Review: Roar

As if Grizzly Man met Swiss Family Robinson and they convinced a whole film crew to make a film; that would be one way to attempt to describe the unbelievable, you-have-to-see Roar. My mouth was a gap for almost the entire running time.

Roar never really succeeds in its telling of a fiction family who learns to accept the big cats their patriarch has decided to live with. In fact, given the years since its initial release the plot is even more bonkers. Boiled down to its essence, this is about a madman who puts his entire family in danger for most of the film because he can't remember when their flight is supposed to arrive. Magically though, all is alright by the end of the film for no reason whatsoever. Hank, the aforementioned father of the family is damn lucky his family doesn't kill him.

Roar is not about this plot however. What it is about is one of the craziest, most life-threatening film productions ever to get greenlit. Watching the film, you can see the real sense of fear on the actor's faces. The movie really exists as a document of this insanity. While watching it you are either yelling at the family to just leave or asking yourself why the actors didn't just leave the set.

The film's heart is in the right place, with a strong message about saving these beautiful creatures but it is all undercut by seeing intensely dangerous footage of these actors interacting and trying to act with these untrained cats. Roar has a scene where Siberian tigers are driven in a convertible and another where a big cat learns to ride a skateboard.  There is a moment where a jaguar licks honey off Tippi Hedren's face that was meant to play as cute but plays as a tight-rope walk because you can't help to think of how badly it could have gone.

Roar is truly one of the most incredible films ever made for its sheer audacity. The footage is hypnotically intense, like a car crash drawn out for 90 minutes. This is filmmaking without any nets. Grab your friends and go see this movie now!

5/5