A Walk in the Woods

A Walk in the Woods

Rating 4 out of 10

I really liked the idea of this movie.  A retired successful writer, Bill Bryson, is bored.  It's been several years since his last book and now pushes his rereleasing of older books.  He goes out for a walk and decides he is going to walk the Appalachian Trail.  Not part of the trail.  The whole thing!  2000 + miles of trail.  Without really training.  Of course everyone thinks he is nuts.  He sets out to find a friend to walk it with him.  No one else is as crazy as he is.  An old guy he knew thirty years ago hears about the walk and wants to do it with him.  They go off to the sporting goods store to buy their gear and they are on their way.

This is where the writing falters.  They run into all the cliches.  Crazy woman walker that won't leave them alone.  Bears in their campsites.  Falling into creeks. You name it. The biggest problem with the movie is the casting.  Robert Redford is pushing eighty and is still the best looking guy in the room.  He looks fit for his age but no way in shape to do a walk like this.  Even worse is Nick Nolte.  Not sure how old he is but he looks over a hundred.  He looks real rough. I don't see him being able to make the walk around the mall much less walking thousands of miles on rough trails.

This is supposed to be a male bonding movie yet they never really bond.  I like the idea of the movie. It just was not very well written or cast.  Besides that it is pretty good. : >  Not a terrible movie.  Unfortunately not a good one either.