Into the Wild

Krakauer's story was compelling enough and for Sean Penn to throw such fictionalized crap into the mix is hard to accept. McCandless was barely developed as a character and what we see is a very self-absorbed, humorless, one-dimensional kid. Penn's anti-government views are unnecessarily thrown into the movie--the rude ranger at Lee's Ferry and the sheriff’s boat blasting their siren through the Grand Canyon, unable to catch up to a kayaker, sure. The idea of McCandless pushing his kayak on a shopping cart 42 miles from Page to Lee's Ferry was also absurd. The whole kayak-through-the-Grand-Canyon story line was totally unfathomable. How many idiots will try it now? As was Wayne Westerberg getting busted by the FBI (for what--driving his combine too fast? Why does Vince Vaughn have to be in every goddamn movie?), McCandless burning all his money yet holding on to his gold watch, (all vagabonds who are rejecting society need to know the exact time), McCandless riding the rails, (stereotypic "bull" encounter--but did McCandless ever hop a train? I did not think so), McCandless not giving Ron a hug or at least a handshake when he said goodbye to him, McCandless hiking up his belt another notch about fifty times (must be losing weight, duh), McCandless not having a discernable personality, McCandless about to phone his parents but thinking the better of it (what was the point of that?)

Also hard to believe was McCandless not banging the Tracy chick (Tolstoy would have banged her!) This must be Penn's version of McCandless deification, that he was too "moral" to bang a hot chick in the middle of the desert.

Hippie couple and Tracy were good actors. Hal Holbrook, good to see he's still alive. Emile Hirsch at least looked like McCandless, good to see Sean Penn didn't turn him into a Haitian stowaway, or a guy with scissorhands. Whacked-out Danish couple on remote beach seemed realistic. There are lots of nude and nearly nude European tourists running around remote parts of the American west. That was the movie's biggest connection with me.

Eddie Vedder soundtrack totally forgettable. You suck, dude. I guess we should be thankful Helen Reddy wasn't Sean Penn's buddy in the music industry, eh? Too bad no "Travelin' Man"/Bob Seger, "Ramble On"/Led Zep, even some old '70s Jackson Browne or '60's Byrds would have helped. And since McCandless was out there during the pinnacle of the grunge era, some music from that period seems also required. "King of the Road"/Roger Miller was the only music that fit.

No mention of the dude who gave McCandless his last ride to the trailhead. Hard to see how that guy could be left out. The last person to ever see McCandless alive.

Good to see The Gap (S of Page) and the road leading down to Lee's Ferry on the big screen, but I doubt McCandless ever went down it. There wasn't any particular shot that came close to capturing the real essence of hitching, and what a freaking shame. McCandless can't even say "thanks for the ride".

The scene where McCandless mocks elderly man Ron for not making the "most" of his life left a particularly bad taste in my mouth. If someone puts you up overnight for an extended time and wants to adopt you, be gracious about it, not a sanctimonious jerk. I'm sure Chris McCandless' parents were thrilled to see their son depicted this way.

Also hard to believe is that no one came forward during the making of the movie to further clarify McCandless' journey. No rides in Canada, nothing. Rather than fictionalize what may have happened that Krakauer didn't unearth in his research, Penn fictionalizes what did happen. In reality, McCandless kayaked from below Parker Dam to the Sea of Cortez through relatively tame Colorado River waters. Penn has him negotiating class 4 rapids in the heart of the Grand Canyon--a total sell-out to attract the extreme sport crowd.

Closing shot totally ridiculous. The river looks to be about ankle deep, and it's flowing from the wrong direction. No attempt by McCandless to even cross the river. What a joke.

From what I read, McCandless in real life was a congenial guy, a great bar person. He had a joie de vivre for hitching and meeting other people. He wasn't the single-minded, Alaska obsessed prick that Penn makes him out as being. That's what I choose to believe. Shame on Sean Penn for not illuminating us more into who Chris McCandless actually was. Now the picture is even more clouded.

Krakauer's version of ending with Billie and Walt McCandless helicoptering in to visit the bus was gut-wrenching enough for me. Too bad it wasn't good enough for Sean Penn, that great Hollywood visionary. Thanks a lot, a$$hole.

holy sh!t i feel bad for anyone who has to sit through a movie with you. why dont you take a look at the big picture you cynical prick.

I'm assuming you are the original poster...doesn't really matter. but if you think these words, big or not, help clarify the points the poster is trying to make, then you are a crack whore. They don't flow worth a damn...self-inflated and pompous...but whatever makes you feel good.

I just don't like it when people try too hard to 'sound' smart. I like people who are smart...not that I am...

that's the best you can do? what, can't think of any more cliches "accidents are accidents", "nobody's perfect", "pushing the limits", ... go back to dyestat little boy

1st you are all over the place on that review. One minute wanting mainstream freedom rock blasting through the movie instead of calm introspective eddie veddar, and the next blasting Penn for feeding the target audience with exciting river scenes.

2nd no one seems to be even watching the movie. They go in with pre conceived ideas and support that view by taking bits and pieces from the movie that support the view they already had.

Reviewing a movie or book is difficult, using it as a vehicle for you agenda is stupid and lazy.

NOw the Monkey Wrench Gang, that is a movie I've been waiting for!!!

Hayduke wrote:

One minute wanting mainstream freedom rock blasting through the movie instead of calm introspective eddie veddar, and the next blasting Penn for feeding the target audience with exciting river scenes.

If Chris McCandless knew the soundtrack from the movie depicting his life and death was being sold through Starbucks, I am sure he would be very pissed off.

Talk about Sean Pean selling out McCandless's soul for some nifty corporate cross-marketing dollars ... very uncool.

sorry for the big words

you didn't use any big words...

Speaking of anybody else, am I the only one who envied his ability to get down to racing weight so easily?

Other than that I thought it was a good movie – a solid B. To all the critics haranguing on and on about keeping it real or making sense of it, how can I say this effectively enough, it was a m-o-v-i-e, made in h-o-l-l-y-w-o-o-d...

what the hell do you mean thats the best you can do. i'm just presenting my ideas on the story just like you. once again you are missing the big picture in what i'm trying to say. instead you try to point out the things away from the subject like word phrasing. give me a break. i hope you realize you look retarded when you rip on people for all the wrong reasons... so you can go back to being a troll you douche.

my .02 cents,

The movie wasn't perfect. But goddamn was all that angry nitpicking really necessary? It just went on and on. You must be a blast at parties. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that making a great film isn't easy. I think Into the Wild could at least be considered a "good" film, which is refreshing when the theatres are usually loaded with movies like "College Road Trip" and "Good Luck Chuck".

Let’s not forget that Chris McCandless was captain of his XC team at W.T. Woodson High School, Fairfax, Virginia. Does anyone know if he ran at Emory?

McCandless is indeed a polarizing figure. I’m definitely sympathetic to his point-of-view and can easily forgive his relatively minor pretentious streak, as well as the recklessness that eventually cost him his life. The movie stresses that his dysfunctional family was the source of his rejection of conventional life. But it also makes clear (as does Krakauer) that he was also extremely sociable and likeable guy. He could have come off as a cold, pretentious, self-absorbed, self-righteous figure, but that seems not to be the way he struck anybody he came in contact with outside of his parents.

i lived at the beach every summer, and i managed to catch a few Dead shows back in the day. there's a queue of Chris McCandless types in every town in America, every high school, every college, every bar, every restaurant crew. this guy just ended up in a bus in Alaska. most of them had to get more permanent jobs when Jerry Garcia died.

The guy was hell-bent on taking twisted revenge on parents/Dad for their perceived rejection of him. His compulsion to get back at dad took him past some very nice possibilities for having friends and a nice life. He had to go to Alaska to complete his self-destructive pilgrimage. Even when he could have been planning, exploring, he looked at little things that didn't involve getting out safely (I think he did not even look carefully for a way out of the wilderness beyond seeing the raging river, when he was only a mile or two from civilization) for long-term survival.

Production values and photography and even acting were fine. The sad part is the guy's throwing away alot of good people and possibilities in order to complete his suicidal mission.

my .02 wrote:

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Did you actually read the book? Because, having struggled through your meandering post, I don't find any points that would suggest you did.

In fact at several points, you're just flat wrong.

George Mason coach and coach of kevin sullivan, juli henner dated chris mcCandless in high school

geezzzzz wrote:

In fact at several points, you're just flat wrong.

yeah, I read the book, even the original magazine article when it first came out in '93

go ahead and enlighten me where I've gone wrong. My thinking is if you're going to make a movie about someone's life and death, don't invent things to get a bigger box office just because you can unless you're Oliver Stone. I'm also looking at the movie from the perspective of someone who hitched more than McCandless did at a similar age. So go ahead, rip away. :)

Let us not assume that either Jon Krakauer or Sean Penn completely approves of McCandless. They understand, to an extent, his instincts and wanderlust but they do not whitewash his character.

Easy And Obvious wrote:

Let us not assume that either Jon Krakauer or Sean Penn completely approves of McCandless. They understand, to an extent, his instincts and wanderlust but they do not whitewash his character.

Krakauer, no, he remained fairly objective; Penn just about canonizes McCandless though. i.e. It's not McCandless's fault, he had shitty parents.