a5c7b9f00b Set during the Alaskan gold rush of the late 1800s. In his efforts to gain control of a small mining town, Sean McLennon is buying up every mining claim that becomes available, usually after the deaths of the previous owners at the hands of McLennon's "assistants". One of the miners targeted by McLennon, a half-Indian hunter named "Hudson Saanteek", manages to escape his hired thugs, and comes back into town looking to re-establish his claim and get revenge. McLennon and his men have the advantange of numbers and weapons, but Saanteek has his survival skills, and knowledge of the Alaskan wilderness. I've probably seen James Caan more often as a villain than a hero, and the villain role suits him just fine. He goes from bad to evil to maniacal in the course of the story here, with a twist in the picture that comes out of nowhere that attempts to explain his hatred of the half breed Hudson Santeek (Christopher Lambert). That he's a half breed himself serves no purpose other than to cause this viewer to go "Oh!", so I don't know why that element was even introduced.<br/><br/>While watching the film, I hearkened back to my childhood days with 'Sergeant Preston Of The Yukon'; this could have been an extended episode of that show. Great footage of Alaskan sled dogs mushing through wind whipped snowy trails, not quite figuring out how competing sled teams didn't get all tangled up with each other. One thing Preston never had to put up with was getting shot and falling into icy rivers. Man, I can't imagine even being THAT cold! I wonder if the actors got bonus pay for that.<br/><br/>I caught this on the Encore Western Channel this evening, and I suppose the 'Western' connotation has some bearing, even if filmed as an Alaskan wilderness adventure. It's got a typically 'B' Western flavor focusing on an evil town boss (Caan) swindling local miners out of their gold claims and leaving them dead in his wake. I can't think of a Western that ever got the body/deed count as high as eleven like this picture did, which can only mean that Christopher Lambert was no Red Ryder or Durango Kid. For his trouble, the man should pour himself a brandy to warm up. NORTH STAR is a virtual reprise of the 1981 Charles Bronson vehicle DEATH HUNT, which saw a posse headed by Lee Marvin searching the icy wastes for a fleeing trapper played by the DEATH WISH actor. NORTH STAR sets its story in Alaska and features James Caan as the hunter and Christopher Lambert as his quarry.<br/><br/>Despite a decent pacing and some good set-dressing - you never question the setting for a moment - this film has little to recommend it. Lambert fans (are there any?) will be let down by their star's performance, which is wooden even by Lambert standards; little he says or does rings true, and he's almost entirely lacking in star presence. There's a hollowness in the middle of the film which a proper actor should be filling with charisma, wit and heroism.<br/><br/>James Caan is much better as the arrogant villain, a role he also played to the hilt in ERASER. He chews the scenery and shares a decent rapport with Burt Young, playing a fellow bad guy for a change and doing well with it. Catherine McCormack is once again wasted as a love interest, though, leaving 28 WEEKS LATER the only film I've seen that actually makes use of her acting talents.<br/><br/>The pace is good and the outdoor wilderness scenes look fantastic, really bringing the chilly wasteland to life. Scenes of the participants sledging through snowdrifts on their husky-drawn sleighs are a lot of fun. It's just a shame that there's no real meat on the bones, and that the ending is lacklustre to say the least. NORTH STAR fizzles instead of bangs, and that's why this wintry western has been long since forgotten.
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366 weeks ago