
DATE: Monday, September 29, 1997            TAG: 9709270065

SECTION: DAILY BREAK             PAGE: E5   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW

SOURCE: BY MAL VINCENT, MOVIE CRITIC 

                                            LENGTH:   60 lines

FILM PROVIDES THRILLS - IF YOU FORGO REALITY

IF ONLY YOU don't think about it, or question it in any way, ``The Edge'' is a lively adventure yarn, complete with some breathtakingly beautiful Canadian scenery, a series of harrowing attacks from a killer bear, and a wonderfully staged airplane crash.

The plot, though, is so full of implausibilities that you may be sidetracked into refusing to suspend disbelief. If survival in the wilderness is quite this easy, then why do we bother to worry about the two ``heroes'' anyway?

The surprising thing about this noisy actioner is that people like the distinguished actor Sir Anthony Hopkins and probing playwright David Mamet are involved. Hopkins is hardly the first one who would come to mind if you wanted someone to rescue you from the wilds. Mamet, the author of such heavyweight plays as ``Glengarry Glen Ross' and ``American Buffalo,'' is usually obsessed with meaningful obscenities rather than lively action. All we can figure is that Mamet must owe a house payment. After all, now that we think about it, he did write the highly accessible script for ``The Untouchables.'' Perhaps even playwrights like to perk up their bank accounts at times.

Hopkins plays a savvy billionaire. He and a fashion photographer, played by Alec Baldwin, become stranded in the wilderness after their plane crashes. In addition to bears and whitewater rapids, there is tension over the two men's egos. A testosterone snit-fit develops. Hopkins, who proves to be super-efficient in wilderness lore, is convinced that Baldwin plans to kill him over his gorgeous wife, played by Elle Macpherson. Is Hopkins merely paranoid? Is Baldwin really alive behind that rather stony facade?

More to the point, will the bear come back?

Bart, the movie star bear who worked previously with Hopkins in ``Legends of the Fall,'' is a scene stealer as he thunders through the woods. As presented here, this is a one-ton killing machine who ranks right up there with the shark in ``Jaws.'' Any supporting actors can be expected to be waiting victims.

Lee Tamahori, whose ``Once Were Warriors'' was one of the best films of 1996, proves he knows how to handle action. Hopkins neatly underplays, even though he's asked to play an unrelenting smarty type.

But why doesn't a savvy man like the one Hopkins plays know that he could find the north by simply looking at the sky rather than showing off by making a compass with a pen? And would a man Hopkins' age and background be able to run about the mountains at top speed without ever getting out of breath?

Don't ask. If this flick is your ticket, just go along for the ride. It's quite a lively ride if you agree to take it at face value and not get rational about it. ILLUSTRATION: MOVIE REVIEW

``The Edge''

Cast: Anthony Hopkins, Alec Baldwin, Elle Macpherson, Harold

Perrineau, L.Q. Jones

Director: Lee Tamahori

Screenplay: David Mamet

Music: Jerry Goldsmith

MPAA rating: R (gory bear violence, some language)

Mal's rating: **1/2