Movies on TV Review: Into the Grizzly Maze

(2014) ★★

Channel: PREMIERE Friday 22 January, 11.45am

Deputy sheriff Thomas Jane not thrilled when younger brother James Marsden returns to his neck of the woods, an Alaskan outpost being threatened by a big old grizzly. Putting their differences aside, they trudge off in pursuit – because Jane’s deaf wife Piper Perabo is out there somewhere.

And it’s the estranged brothers who are the endangered species, of course. Like David Mamet’s thrilling wilderness adventure The Edge, this too was filmed in scenic British Columbia. But that’s where any similarities end. There’s no suspense or psychological insight here, just an over-qualified cast overwhelmed by digital FX.

Not paw, exactly, but close. Still, it’s fun to see Scott Glenn and Billy Bob Thornton pop up in support, the latter surely born to play a wily old mountain goat. “Makes no difference to a hungry bear if it’s a logger or a tree hugger,” notes Billy Bob sagely. “They all taste the same.”

Certificate: 15

Duration: 94min

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