Experience the incredible story of how mankind discovered man’s best friend.
| Cast |
Kodi Smit-McPhee, Natassia Malthe, Leonor Varela, Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson, Jens Hultén, Mercedes de la Zerda, Priya Rajaratnam |
| Director |
Albert Hughes |
| Screenplay | Daniele Sebastian Wiedenhaupt, Albert Hughes |
| Music | Joseph S. DeBeasi |
| Cinematography | Martin Gschlacht |
| Editing | Sandra Granovsky |
| Sound formats | Dolby Atmos, Auro 11.1 |
| Made in | 2018 |
| Produced by | Studio 8 |
IMDB page | CommonSenseMedia Report
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| Genre | Action, drama, adventure |
| Language | None |
| Nudity | None |
| Sex | None |
| Violence | Moderate impact. Fairly Frequent. Action based. Also physical and psychological. Threat by animals and elements. Justified. |
| Prejudice | None |
| Blasphemy | None |
| Drug abuse | None |
| Comments | This action, drama with a tone of adventure is set within an historical time, and has complex and mature themes that realistically interrogate the rights of passage from boy to manhood, the bond formed between a father and his son, and the new bond between a boy and his friend the wolf. Themes include thrilling elements which explore survival against wild animals, the elements, working as a team, and protecting each other in an environment where the culture and rituals of the hunter gatherer are explored. Themes of initiation which include the young men fighting each other (implied) and hunting and actually having to kill the animal by delivering the knife blow are of a more mature nature and as the film has subtitles from beginning to end due to the language spoken being of an unknown nature, these may be indicative of a more mature target market than the 10 -12 year old. Although some scenes of bonding between man and wolf may be entertaining for younger viewers, the cumulative impact of the violence and the constant sense of threat to life, diminishes the entertainment value and adds to a sense of realism which increases the impact. Although the film may have educational merit in terms of being set within an historical context, but this is a fictionalised interpretation of lifestyle and rituals of the clan in this period of time. Children below the age of 13 will be psychologically harmed by the constant sense of threat and menace sustained throughout the film against the life of the protagonist. There are positive themes of overcoming challenges, learning from life lessons and the development of close bonds between man and beast. |
| These details are supplied by the FPB. If you have a problem with any of the above, please take it up directly with the FPB. Read the Classification Guidelines. | |
| PG-13: Parents Strongly Cautioned | Rated PG-13 for some intense peril |
| USA version is usually but not always the same as South African release. Versions released on streaming or DVD, Blu-ray or Video may also differ. | |
| Suggested age limit 12 + |
Positive messages |
Positive role models |
Violence |
Sex |
Language |
| Consumerism |
Drinking, drugs, smoking |
| Scale (Max) | 20 |  |
What the Critics say | ||
| Cape Argus / The Star John DeFore  Survival brings unlikely friends together. | 10 |  |
| 24.com Ilan Preskovsky So, yes, if you’re looking for a stunning visual experience and some cute dogs, then by all means check Alpha out but if you’re looking for something less lethargically paced and more developed in terms of story and character, there’s, unfortunately, just not enough to be found here to make it worth your time. But, man, those visuals are pretty... | 5 |  |
| Metacritic.com 17 critics | 12 |  |
| Rottentomatoes critics 37 critics | 13 | |
| Rottentomatoes tomatometer Tomatometer | 16 |  |
| CommonSenseMedia Michael Ordona Boy, wolf face intense peril in epic prehistoric adventure. | 15 | |
What the People say | ||
| IMDB 42 Netizens | 14 | |
Average .. 61% | 12 | |