One of the earliest European visitors to the Grand Canyon paused at the lip and mused, "Something happened here." Not too much happens in the movie, in which we see the Grand Canyon only from the air in a few stock shots.The territory in which the film was shot -- Moab and its surroundings -- is striking in itself. There is an unforgettably long high bridge at nearby Page, dedicated to someone who died building it and "became part of the river he loved." If it weren't for the fact that a real death was involved, the dedication would be as amusing as this movie.Two honeymooners -- the slightly reckless Eion Bailey and the sumptuous and sensible Yvonne Strahovski -- hire the "colorful" old geezer, Will Patton, to take them on a mule trip to the bottom of the Grand Canyon, then, with their assent, leads them off the trail to see something no other white man has seen. They don't make it. Patton's mule is frightened by a rattlesnake. Bailey falls off his mule. Strahovski falls off her mule. Patton falls off his mule, breaks his arm and is "twice-bit by a snake." The mules run off. Patton gives up the ghost and the two lovers are left to walk their way out of the wilderness with no food, water, or supplies.Now, it's not like this plot of lost people trying to find their way back to civilization is anything new. Not if you've seen films like "Walkabout," "They Came to Cordura", or "An Eye For An Eye" -- all entertaining in their different ways. But I don't think any of the protagonists have been quite so willfully stupid as these two.I'm not counting the impossible elements like the wolves. I just mean that if any of us, with nothing more than ordinary in the upper story, were to find himself alone at the bottom of the Grand Canyon, he'd try to retrace his steps. No? If your guide went mad and died, you wouldn't forget to retrieve his knife and anything else useful from his pockets before burying the body, would you? (Would you waste time burying the body in the first place?) The writers have thrown in every cliché in the book. They've read the story of Aron Ralston, the hiker who in 2003 was pinned by an 800-pound boulder and had to amputate his own forearm with a pen knife to escape. Bailey has his foot trapped and Strahovski must cut it off. Here's how Bailey traps his foot. He falls a dozen feet or more down the face of a cliff and, at the bottom, has managed to land with his boot stuck irretrievably into a crack in the rock floor. You have to see it to believe it, and even then you won't believe it. The amputation, the deaths, are all pretty gruesome. I suppose they must be. The wince factor and the scenery are all that hold the movie together, and the photography of the magnificent landscape actually renders it dull and dark. When the writer runs out of ideas completely, he throws in a shouting match out of nowhere between the lovers, on the theory, I guess, that it's time for their argument.Strahovski is very easy on the eyes. We should have seen more of her. Her acting is professional enough, as is Bailey's. And I've always liked Will Patton, ever since he was my supporting player in the phenomenally poetic "Everybody Wins." He was an impressive villain in "No Way Out" too. Those staring eyes, that plastered-on grin, those hissing sibilants. I thought he might be the next Strother Martin. Instead, here he is playing one of those grizzled coots that became a cliché before sound was introduced.

SPOILERS .The scenery in this movie is excellent, I have a feeling they shot some of it in Utah though. Anyways I just had to post a review for this movie. I can almost imagine how the screen writing went. They decide somehow the guy is going to get his leg stuck then of course there will be a following scene where the woman has to cut it off. I think after they decided on that scene they handed over the reigns to a monkey with a typewriter to make it fit. It makes no sense for them to just decide to climb a 200 foot cliff when they have no climbing gear , probably no experience (aside from 1 rock wall climb lol), and were heavily fatigued. It was a poor attempt to get from point A (they are lost in the grand canyon) to point B (he is stuck and must cut the leg off). Not to mention that any little crevice like that would be long filled in with sand. The movie just has so many parts that aren't believable because the characters do such stupid things. The biggest part was the fact that they didn't just retrace their footsteps after the dood was bitten. Nope they had to wonder off and get lost. If you put aside the ridiculous script this movie isn't bad.

Part of movie is in Antelope Canyon, which is near Page, AZ. Long shots are of the GC. I have hiked the GC 6 times..in January, March & June...impossible without food or water. But makes an interesting film. Was hoping to see familiar scenery.I would be terrified if I were lost in the GC...these folks are way too flippant. I just don't understand why they didn't just hike down. The script dialog was good at first then got kind of lame. I have hiked some pretty difficult areas in AZ but I would never have the guts to climb the rock they were on. I just don't think anyone would do what they are doing. These are really stupid people. Read "Death in the Grand Canyon" if you want real stories of how people's errors and foolishness lead to their demise in the GC.

Nick and Lori, a recently married couple from Chicago, decide to make an mule-ride excursion into the Grand Canyon for their honeymoon, however not having the correct permit to do that, the couple are saddened (him decidedly more then her, as Lori is more than content to merely have sex all weekend in the cheap motel that they're staying at), until they meet up with a grizzled old geezer willing to be their tour guide deep into the canyon. But then a lethal snake bite kills the guide, leaving the hapless couple alone in the wilderness.All three main actors give serviceable enough performances and the scenery is suitably beautiful, but the film itself moves at too slow of a clip for my liking and the supposed 'tension' isn't really there either. Shame because the movie started off with some real promise only to all but squander it before too long.My Grade: D+