Maidgethma Wonderfully offbeat film!

Matcollis This Movie Can Only Be Described With One Word.

CrawlerChunky In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Nicole I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Vimacone Hollywood pictures based on true stories tend to be a mixed bag. History buffs will be quick to point out historical inaccuracies. But one must remember that a motion picture cannot be 100% true to the events that the film was based on and some liberties must be taken to make the film cohesive and entertaining. And as a history buff myself, I always look into the actual events behind the film.Colonel Patterson's account of the two man-eater's of Tsavo is an unusual and interesting account in British and natural history. Because of the unusual nature of this event, such an account lends itself perfectly to a motion picture, even if some parts are embellished.The film is told from the perspective of Samuel, a native who worked as a railroad worker with Colonel Patterson. The events took place in 1898, almost a century before the movie adaptation. Aside from some embellishments and Michael Douglas' character (who was fictitious), the events as described by the real Colonel Patterson are largely based on his memoir of his experience with the rogue lions and the trials he faced in managing railroad workers of different backgrounds to work together.In addition to the suspense and action that involves the lions, some of the best sequences involve the interactions among Patterson, Remington, and Samuel; All done with great dialogue. Samuel explains situations and the characters' backgrounds with terminologies that his people in the time frame would understand, but it is still conveyed very effectively to the audience. His narration that takes place in the aftermath of an attack gives insight to the fear and perspectives of the workers of varying backgrounds. You really feel their intense fear. Remington, a skilled but cocky American hunter, brings a minor sense of comic relief to a tense situation. He seems confident that these are just ordinary lions that can be easily located and killed, but soon sees otherwise.This makes for a great suspense and adventure picture with some memorable dialogue and scenes. And I also recommend reading The Man Eaters of Tsavo (the official account of the events) in addition to the movie; As truth can be more interesting than fiction.

NateWatchesCoolMovies Nothing beats the sheer adventurous spirit and eerie primal mythos that fuels Stephen Hopkin's The Ghost And The Darkness. It's a go-to comfort movie for me whenever I'm feeling down or stuck inside on a rainy night. It's like a campfire tale told on a quite windless night on the Serengeti, and like all the best scary stories, this one has roots in fact. In 1898, production of the East Africa Railroad along the Tsavo River was stalled for weeks, the workers suffering repeated attacks from two savage, mysterious lions. Acting against instinct, killing for sport rather than food and disappearing back into the night as quickly as they came, they were so ferocious and relentless that locals gave the eerie nicknames "the ghost and the darkness." The story has film written all over it, and Hopkins chooses the swashbuckling, Universal style horror route, and an irresistible tone. Val Kilmer, in his heyday, plays Patterson, an engineer sent by the boorish railroad tycoon Beaumont (Tom Wilkinson, chewing scenery like steak) to speed up production and pick up the slack in order to finish ahead of schedule. Not on the lions watch. He's scarcely arrived when they begins their endless tirade of horrific attacks, forcing him to trust in the skills of leathery game hunter Remington (Michael Douglas), sort of like Van Helsing crossed with Indiana Jones. The film clocks in under two hours but it seems longer somehow, like we're stuck with them in real time as the hopelessness of the situation sets into our bones, raising the stakes for our hunters and hammering home how terrifying an ordeal like this must be. Casting is on point here, watch for Bernard Hill as the sympathetic camp doctor, the late Om Puri and a brief early career cameo from Emily Mortimer as Patterson's wife. Occasionally straying into the realm of melodrama is this one's only fault, for the most part it's a hair raising, nightmarish account of adventure and terror told with style, packed with atmospheres and primed to get pulses racing.

LeonLouisRicci The Critics and Audiences Dismissed this on its Initial Release as Hollywood Hokum and was routinely Labeled as a Jaws Rip-Off. Nothing to See here was the Consensus.This is Fertile for the Formation of a Cult Movie and so it has become. On Second Viewing or Thought, there is much to See here. Beautiful Locations in Africa by Award Winning Cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond is the Backdrop of a Real Life event with Paranormal Underpinnings.It is the Story of Two Rampaging, Atypical Lions who go on a Killing Spree Devouring Humans at an Unnatural and Unnerving Pace. The Body Count varies, some have said 140, but no matter what the Number, it was a Devastating Disaster resulting in Legendary Recounting and Myth-Making.Val Kilmer and Michael Douglas are Acceptable if Nothing Great and that Doesn't Matter either because the Power of the Film comes from the Hunt and the Hunted Man-Hunters. It's a High Gloss Production with Excellent Music and Sound. The Suspense Builds to Bloody Carnage and a Battle of Wits between Man vs Beast.Engrossing, sometimes very Scary, and Delivers the Goods as Entertaining Movie Making that Titillates with Gore and Gruesomeness. It is really a Horror-Movie done with the Standard Ingredients that make the Genre a Popular Favorite. Above Average and Slick. Does Not Disappoint. Good Production from Everyone Involved.

gavin6942 Set in 1898, this movie is based on the true story of two lions in Africa that killed thirty-five people over a nine month period, while a bridge engineer (Val Kilmer) and an experienced old hunter (Michael Douglas) tried to kill them.I only recently (2015) became aware of the story of the two lions, who I believe are now housed at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago. I had no idea this film was about them, which is not surprising given that I did not know they existed. I recall the picture coming out in 1996 and not having much interest. Maybe I should have.We have some really good performances (Kilmer in his prime, and Michael Douglas who is always good). But more so, a very rich color palette for the cinematography. Impressive, and it looks wonderful, far above and beyond the typical 1990s movie.