Claysaba Excellent, Without a doubt!!

Micransix Crappy film

AnhartLinkin This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Scarlet The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Paul J. Nemecek A man on his way to his wedding is derailed by unforeseen circumstances. This is hardly a new premise in film. One of the early versions of this basic theme was Frank Capra's It Happened One Night which won the Oscar for best picture in 1934. Critic Owen Gleiberman has described Force of Nature as a cross between It Happened One Night and Planes, Trains, and Automobiles. This description is not far from the mark.Ben Affleck plays Ben Holmes, "a jacket-copy writer" on his way to Savannah for his wedding. His plane is involved in a runway accident so he ends up joining forces with a stranger named Sarah (Sandra Bullock) who also needs to get to Savannah. Along the way they recognize their mutual attraction, and all of the pieces are in place for a pretty standard screwball comedy.Affleck and Bullock are well cast in their respective parts, and it is refreshing to see them in roles that give them both a little more room to move. Affleck is still hot from his success in Good Will Hunting and Armageddon. Bullock's recent past has been a bit spotty including mixed reviews for Hope Floats and unanimous slams for Speed 2. In the right roles, these are actors that are fun too watch. They carry their parts well here, but unfortunately the parts aren't much worth carrying. There are a few golden moments here, but there's even more mindless fluff.There are also a few too many scenes that are designed to add some sex appeal, but do little to advance the story line (e.g., a bachelor party and a scene in a gay bar). This is a shame, because there are some worthwhile insights about love, fear, and grace buried in the clutter of this film. The visuals in the film provide some special moments too, but the end result is a film that is very uneven and ultimately flawed.The two questions I ask when I evaluate a film are: "is it a story worth telling?", and "is it a story well told?". This film comes close on both counts, but ultimately fails the test. When I was trying to decide which film to review this weekend, I was debating between this film and Clint Eastwood in True Crime. I still haven't seen the Eastwood flick, but if you find yourself faced with the same two options, my advice would be to give Clint a shot-go ahead, make his day.

SnoopyStyle Alan (Steve Zahn) throws a bachelor party for Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) who is getting married to Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney). His grandfather has a heart-attack. On the hospital bed, he complains about marrying his grandmother. He is seated next to exuberant Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock) on the flight from New York City to the Cahill family home in Savannah, Georgia for the wedding. The flight is grounded by a bird strike. With an approaching hurricane, Ben joins Sarah on a long ground trip to Georgia.The plot is basically Planes, Trains, and Automobiles except it's not quite as fun. Director Bronwen Hughes has a harsh shooting style. It's pumping music, odd angles, and aggressive looks. It doesn't come off as fun but it does reflect on the wild nature theme. Bullock is appealing which makes the romance very awkward with Tierney not being evil. It's a close call. I want to like it more than I actually did.

alangalpert On one level, "Forces of Nature" falls squarely in what I will call the "Murphy's Law tradition" of cinema. In other words, whatever can go wrong, does go wrong. This tradition includes the likes of "The Out-of-Towners" and "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles". In these movies - usually comedies - the principal characters are bedeviled by a series of obstacles which threaten to derail their plans; the obstacles range from human malfeasance to natural disasters. As the title strongly suggests, the primary obstacles in this movie are courtesy of Mother Nature. The probability of just one of the unfortunate events is extremely low. The probability of all of them occurring within the space of two days is nonexistent. (The antecedents of this tradition predate cinema by several thousand years, of course. Remember the trials of Job, and the plagues of the Old Testament. Indeed, at one point Ben says something about waiting for the locusts to come.) As "Forces of Nature" begins, Ben Holmes (Ben Affleck) and Bridget Cahill (Maury Tierney) are about to be married. Ben lives in New York; Sarah is from Savannah, Georgia, where the wedding is to take place. Everyone is on edge because a hurricane brewing in the Atlantic threatens to wreak havoc on the impending nuptials. Two days before the event, Ben boards a plane for the trip south. As luck would have it, a hapless seagull is sucked into one of the plane's engines, and it skids off the runway, resulting in minor injuries. One of the passengers is a young woman named Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock), who is en route to Florida to transact some business. Following the crash, she credits Ben with saving her life. Concerned about the possibility of another aviation mishap, they decide to share the cost of a rental car. There are no cars available, but they meet a man who already has one, and he agrees to drive them to their destinations. From this point on, the aforementioned Murphy's Law intervenes with a vengeance.If "Forces of Nature" were nothing but a succession of calamities, it would be funny, but nothing to write home about. On another level, however, it is an exceptional movie with a great deal of heart. There is a tradition for this type of movie, as well, and it includes "It Happened One Night", which won an Oscar for Best Picture in 1934. The worst thing that can happen to anyone about to be married is to fall in love with someone else. Ben finds Sarah enchanting and unique, and soon he develops feelings for her. To make matters worse, nearly everyone he meets has a horror story about marriage. Before long, Ben's pre-wedding jitters turn into a panic, and he is in turmoil. The hurricane gaining strength off the coast of Georgia is nothing compared to the storm wreaking havoc on Ben's peace of mind. To paraphrase Hamlet, "To wed or not to wed, that is the question".Ben Affleck is not an especially exciting actor (in my opinion), but in this movie he is very convincing as a man in the throes of indecision. Sandra Bullock is terrific as a free spirit who turns out to have more depth than you might expect. The supporting cast is entertaining, as well, and the dialogue is witty and intelligent. If you can forgive the director and writer for straining the limits of credulity with a preposterous plot, you should find this a very funny and poignant film.

Jackson Booth-Millard I haven't seen that many good films starring Ben Affleck, hence I call him Ben "Assface", but I was still going to give this comedy a go, even with it being two stars. Basically book writer Ben Holmes (Affleck) is soon to be married to his sweetheart and awaiting bride Bridget Cahill (Maura Tierney), and he is being delayed by so many mishaps. After an incident on his plane, he hitch a rental car ride, along with eccentric, attractive Sarah Lewis (Sandra Bullock). As they continue the journey, it is slowly becoming obvious that they may have a thing for each other, and Ben is wondering if everything he has been through are signs that he shouldn't get married at all. In the end, he does eventually make it to the wedding, and after one or two delays and glitches in the event, he and Bridget do marry, and Ben just remembers Sarah as an influence or something to him, and hopes she is happy in her own life, which I guess she was, she has a son. Also starring Steve Zahn as Alan, Meet the Parents' Blythe Danner as Virginia, Total Recall's Ronny Cox as Hadley, Michael Fairman as Richard Holmes, Janet Carroll as Barbara Holmes and Volcano's Richard Schiff as Joe. Affleck and Buloock have done romantic stuff before, but they are not exactly best suited in this really average comedy with small giggles and an okay story. It isn't absolutely terrible, it just could have had a little more to offer. Okay!