Rating: 
Summary: Not Worth Watching More Than Once
Review: This African adventure based on a real account pumps the adrenalin in true Hollywood style - and that's not necessarily a good thing. Val Kilmer plays engineer John Patterson, who has always been able to overcome all obstacles through sheer will and hard work, until, that is, he gets sent to Africa to build a bridge. In Africa, the country of his dreams, John's work is sabotaged not by man but by beast. Two man-eating lions are mauling and dragging off workers not only in their sleep but eventually in broad daylight, completely against the nature of their species. They kill not for food but for "sport." Charles Remington (Michael Douglas), an experienced hunter, is called in to help restore calm by killing the lions.This might have been an exciting story if the filmmakers had not chosen to ratchet up the terror by making these lions seem supernaturally invincible. The lions are imbued with so much (supposedly scary) intelligence that they trick Remington and Patterson more than once so they can make their kills. They become evil instead of unpredictable. As the film progresses, everything gets even more unbelievably hokey as the actors strap on their machismo. Still, the scenes with the lions are chair-grabbing tense; it's only after the scenes have ended that the viewer is likely to see how ridiculous it all is. The best part of this film comes before the lions appear, when Patterson is suffering from the pride we know he'll lose, and as the camera pans over the African savannah. But most viewers aren't watching this film for its character development and cinematography. If only the suspense had not been artificially heightened, this could have been a solid thriller. This is a decent escapist movie with not much to offer on second viewing. I'd make this a rental instead of a purchase.
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