Dylan Keyne
I am shocked...For once, a Peter Strauss film that has not been interesting in the slightest.This is one of those that I'd call 'pocket money' films, in that the lead actors usually only sign up because they need some extra spends for that second yacht, or something. But being a bit of a fan of Peter Strauss, I know he tends to take roles based on the script and whether the role appeals. Him being quite a philanthropist and this essentially being a film about saving whales, I can see why he took it. I suspect the same from the likes of Richard Widmark, too.I only picked it up because it has Peter Strauss in it. As a film overall, I think it fails to deliver. The supporting characters are quite one-dimensional and serve as plot vehicles only. The main cast are fairly single-tracked and there's almost no character development.What threw me the most is the lack of dynamic between Charlie Lyndon and his family. There's a nice scene at the beginning which does set him up as having a bit of a loner mindset, but for the rest of the film it's like they were completely superfluous aside from a couple of scenes where they just wanted him to give up and go home. For a married man, I'd have thought he'd rely more on his family for support, rather than have them hanging around while he goes off on a crusade... but maybe that was the point.There was more of a dynamic between Lyndon and the doctor. Indeed, at one point I thought this would be the start of an affair between them and the final parting shows this might have been the case.I found the dialogue clichéd and unimaginitive, with the acting that delivered it utterly stilted. If I were to guess, I'd say the actors were forced to stick rigidly to some swiftly written script and not given a single inch within which to actually act. I've seen other works by each of the main cast and I know they both have done and later did do far better than this.Overall, the film works well enough for, say, a Sunday afternoon and it has that feel of a 1980s straight-to-video release. Perhaps good to watch with young children. But beyond that, there are many, many other Peter Strauss films more worthwhile.
jbaronde
Barely remember this and uncertain if it is exactly the movie I am thinking of. There is a humpback whale stuck in a bay because of current low tides but there was high tides when the whale went into the bay. When discovered by locals in small, harbor town, some of the gun nuts or hunters want to go shoot it as it would be pretty awesome to say you shot a whale in the bay near your town. Think of THAT head on your mantle!! Some non-locals who happen to be there for some reason....I think it was they were ship wrecked, step in, reluctantly, to stop them from shooting the whale and try to get the whale back into the ocean. I don't remember how it ended or what happened but there is some good drama btw the redneck hunters and the visiting "whale savers".I was a young kid when I saw this and later got a high fever up to 105-106 F from some virus or hot summer heat. I started hallucinating and starting picturing this movie happening in the window of my bedroom and was freaked out about how we could fit all the fish and whale in my bedroom. My mother was very worried about me and thought I was possessed by the devil because once during this illness i apparently turned and told her "Mom, I hate God!" Well, a few days later on the way to the doctor and sitting in front of an air conditioner, my fever broke and I was fine. I only remember the hallucinations about the fish and this movie. It took me forever to remember what the name of the movie was and thanks to IMDb.com I believe this is it.I am a hunter and enjoy guns, but am not a fan of killing endangered species and don't condone shooting humpback whales in your local harbor just because you can. My earlier comments were satirical and tongue-in-cheek. It is possible to enjoy guns without being ridiculous about it...but then you don't get to be on TV or the NRA because they only accept crazies and those good for TV ratings. Common sense and reason aren't good for TV ratings.Anyhow, wish I could find a copy of this movie so I could watch it again.
