Christopher E. Meadows
I come from a family that has been a long time in the Ozarks, and indeed took part in a locally-renowned blood feud about a century ago. The history of the Ozarks is a part of my heritage, and as such a movie about it will strike a strong chord with me.(As an interesting side note, a brief scene in the film was shot at a small one-room schoolhouse owned by my family, dressed up to look like a church.)The story of this movie is, let's be fair, a little hokey. It partakes of a number of time-honored clichés about the Ozarks, the Civil War, and hillbillies. The actors do a good job with the material, though, especially the child actors who are quite believable in their roles.It is also strongly steeped in good old-fashioned down-home Fundamentalist Christianity (of the strong and devout religious belief in daily life sort, not the intolerance of anyone who believes differently sort). It even concludes with a depiction of a very-well- known Christian poem. I enjoyed this aspect of it very much, though it could conceivably turn off those who feel less kindly toward Christianity—and anyway, it's only in keeping with the beliefs of those individuals it depicts.But when you get right down to it, the plot is really just an excuse for spectacle here—it forms the framework that lets them put Civil War battles, gorgeous Ozarks scenery, folk music, caverns, scuba-diving, a car chase, and an airplane flight over forests bursting with autumn color on a screen the size of a six story building. The cinematography is amazing, and it's more than worth seeing at least once in the Branson IMAX theater just to immerse yourself in the spectacle—especially if you're from the Ozarks as I am and take justifiable pride in your native land. The airplane flight sequence alone is worth the price of admission to see on that huge of a screen.The movie is also available on a $25 DVD sold at the Branson IMAX. And while it makes a great souvenir for people who enjoyed the movie, seeing it for the first time on this disc could be a less than optimal experience given that the picture quality really suffers in the translation.
