Robert J. Maxwell One of the earliest European visitors to the Grand Canyon paused at the lip and mused, "Something happened here." Not too much happens in the movie, in which we see the Grand Canyon only from the air in a few stock shots.The territory in which the film was shot -- Moab and its surroundings -- is striking in itself. There is an unforgettably long high bridge at nearby Page, dedicated to someone who died building it and "became part of the river he loved." If it weren't for the fact that a real death was involved, the dedication would be as amusing as this movie.Two honeymooners -- the slightly reckless Eion Bailey and the sumptuous and sensible Yvonne Strahovski -- hire the "colorful" old geezer, Will Patton, to take them on a mule trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, then, with their assent, leads them off the trail to see something no other white man has seen. They don't make it. Patton's mule is frightened by a rattlesnake. Bailey falls off his mule. Strahovski falls off her mule. Patton falls off his mule, breaks his arm and is "twice-bit by a snake." The mules run off. Patton gives up the ghost and the two lovers are left to walk their way out of the wilderness with no food, water, or supplies.Now, it's not like this plot of lost people trying to find their way back to civilization is anything new. Not if you've seen films like "Walkabout," "They Came to Cordura", or "An Eye For An Eye" -- all entertaining in their different ways. But I don't think any of the protagonists have been quite so willfully stupid as these two.I'm not counting the impossible elements like the wolves. I just mean that if any of us, with nothing more than ordinary in the upper story, were to find himself alone at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, he'd try to retrace his steps. No? If your guide went mad and died, you wouldn't forget to retrieve his knife and anything else useful from his pockets before burying the body, would you? (Would you waste time burying the body in the first place?) The writers have thrown in every cliché in the book. They've read the story of Aron Ralston, the hiker who in 2003 was pinned by an 800-pound boulder and had to amputate his own forearm with a pen knife to escape. Bailey has his foot trapped and Strahovski must cut it off. Here's how Bailey traps his foot. He falls a dozen feet or more down the face of a cliff and, at the bottom, has managed to land with his boot stuck irretrievably into a crack in the rock floor. You have to see it to believe it, and even then you won't believe it. The amputation, the deaths, are all pretty gruesome. I suppose they must be. The wince factor and the scenery are all that hold the movie together, and the photography of the magnificent landscape actually renders it dull and dark. When the writer runs out of ideas completely, he throws in a shouting match out of nowhere between the lovers, on the theory, I guess, that it's time for their argument.Strahovski is very easy on the eyes. We should have seen more of her. Her acting is professional enough, as is Bailey's. And I've always liked Will Patton, ever since he was my supporting player in the phenomenally poetic "Everybody Wins." He was an impressive villain in "No Way Out" too. Those staring eyes, that plastered-on grin, those hissing sibilants. I thought he might be the next Strother Martin. Instead, here he is playing one of those grizzled coots that became a cliché before sound was introduced.

jcmann01 Plot: The possibilities of getting lost in the Grand Canyon escalate dramatically if you choose not to properly plan your trip into the canyon, use uncertified guides (esp with drinking problems), no wilderness survival training, no maps or compass, and have no way of communicating with the outside world. Having no food or water, lost in the canyon, under high heat conditions can alone kill you, much less the idea of wild animals attacking you? I must point out that idea about wolves in the Grand Canyon Park and outlying areas attacking people is totally absurd! Whoever thought this one up did not do much research because wolves, though they have been spotted in these areas on occasion, are for the most part rare and shy of humans. Timber wolves, which the movie portrays, mainly exist in Canada and the northwestern states towards Canada. So this part is completely unrealistic for an already busy plot. Wolves only act like this when they are starving to death, but the Timber wolves shown in this movie looked pretty well fed.However this movie does make you think twice about roughing it alone out in no man's land. If you don't have the stomach to see what people have to do under desperate circumstances, then perhaps you need to look for another movie?

jeremyzahrte This movie was so cheesy I had register to this site just to get this off my chest. Horrible movie. The plot, stuck in the grand canyon. Boring enough right? Well hey you know what the movie 127 hours pulled it off so a boring plot isn't my problem with this movie. Seems like it almost had potential but it was so unrealistic I couldn't take it. The girl gets attacked by wolves;one tackles her to the ground face to face and somehow doesn't bite her in the neck or face? In a following scene she gets attacked again, tackled to the ground, but only gets bit in the leg? Then she stabs the wolf only for it to die instantly? After watching this I wished my girlfriend would suffocate me too. It really trips me out that you people write good reviews for movies like this. Someone please explain to me how people are rating this 7/10?

endura-1 Well I am positively surprised how good this movie actually was. Not sure why sometimes it's branded 'horror'because it's more like dramatic thriller. I liked the story and I liked the characters who were rich and believable. For the first time 'a chick' didn't annoy me:)and there was more to her than meets the eye. The story begins when a couple of newlyweds decides to take a trip to the Grand Canyon. Their guide is a rough, heavy drinking guy, who promises them an unforgettable experience. The trip however does not go as planned. I think this film is a solid piece. Don't expect more than 140min of adventure/survival flick and you won't be disappointed. It kept me focused and interested. Well worth seeing.