they trap an animal for food, Charles and Bob hear the sounds of a rescue helicopter overhead. They try to alert it of their presence but fail to do so. Furthermore, they discover that the bear has been stalking them.
Now left in a state of unrest, the optimistic Charles decides that they must kill the bear. Together, they make hunting spears and then lure the bear to a river and after a fierce fight, they kill it in the fashion of an old photo that came with the note on the Alaskan man’s door.
Now free from the terror of the bear, Bob would admit to sleeping with Mickey and his plan to kill Charles to have Mickey. He would lead Charles to where he intends to kill him but fall into a deadfall despite Charles trying to warn him.
Despite the betrayal and intended murder, Charles helps Bob and tends to his wounds. He gets Bob onto a canoe and they go down the river.
At shore, Bob seeks forgiveness from Charles and tells him that Mickey is unaware of the murder plan. A helicopter appears overhead and Charles successfully attracts its attention. Rejoicing, he turns towards Bob who is lying facedown — dead.
Now back at the lodge, Charles reveals to Mickey that he knows of her infidelity and responds to reporters who have gathered around, stating that his friends died saving his life.
Watch The Edge Trailer below:
This movie’s major cast comprises Anthony Hopkins as Charles Morse, Alec Baldwin as Bob, Harold Perrineau as Stephen, Elle Macpherson as Mickey and Bart the Bear as the bear.
I loved this movie, particularly because of Charles’ wisdom and the feature of a real bear.
This movie gets a 4 out of 5 stars. ⭐⭐⭐⭐
