I seem to like this movie more than most do.

Look. I get it. The kids are going to find their father. The poachers are going to get a comeuppance. The bear is going to be the hero of the eleventh hour. There was no surprise about all of this. It was not meant to be a completely realistic film. It was meant for the audience to enjoy the ride and what a ride it was!

The story of a couple of teenagers searching for their father in the wilderness makes for a great premise because they know he would do the same for them. As for the idea that they wouldn't last one day in those circumstances--well, the poacher DID mention that at one point. And they do lose most of their supplies in the waterfall and have to be re-stocked by the Indians who save them. As for the film being misleading about polar bears...didn't you hear what the poacher said about it being one of the few animals that hunts humans along with tigers and leopards? The cub was slightly docile because it was still young and had been around humans so it wasn't 100 percent wild yet.

Also, writing the son (Sean) as a whiny ass punk makes for good character development because he slowly grows out of that in his adventure with his sister. (Jessie) (Remember what the Indian said about their adventure being a spiritual journey?) In the beginning, he is a drifter who doesn't respect or value anything--as indicated by him kicking trash over on the docks--but when his father goes missing, he realizes the last thing he said to him was he wished he had died instead of the mother. If his father died out there on the mountain, he would remember what he said for the rest of his life. Sean went all that way not just to save his father but to humble himself and beg his forgiveness. When the father is finally rescued, he tries to apologize but the father stops him saying "I don't remember that anymore."

The character of Sean illustrates the spiritual danger of taking family members for granted--not understanding their value until it's too late and this film does a great job conveying how this is not a path you want to take.

I know this film gets a bad rap with the critics and yes I could pick at a few things--like the rescue helicopter not seeing the yellow airplane when the screenwriters could have painted it white or gray to make missing it seem more believable--but it's not the worst hop along thing in adventure land.

4 out of 5.