I had heard that Bear Island was not a good movie at all, but I wanted to see it anyway because I like the cast a lot. When I eventually saw it, I didn't find it great, but it was much better than I expected.
Pros: Lovely photography and great sets and locations. Atmospheric score by Richard Farnon. Great performances from Richard Widmark and Christopher Lee, Vanessa Redgrave has her moments but has an inconsistent accent. Sharp and well paced direction.
Cons: As much as I love Donald Sutherland, he does look bored and stiff here. The dialogue is uneven, having moments when it is decent but some of it is really quite bad. The story has great idea and starts and ends well, but the film is rather sluggish with some of the middle section feeling like filler.
All in all, not great, not awful, just somewhere in between. 6/10 Bethany Cox
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