Val Kilmer stars in The Ghost and the Darkness as Lt Col John Patterson, a 19th-century Irish engineer drafted by Britain's railroad bosses to build a trestle bridge over an African river, thus expanding the empire a tiny bit more. In Tsavo, Patterson is instantly hailed for killing a man-eating lion that had been making life hell for native workers. But morale sinks when two more unstoppable big cats devour more men and destroy the project. Along comes an, expatriate American hunter (Michael Douglas) to help Patterson face the almost preternatural powers of the two... killers. The script by William Goldman (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid) is based on fact, though the film owes more to Steven Spielberg (specifically to Jaws) than history. There are also suggestive echoes of Kipling and Conrad in the material and characters, and there are hints of emotional complexity and psychological nuance that make one wish this could have been a great film instead of a merely fun one.--Tom Keogh, Amazon.com [show more]
Val Kilmer plays a strong character and is very capably supported by Michael Douglas.The story follows similarly to actual events and the terrain of the area where it is filmed is a strong feature of the movie.
The direction is very well done and the dialogue is written as to bring the viewer into the stories of the engineer and the hunter.
Even the politics of a diverse camp is covered,that is a camp diverse with multiple faiths and beliefs.
This film is skilfully made and all concerned should be proud of being associated.
There is a minimal use of CGI and as is said,less is more.
Highly reccomended viewing although the age of the younger viewers should be at the parents discretion.
All in all a thoroughly enjoyable flick.
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