White Water Summer

Though billed as a fast-paced thriller, White Water Summer primarily comes off as an innocuous drama revolving around the exploits of several campers and their seemingly amiable guide – with the film’s sedate atmosphere cemented by its deliberate pace and emphasis on stand-alone set pieces. It’s worth noting, however, that the film is actually quite watchable in its early stages, as stars Kevin Bacon and Sean Astin are quite charming and personable in their respective roles – while filmmaker Jeff Bleckner, along with cinematographer John Alcott, does a nice job of capturing the natural splendor of the film’s outdoor locations. It’s only as White Water Summer progresses into its aggressively episodic midsection that one’s interest starts to wane, as Bleckner stresses happenings and occurrences of a decidedly mundane nature (eg the kids build a fire, attempt to catch a fish, etc) – with the less-than-engrossing vibe compounded by the director’s ongoing difficulties at wringing suspense out of inherently tense situations (eg the gang crosses a rickety wooden bridge). And although the movie does improve slightly as Bacon’s character becomes a progressively sinister figure, White Water Summer is simply (and ultimately) unable to overcome the pervasive pointlessness of Manya Starr and Ernest Kinoy’s wafer-thin screenplay.

** out of ****