VividSimon Simply Perfect

Stometer Save your money for something good and enjoyable

Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

Lucia Ayala It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Gavin Purtell 'A Walk in the Woods' is basically a middle-aged "bromance" movie. It just happens to be based on Bill Bryson's fantastic 1998 eponymous true-story book. Full disclosure - Bryson is one of my favourite authors, always having something interesting or funny to say. The film is not quite about Bryson (Redford)'s mid-life crisis (as he's now in his 70s, not 40s like the book), but he and a formerly-estranged friend, Stephen Katz (Nolte) set off on the Appalachian Trail, which spans America's east coast, from Georgia in the South to Maine in the North - 2,100 miles (~3,500km)!From the director of 'He's Just Not That Into You' and 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants' - not a promising pedigree! - Kwapis nonetheless does a good job of keeping the pace up, which can be hard when it's mostly two guys just walking and talking! But therein lies the beauty of the film - it's simple and sweet, with plenty of jokes and wit between the two old friends, some quick interactions with other hikers on the Trail (such as Schaal, gratingly funny!) and some breathtaking wilderness shots.It did remind me of my time in the U.S., when I did visit the Pisgah Forest in North Carolina and the Great Smoky National Park in Tennessee, where they start their hike. The scenery is helped by Lord Huron's soundtrack, which is folky, but upbeat. The final third is not as engaging as it could be, but there's some sincere moments to be found amongst the humour and everything is propelled by Nolte & Redford's enjoyable chemistry.

szatanica It's slow, focused, full of nature. It's the opposite of Hollywood-style, extended, overfilled story, where one sentence can reverbarate for several minutes, and let's you think for a moment. It's almost like you can meditate in the cinema and you leave the theater refreshed and calm and happy. It's a lovely story, very funny at times, romantic in terms of our connection to nature and the universe. I love to come back to it from time to time, became one of my 'allways-must-haves" on the video shelf.

paulijcalderon It's just Bob Redford and Nick Nolte on a trip, walking in the woods. That's pretty much it. I thought it was amusing and had some nice moments.I liked the landscapes the choose for the film. You get a little feeling that you kind of wanna take a hike there yourself. I've been on a lot of hikes before when I was younger. I was reminded of that while watching this. The two main characters were all right. They had some good banters and chemistry. Redford and Nolte seemed to have had a lot of fun making this. It didn't feel like something done for the money.Oh, yeah, I almost forgot. The music is relaxing and it worked well with some of the montage scenes. So, yes. It is just a neat down to earth little movie about some friends walking in the woods. I thought it was all right.

mark.waltz The first shot of Robert Redford in this film is rather surprising; the 80 year old glamour '70s boy looks like he should be darkening his hair and play Ronald Reagan after he left the White House. Yes, those first few moments are very jarring, especially when it is established that he is married to Emma Thompson. A supposedly popular expert on travel, he wants to hike the entire Appalation trail (from Georgia to Maine) and ends up bringing along (reluctantly at first) the out of shape, drunken, raspy voiced Nick Nolte. Along the way, they meet a bunch of mostly annoying people, deal with all sorts of inclimate weather and a series of wacky, unbelievable situations that would make Hope and Crosby blush.So the idea of traveling down the Appalations or the continental divide has crossed my mind (and passed me by), but at least here, I get to see what part of the east coast trail looks like. I don't know that I'd be pleased dealing with braggarts claiming that their style of hiking was better than mine. I certainly would not be allowing someone like Kirsten Schaal infiltrate on my vacation for more than 5 minutes. I could have done without big bad Bertha who asks Nolte to help her untangle her parties that super glue couldn't repair. I could have done with more of the still beautiful Mary Steenburgen, wasted in a five minute space. Thompson, too, underused and obviously not believable as the aged Redford's mate.This is supposedly based upon a true story of younger characters, and after getting used to Redford's flabby face skin and Nolte's whiskey soaked voice, I still had the issue of them being just far too miscast. What is on screen are not the lovers of two of Barbra Streisand's greatest romantic films but what remains of them, two leading men far past their prime and trying to be Adam Sandler and Jim Carrey even past their prime. It is not a dignified look at the desire to stay young, with them pretty much acting like fools, especially when Redford repeats a similar scene from one of his first hits that doesn't hwbr the impact more than 40 years later.