Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Portia Hilton Blistering performances.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Cheryl A clunky actioner with a handful of cool moments.

DarthBill PLOT IN A NUTSHELL: Allie Fox (Harrison Ford), an eccentric intellectual, engineer and inventor, is very unhappy with how life in America is going. In fact, he hates it so much that he uproots his family from their nice little home in the middle of anywhere is America to a jungle where he proceeds to build his own idealized utopia, complete with a giant ice maker he calls "Fat Boy". For a brief time the restless Fox is happy and content, but his utopia is doomed to fail, leading to death, destruction, despair, and ruin. At the time it was released in 1986 director Peter Weir's "The Mosquito Coast" (based on the novel of the same name) got an at best mixed critical response and was a box office failure. Some believed it was because the film just wasn't "box office" material for the average American audience. Most however believed that the film failed due to the presence of Harrison Ford as Allie Fox - a role that, not surprisingly, had been offered to Jack Nicholson before Ford signed on. In the big scheme of the Hollywood game Ford built his career on playing sarcastic yet affable action heroes in big adventure films and thrillers, and by that point he had cemented his place as a pop culture icon with not one but two such roles - lovable rogue Han Solo from Star Wars and rugged archaeologist Indiana Jones. Ford had had some trouble gaining recognition for dramatic roles and had only just recently won praise for his role as a cop on the run in 1985's "Witness" also directed by Peter Weir (as of this writing "Witness" is still the only film where Ford was nominated for a Best Actor Oscar), and was looking for something different when "The Mosquito Coast" came his way. Its' easy to see what drew Ford to the part - Allie Fox was about as far removed from his two most iconic roles - and regular parts - as any part could be, and he was such an unusual, offbeat character, the kind that come along once in a lifetime, that it was simply too good to pass up (Ford has even confessed that he agreed with at least some of the character's criticisms about Americans not working hard enough and selling out their values). And therein lay the danger - after years of watching Ford save the day, either from Nazis or an evil intergalactic Empire, audiences just weren't ready to see him playing such an unsympathetic character. Which is too bad since this is quite possibly Ford's most dynamic performance, and certainly deserving of an Oscar nomination (Lord knows that lesser actors have won Oscars for lesser performances in lesser films). Ford embraces the unapologetic, self-destructive nature of the always critical Allie Fox with an unabashed go for broke energy that keeps the film charged from start to finish, and he is surrounded by an excellent cast, including the late River Phoenix as his oldest son (Phoenix later played the young version of Ford in 1989's "Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade"). Despite the terrible things Fox does in the name of his dream, even after that dream has obviously failed, Ford finds a way to make you feel sorry for him. "The Mosquito Coast" is a fascinating examination of how far a man will go to achieve his goal, as strange as that goal is, and a clash of ideologies (as seen in Fox clashing with the Reverend) and the ever fragile nature of family. It is not an easy film to watch, not the kind of film you'd want to watch after a long hard day at work, but it is a beautifully shot, fascinating film, and a unique experience for Harrison Ford fans.

Spikeopath The Mosquito Coast is directed by Peter Weir and adapted to screenplay by Paul Schrader from the novel of the same name written by Paul Theroux. it stars Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, River Phoenix, Conrad Roberts and Andre Gregory. Music is scored by Maurice Jarre and cinematography by John Searle. Story sees Ford as Allie Fox, an inventor who has grown tired of what he sees as the disintegration of America. With his family in tow, Allie heads for what he hopes to be a happier life in the jungles of Central America. Building a self sufficient utopia, things start swimmingly, but can it last? Where does Allie's ambition end?I have never read the novel, but I have it on good authority that it's cracker-jack stuff. Viewing this brilliant film, I regret not having indulged in the source material first. With that out the way, I can say that Peter Weir's film held me in an vice like grip throughout, it proved to be utterly compelling and beautiful to look at, yet as Allie Fox's ambitions and mindset begin to alter, a bleakness hones in to view and looms large over the picture. Propelled by a quite excellent performance by Ford, his own personal favourite and a film he stands strong in support of, film asks questions of man's place in the imperfect world, idealism and religious fervour; both pro and con. It's a bold and intelligent screenplay by Schrader, which only falters slightly with a mixed message come the denouement. Away from Ford and Searle's sharp photography, Phoenix and Mirren provide very strong support and Weir, a most undervalued director, paces it with his customary slow burn precision.A hidden gem of the 80s and on Ford's CV, The Mosquito Coast is the kind of adult cinema we could do with more of these days. 9/10

Jackson Booth-Millard From director Peter Weir (Gallipoli, Witness, Dead Poets Society, The Truman Show), I expected this to be some kind of Cast Away or Swiss Family Robinson style desert island film, I watched it because of the three good leading stars. Basically Allie Fox (Harrison Ford) is the eccentric and arrogant inventor who doesn't do things by the book, and his troubled genius, intense moods and incredible drive have given the idea, apparently on a sudden whim, to make a new somewhere else. So with his family, Mother Fox (Dame Helen Mirren), teenage son Charlie (River Phoenix), younger son Jerry (Jadrien Steele) and young twins April and clover (twins Hilary and Rebecca Gordon), they travel to the jungles of Central America to live their new life. Over time, in the middle of the jungle, a new factory is built, and the experiment to create large ice cubes to sell to the local people and all over is successful. There are problems with their new environment though, not just from the inquisitive and sometimes vicious tribes people, from Christian missionary Reverend Spellgood (Andre Gregory) who has a strong hatred for Communists, but mostly from Allie. His attitude, strong attitudes and short fuse make him a bad father, a poor husband, and more than anything a hateful control freak and he wants things done his way and has almost no care for anything or anyone else. It comes to the point when Allie really goes over the edge and too far in his self brewing madness, he destroys the ice factory because of severe paranoia, and the family know that they have to leave. In the end, the only way Allie is finally put to rest and his terrible ways stopped is to be shot and paralysed, Mother upset, but the family do finally leave the jungle and the final narration by Charlie says he did die, but the family go on with hope. Also starring Conrad Roberts as Mr. Haddy, The Goonies' Martha Plimpton as Emily Spellgood and Dick O'Neill as Mr. Polski. Mirren gives a reasonable performance as the concerned and forced wife and mother of the family, and Phoenix is good seeming a little older than he actually is, but Ford is the big draw as he grips you, and even makes you uncomfortable, with his manic dark character who you can both hate and feel no sympathy for, which makes him so good, the story is alright, overall I wonder about the four stars out of five rating by the critics, but it is a watchable drama. It was nominated the Golden Globe for Best Original Score for Maurice Jarre. Good!

laace2003-2 Plan and simple this movie sucks! I'm fed up with Peter Weir and his movies. Peter Weir has a problem with character development. My advice read the book and don't waste your time watching this unless you want to watch scenery, lack of character and plot development, and lack dialogue. I don't know, but the music sounded like the same music used in Witness. I can't understand how superb Harrison Ford was in Witness and how awful he was in this. His portrayal of Allie Fox was not believable and seemed forced; he was trying too hard. He came off comical. I will say that River Phoenix was great as usual, even his narrative was done to perfection. What a gifted actor he was.