White Fang (2018) Review
ABOUT THE FILM:
White Fang is a 2018 adaptation of the novel released by Jack London. The film was released on July 6th, 2018 in the US exclusively on Netflix.
If you have never heard of this film until now. I wouldn’t be surprised. I only found the film because I was browsing for movies to watch on Netflix, I never saw any promotion for it or anything.
THE PLOT (SPOILERS… OBVIOUSLY):
The movie is about the life of a wolf named White Fang who lived with 3 distinctively different owners. The first being a chief of a tribe, Grey Beaver who is using White Fang for a sled dog. Later when Beaver and Fang head to Fort Yukon to sell mittens. Whilst there, Beauty Smith walk up to Beaver and beg him to give him Fang, as he wants to use him in illegal dog fighting for money. Beaver tells Smith he can’t have Fang. A few minutes later while Beaver and Fang are walking back to their cabin at Fort Yukon. Smith’s friend bumps into Beaver and steals his money and Beaver doesn’t notice until he gets back to cabin. This later causes Beaver to sell Fang to Smith so he can get money for his village. Smith then uses Fang in an illegal dog fighting competition. Fang is winning every round giving Smith a bunch of money. They then bring out 2 dogs against Fang. The 2 dogs defeat Fang. Until Police officer, Marshal Scott rescues Fang and ends the dog fighting competition. Scott’s wife, Maggie then gains Fang’s trust. Later, Smith comes back to get back Fang. Fang defeats Smith. The Scott family then head to San Francisco. They believe that Fang should go back into the wild. So they put Fang back into the wild, and the movie ends with Fang howling.
SOME NOTES:
Before we get into the review, I would like to state that I am not a movie critic. I am a consumer, not a critic.
Second of all, I have never read the White Fang novel, so don’t expect any comparisons to the actual novel.
Thirdly, this is my opinion. You may have a completely different opinion on the film then me and that’s fine.
THE REVIEW:
Let’s begin with my opinions on the animation.
The animation is very computer like. It can look beautiful in some shots, but bad in others. It looks especially bad when a human face is on screen.
When humans are talking to each other it really reminds me of like something from the animation program Plotagon (which isn’t a good thing).
But as seen above the film can have beautiful shots if it really wants to. The beautiful shots the film has have amazing lighting and the art style really compliments the shot.
Now onto the plot.
The plot isn’t very complicated. It’s pretty simplistic and not hard to understand. Which isn’t particularly a bad thing, as this is a film with a PG rating. I just feel as if it could have been so much more.
Now onto the way the movie portrays emotion.
I love the way the film portrays emotion. White Fang is one of the few movies I have seen in recent years that let’s you see what the character is feeling without the movie having to tell you how the character is feeling. It sounds crazy, but not many films do that now days (from what i’ve seen).
Now onto the characters.
White Fang and the Scott family were the only characters I really likes in this film. I liked White Fang because he’s amazing at showing emotion. You really can tell what Fang is thinking. I liked the Scott family because they are heart-warming characters. I like the way they showed that they actually care for Fang.
Other than Fang and the Scott family, there aren’t any characters I really care for. Both Beauty Smith and Grey Beaver didn’t really care for Fang (Smith was more of a dog abuser but you get the point). If I had to choose one that’s worse though. I would go Beauty Smith. Smith had almost no character development. He’s just a guy who participates in illegal dog fights to get money. He doesn’t really have any personality other then he’s a guy who abuses dogs for money.
So I would have to say, the characters are.. alright. They could have certainly been better in my opinion.
THE CONCLUSION:
White Fang is above average. It has a lot to enjoy, but also a lot to not enjoy. The character development is average. The animation is pretty good, but has some flaws. The plot is pretty basic. The way it portrays emotion is great compared to a lot of movies.
I give White Fang a 6/10.
I would recommend watching it if you have time to watch it.
