White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II

Stars: Ami Dolenz (She's Out of Control, Can't Buy Me Love), Mark Paul Gosselaar (TV's "Saved by the Bell"), David Moscow (Big, Newsies), Amy O'Neill (Honey, I Shrunk the Kids), Matt McCoy (The Hand That Rocks the Cradle). Winner of a Gold Medal from the International Family Film Society, whose major criteria appears to be that the film is suitable for family viewing, White Wolves: A Cry in the Wild II is a ludicrous sequel to the much better 1990 film A Cry in the Wild. Three years later, Matt--the hero of the first film--has gone from 13-years-old to his mid-twenties, and now leads young adults on week-long wilderness trips. The opening half hour, which is the best, takes some time to establish the characters of the five teens, before the final hour turns into a poor attempt to make a credible action/adventure film. The central event has Matt taking a spill that The Terminator wouldn't have survived off a fairly high mountain, and being rescued by his five young charges. While trying to medivac old Matt out of the woods, the kids run into a few problems. Trying desperately to copy the themes of the first film, the filmmakers toss in a bear who appears out of nowhere and rakes his paw across the face of one of the girls, knocking her unconscious. Recovering, the girl not only bounces back to complete health immediately, she doesn't even have a scratch on her cheek. This is the kind of meticulous realism that runs throughout the film. Some nice outdoor scenery, but storywise this is a wash. Audience: Very undemanding young adults who are drawn in by the cast.