Yawn. Poorly Filmed Snooze Fest.

Powerful

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

I love this movie but I cry so much every time I see it. Because it's about huskies, and some of two of them die, and I have huskies, so it makes me very emotional. This movie is about having to leave huskies behind. Paul Walker's character, Jerry Shepard must leave his eight huskies in the Arctic, on their own. And they're chained up, and have to escape, and sadly, one of them, the oldest, Old Jack, didn't make it off the chain. *Insert tears here*, wait you don't have to, I'm already crying. Seriously. Just talking about it makes me want to cry so bad. Then we see the puppies go through many things, like other animals attacking them, them watching the Northern Lights, one of them falling down a big hill, him breaking his legs, and the other having to leave him there. And they didn't want to. They wanted to stay with him. *Insert next set of tears here*, once again, don't have to. When Jerry comes back with his crew to save the dogs, he finds Old Jack buried under the snow, and says "They didn't even make it off the leash", then he lifts the other chain links up, and realizes that the others did. Then he sees all of the dogs run over the hill, towards him, and says "five out of eight, not bad", but with sadness and tears, obviously. But then, one of the dogs won't get on the helicopter. Instead, the dog takes Jerry over the hill, to one of the dogs that had hurt, and couldn't move. He then took all of the dogs away on the helicopter, and the rest survived.I mainly got so upset about this movie, because I found out that it was based on a real story, which means, in some way, this really happened, and that is so depressing. All in all, six out of eight dogs surviving being alone and having to get food and shelter for themselves, when they've always gotten it from humans, is pretty good.Overall, I give this movie a 10 out of 10. But I do cry every time.

It's the National Science Foundation Research Base in Antarctica. Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is an expedition guide with a team of dogs. Dr. Davis McClaren (Bruce Greenwood) from UCLA has just arrived. Charlie Cooper (Jason Biggs) is the Jack of all trades. Katie (Moon Bloodgood) is the pilot. When a storm comes bearing down on the base, they have to quickly evacuate. Katie can't return for the dogs and they are left behind.The movie has two different sides. The human side of the story is fine but nothing special. Paul Walker has his good guy persona. Jason Biggs is joking around. The human struggle to rescue the dogs seem secondary. It's the dogs that are so endearing. After 50 minutes, the dogs take center stage. They project more human emotions than most of the human characters. They have the most powerful emotional story. They are the true stars of this movie.

Frank Marshall's 'Eight Below's a complete delight. Based on the Japanese film 'Nankyoku Monogatari' (a film I really want to watch), this heartwarming (and at times heartbreaking tale) focuses on a team of sled dogs who are left to fend for themselves in the snowstorm of a harsh winter of Antarctica. I think the film would have worked better if it only focused on the dogs (after they're left behind) and their survival after they've been abandoned rather than on Jerry Shepard's determination to get back and rescue them, mainly because this latter portion isn't properly explored.However, the actors do a decent job. Paul Walker performs adequately. Jason Biggs provides some fine comic relief and Bruce Greenwood is okay. But, the best performance comes from the dogs (D.J., Timba, Troika, Noble, Flapjack, Dino, Sitka, Chase, Floyd, Ryan, Jasper and Lightning). Not only do they look adorable but credit must go to their trainers as well.In addition, the the Antarctica sequences are terrifically shot. The visuals are fascinating. The images of the dogs against the beauty and harshness of the landscape is stunningly captured. The instrumental score in these sequences is effective.In the end, 'Eight Below' is not only a story about survival but about sticking together as a team, all the way through it which, in the end, proved the key to their triumph. This is something many humans could learn from.

I kept wondering why are they don't fly in when the weather is so good - sky is clear, there was no storms or anything and they just don't want to go there. The dogs starve but engage in confusing ensemble for sharing food - polite ballet doesn't fit into sled dogs life style, does it? The physical and emotional stress that follows expeditions in tough weather are missing altogether (remember The Edge?)Leading lady shifts between caring and flinty attitudes unable to decide what to do. Protagonist despite all this love for the dogs let months pass by before deciding to go to Antarctica. It is a pale movie with weak story.