Grand Canyon Adventure: River at Risk (2008)

For all the hype it got I was expecting a lot more!

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

I bought this film on bluray as I had got myself a 3D TV and wanted something that could show my sets 3D capability to the max. Well I wasn't disappointed in regards to this films 3D effects (especially the floating water bubbles at the beginning and the first water rafting scene) and the music composed and played by the Dave Matthews band is as beautiful as the scenery, but watching this film is like having a wet blanket of guilt draped over you for being human and living in a city. If there was an option to "Turn off" the narration and just listen to the music whilst watching the stunning scenery then I would give this film a generous 9/10.

This should have been a great experience, even if it was a bit preachy.However, some moron used the noise of one of the least talented people ever in the music business, Dave Matthews, for almost the entire audio. His nerve racking chalkboard on fingernails not only ruins any possible enjoyment, but distracts from whatever else is shown or said.The visuals were working well. Most of us got this tape to see the video, and learn more about the area. True, Redford and gang made this into more of a propaganda film, but the propaganda is based on what I believe to be good Science, simply because it is Science without an agenda. No one gets rich by exposing global warming. Instead, the only corporate interests are in drowning out talk of global warming.But this really shouldn't be about preaching politics. That is a bad format, and politics in a spectacle should be much more subtle. That said, the formula for the film probably could have been more informative than political.The ideas were well founded, and structured in a decent way. This narrative could have been watchable, except for one thing. The grinding of Matthews and his band. It is IMPOSSIBLE for any one not on severe drugs to listen to this more than a few minutes, and we want to hear the narration. Matthews must really hate Redford to ruin his narration with this garbage.This should be remade, with a better band. Of course there is always the chance that the narration will be equally ruined by some of the other no talent big name bands out there.

I mean really, what can I say? While I won't go so far as to say it was a waste of money, I just felt like it was a 45 minute sermon that was meant to make me feel guilty for existing on earth (and living in the Southern Nevada desert). The film spent the first 10 minutes talking about the lake in Chad and showing graphs and pictures of the two dams that are affecting the Colorado's flow. Nothing positive or beneficial was mentioned about how these dams create power and resources for the thirsty areas of the desert, nor about the jobs the dams have been able to create and sustain. Instead, there was a condemnation of what was done over half a century ago in Nevada and nearly as long in Glen Canyon.What I would have liked to have seen was a film that showed the Grand Canyon in all it's majesty and glory from the very beginning. A nature film should dazzle the senses from the moment it comes on screen. This film instead, has at least 3 different narrators whose voices ominously appear and then disappear throughout the film to the point that you have no idea whose talking at different points. What I would have liked to have seen (or heard) was Robert Redford's voice consistently through the film, introducing each person's voice and then coming on again after that person had spoken. Instead, it was Redford, then Wade Davis' voice, then his daughter's voice, then Bobby Kennedy Jr's voice and then back to Redford, then Bobby Kennedy's daughter and I must not forget that the Indian Woman gets her chance to shine. It might just be me, but I think consistency to the structure of the film is the key to a film like this.A more powerful way to have presented the argument in this film would have been to show the beauty of the nature of the Grand Canyon and the mighty Colorado. It would have been nice to have highlighted a brief history of the developments along the Colorado and then near the end brought to light the plight of the river and what the future could hold. Rather, what ends up happening is a consistent barrage of condemnation toward those who've settled the west from the opening of the film to it's last pathetic attempt to show us how we too, can conserve the earth's resources.

There must be better ways to "save the world's rivers" and combat Global Warming than spending 33 cents per minute on this misguided, misnomered Propaganda film. Maybe Large Format Films, especially those that require us to wear the 3D Goggles have run their course? This film offers no History of one of the Wonders of The World, but instead offers black and white photos of the "Kennedy Clan", exposes us to a Native American Female Guide who vandalizes the "Imported Japanese Trees" that are "driving out the native plants and trees that should be inhabiting the Colorado River Basin" with a long Bowie type knife! I thought these videos were reserved for You Tube? And then Insults and tries to guilt the Audience for excess water usage that is causing the Sudan River to dry up over the next 100 years. I may not be as environmentally sensitive as members of the "Kennedy Compound" or Robert Redford himself, but I thought the more immediate threat in Africa was the holocaust in Darfur? I don't know if taking shorter showers in Irvine, is really the most optimal way of helping the residents of the Sudan? Then the Producers go on a Rant about how the Dams of the mighty Colorado River, which include the Hoover Dam, were built on "miscalculations of rainfall in the region, and now it is up to Environmentalists to decide on the future of these dams". Warning Los Angeles and Las Vegas, these dudes are about to take your water supply away! Of course no one who knows history, has their wits about social responsibility and knows anything about the science of Ecology, is going to fall for this crock of garbage! Give to your favorite global warming associations and go Green. Don't rely on fools with money to guilt you into doing for the environment, what you already do on your own and feel good about yourself for doing it. Positive messages, respect for your audience and financial incentives by the government, water utilities and sane fund-raisers are the ways to slow down and eventually eliminate the water shortage problem and improve our world's climate. Arrogance, misuse of my $12 to fund the "Kennedy Compound" and Redford's film festival and ski resorts are monies not well spent. Give $12 to your Favorite environmental group or candidate who supports the environment in your hometown and feel good about yourself for doing it. Orange County residents are the best and every friend and family member I know is already doing something positive to maintain our beautiful environment!