Alex Estenzo
I LOVED this movie when I was a kid and it's so funny how my perspective has changed as I have gotten older. I was all about Sean Astin as the hero and that Kevin Bacon was the bad guy and now that I am older...I see Kevin Bacon's perspective and I am seeing all that he was doing to help Sean Astin and how Sean was just a crybaby. Crazy what time and wisdom does when you get older. If this is your first time watching it in the era you probably won't like it at all. The music doesn't fit the movie, but it fits the 80's era of teenage movies. I do enjoy the story and most of the characters actually make sense through the entire movie. Is the movie good...no, but is it great nostalgia...YES!!!
bdunc295
This is a response to the reviewers questioning Vick's motives. As a city boy who loves the outdoors, I totally understood where Kevin Bacon's character was coming from, though, he was clearly a nut-job for the most part. In my experience, city boys (i.e. Sean Astin's character) cannot find value in the wilderness for the life of them, and obtaining a cellphone signal is their top priority at all times. This movie is about taking a break from our technology-infused world and getting back to the basics. The wilderness is a wonderful, rugged place that can really broaden anyone's perspective on life. It's about facing fears head-on and living to tell about it -- those are the experiences that you remember in life. I wish everyone would share these sentiments, as Vick probably does in this movie. But Vick's major fault is failing to realize that people cannot be forced to enjoy something that's unfamiliar and frightening to them. He feels he can get through to them but uses some extreme means and acts like a huge ass in the process.
VickyLB
OK, I have to admit this movie was like meeting someone that gives you a good first impression... but you later realize they are a lying sociopath. I give it a 4 for the acting. Speaking of sociopaths... was that Kevin's motivation for being cruel? If not, I have no idea what was. This guy barely knows these kids, but is so interested in "teaching them a lesson" that he constantly endangers their lives to do it. What was the lesson by the way? You're lucky for being alive? Did it bother anyone else that Sean Astin's character is not only left to hang off a cliff by Kevin but also by all of his so-called friends, one of whom makes a lame attempt to go back and retrieve him but is easily thwarted by the Baconmeister. With friends like that...If you want a good "in the woods with dangerous guy" movie, I recommend SHOOT TO KILL with Sidney Poitier, Kirsti Alley and Tom Berenger.
galaxy2069
This movie had potential, but unfortunately director's apathy, a mediocre script, and rushjob editing doomed this weak afterschool drama about boys coming of age in a campers' nightmare. Was it suppose to be funny? Who do we root for...Kevin Bacon as a drifting, needy, sex-deprived Vic, or a bunch of awkward Cub Scout rejects who all took the wrong turn at Albuquerque.Kevin Bacon has produced finer results (Friday the 13th, Footloose, JFK), but every time I see "Hollowman" I'm always reminded of his twisted Vic character in White Water Summer. WWS did a stint on HBO a few years back, and that's where most people probably saw it. But it's usually eroding under a dripping air conditioner at your local flee market rent-a-flix. Did it ever show at a theatre?The film: Vic wants to make men of boys, and yearns to school them the hard way...by assuming he is a higher order, and thinking he knows everything there is about wildlife, camping and adventure. There will be no knives, no radio, no weed and no softcore magazines on this journey. What is Vic's primary objective on this trip? It's clearly obvious that his only ambition is to traumatize the young, feeble minds of four teenage boys...and you can thank the parents for forking over their hard-earned dollars for the abuse.What's so insane about WWS is that you can ALSO get the impression that Vic wants to make a positive impact on these kids' minds and souls. Sean Astin portrays Alan, a quiet, somewhat timid teenager who could've been picking his nose at any middle school in America. He's quite easy to relate to, and you can see clearly why he hates Vic. To Alan Vic is nothing more than your typical 30 year-old lowlife with no direction or purpose. Which is true.If you want to know more about this oddball flick then just read the other comments by other users who cared more about this movie than I did. Oh yea, one more thing - the soundtrack isn't as great as some of you WWS fanatics make it out to be. Just your typical mid/late 80's "American Anthem-like" softrock. Nothing special or unique in there.
AD
