Our movie experience:

Before the movie:

"Hey, what's this about?"

"Lions and hunters in Africa. It's a true story, you know."

"Okay, since it has Val Kilmer in it, it can't be all that bad...."

During first half of movie:

"Hmmm, Val had better work on that accent."

"Seems to me those African workers have DAMN good teeth, all pearly white smiles!"
"Maybe they had dental floss back then."

"Hey!! That's the same scene from Jaws, except that it's on dry land!"
"Yeah, it's getting good now!" (Jaws theme runs through our heads).

"Where's Michael Douglas?"

"OH SHIT OH SHIT!!!"
"Isn't that a piece of human flesh hanging from the tree?"

"EEWWW! GROSS!!!"

Second half of movie:

"EEEWW! EVEN GROSSER!!!" "COOL!"
"Hey! Don't think the lion can't get you if you are hiding under your seat!"

"Thanks for dropping in, Michael."

"Hey! This looks like Jaws in a field of grass and lions instead of sharks!"

"AUUUGH!!" "COOL!!" "MORE GORE!!"

"Okay, Michael, what's with the tribal dancing? Let's see angst!! MORE ANGST!"

"Val! VAL!! Don't trade your gun before lion hunting....a seasoned hunter should know better!! "YOU IDIOT!! Didn't you know that gun would jam???"
"OH SHIT OH SHIT!!!"

"Hey, wasn't that male-bonding-around-the-campfire scene done in Blazing Saddles? Okay, so they're not eating beans...."

"EEEKS!!" "COOL!!" "MORE GORE!!"

"YO!! Forget the stupid bridge and just kill the lion!!"

"GROSS!! "OH SHIT OH SHIT!!!"

The epilogue:

"OH SHIT OH SHIT!!!"
"Phew! That's over! You can come out from under your seat now!"

"What kind of mother would drag her newborn baby across two continents, on an old rickety train, just to see her husband in Africa?! Do the words 'dirt' and 'germs' mean anything to you!?!"

After the movie:

"WOW! That has to be the most suspenseful movie this summer!!"

Definitely much better than we expected. Blood and gore factor--very high, although some of it was left to the viewer's imagination. One could think of this as another Jaws rip-off, but it's MUCH better than that stupid NBC Movie-of-the-Week The Beast thing they had in spring of 1996.

Walking out of the movie, we heard people complaining that Val Kilmer needed practice with his accent. He slipped a couple times, but we found the understated Brogue to be much more believable and less distracting than a full accent would be. We were slightly disappointed with Michael Douglas' role. Sure, he was a major component to the story, but actual screen time was lacking for a man who has his name at the top of the marquee. Guess he was too busy being executive producer or something.

Overall, this film was very enjoyable. The screenplay, by William Goldman (The Princess Bride, All the President's Men) and Michael Mann (Manhunter), was often funny but mostly riveting. Definitely see this movie on a large screen; a lot of the scenery and wide-angle camera shots will be lost in a pan & scan format.