Stevecorp
Don't listen to the negative reviews
WillSushyMedia
This movie was so-so. It had it's moments, but wasn't the greatest.
Tyreece Hulme
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
Patinho
The only reason I finished this movie was that I was waiting for it to get better. At one point I paused it and saw there was only 15 minutes left and was so bored I fast-forwarded through the rest.I expected one of two things, a movie out to entertain through shock value or an American Epic. I got neither. Therein lies the problem; the movie's scope simply isn't grand enough. With all the drama, betrayal, tragedy, desperation, and heartbreak that occurred during these events you'd think that you'd see some of it on screen. I'm no expert on the Donner Party, but as I understand the trip took months just to get to the point the film starts up. Where it proceeds to tell a small 2 week time frame about the hardships of the people who made an attempt at being rescued.This could have been a sprawling epic of the American Pioneer days on par with 'Dances with Wolves', yet we only get to see the small group and how hungry they are. That's it. We see nothing of what happened to the 30+ people back at the camp. I heard they had to resort to eating leather clothes and bones boiled so many times over they became brittle and edible, none of that made it into the film. If you cut out all of the establishing shots of snow and trees the movie wouldn't have even been an hour long.Bottom line, read the Wikipedia article, skip the movie.
dmball06
OK, so "based" on a true story opens up a number of creative license avenues for writers/producers....but generally speaking, if you are going to do a semi-historical piece about folks getting stuck in a blizzard and having to eat themselves because there is nothing else to eat (hunting or forage), then it might be wise to include some snow scenes (I counted two) and when Crispin's character bashes "Luis" head in, if you look at the surrounding trees (from the angle of Luis looking up at Cripsin), there isn't one shred of snow on the trees in the background...and...it's SUNNY outside...notice too how few times the characters breath can be seen when they speak...a tell-tale sign that shooting (which took all of 12 days) had been during the late summer months...granted, hard to get production crews up into the Sierra Nevadas during January..but maybe a snow machine and a couple of fans at least...I was seriously laughing at the film (which I doubt was the intention of the film's director/producers)...aside from the hideous historical fabrications and omissions, it should at least shoot on days that weren't so bloody sunny outside (I still contend that Crispin Glover looked like he was out for a Sunday stroll)...and another thing...make them wear the snowshoes...not carry them as crutches, strapped over their backpacks...and looking like they just were purchased at an outfitters store...too funny...a horrendous film and the only reason I gave it a one, was because I at least got to laugh out loud for 84 minutes
Scott Goodhart
According to the actual historical events that took place in the Donner Party, this film only resembles it in name, names of characters, and setting (then, too, not entirely accurate). Not even close. If this movie was named something else, it might have made it more enjoyable (If you can call watching this "enjoyable"). Even naming the movie "The Forlorn Hope" wouldn't have been accurate, but more fitting. Nothing was even said about the parties left behind or the survivors, and with the exception of the text at the end of the movie.This film is dismally plodding, which is about the only thing that resembled the Donner Party itself. Though beautifully shot and scored, and brilliantly acted, I can only give this a 3 star rating due to the script. If named something else to eliminate the historical inaccuracies, I might have only given it one more star.Someone please make a more accurate portrayal of this story! It is an incredible story of survival and hope!
inamind
I live in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. As such, I am very familiar with the Donner Party and looked forward to viewing this movie. However, I was very disappointed. It is full of inaccuracies. While it is true some of the party resorted to eating human flesh to survive, no one was killed to do so. It left out the struggles of those left behind, waiting to be rescued and what they endured. I noted Foster's beard was neatly trimmed throughout the film, amazing to me, as they barely were able to stay alive, much less have access to a barber, nor would they have looked as healthy after days of near starvation. The acting, too, left much to be desired. For me, this movie was a major flop.
