Movie Review: Into the Wild

This is the story of Christopher McCandless. Chris was a young man who grew up in an affluent family, was pretty much a straight A student and a superb athlete. He was unhappy with his life of material goods. He wanted to be one with nature, to find his true self, to live without the encumbrances of modern society.

The movie seems a bit romanticized, and from my reading, I believe this young man has a following and probably is looked upon as a hero...a person who struck out on his own to rid himself of the shackles of modern society. The movie depicts his adventure as he travels West, then North as one filled with him meeting friendly people who he shares his wisdom with and betters their lives.

It seems to be very much like a Henry David Thoreau adventure. As I watched the movie, I felt partly like it was an incredible journey. Being able to go where you want when you want. Just being part of nature and part of the world, looking out for yourself and being kind to others. Living and let live. I think there is a part of all of us that would like to live in this way. Especially when the burdens of life are getting us down.

At moments in the movie, he appears to be thoughtful. He appears to be thinking ahead by doing such things as buying books about local fauna. He is very athletic and he spends time making his body stronger as he focuses on his one goal which is heading to Alaska. People that he meets along the way try to advise him, try to get him to let his folks know where he is, try to get him to turn back, but he is adamant and continues on.

But for all of his supposed preparation and intelligence, he didn't take even the smallest steps to survive in the wilderness. He headed out without a compass, without a map and with inadequate food supplies. When he killed a moose, he had no idea how to really tend to it. I was sitting here thinking...hey, cut the meat into strips and dry it you goof ball. But for all of his reading, he had missed out on that simple tidbit. Then when he decided to walk out of the wilderness, he came to a swollen river that he coudln't cross. Instead of heading downstream to look for civilization, he headed back to his shelter in the woods. Anyone who has done any serious hiking in the woods knows that you follow water downstream.

So does he deserve heroic status or does he instead deserve to be nominated for the Darwin awards? Only each person can decide their thoughts on that.

Here is a trailer of the movie:

I give this movie a 3 out of 5 stars. I am still thinking about it which is always the sign of a good movie. I think it could have had a much better ending had Christopher been better prepared and not off on some idealistic journey.