Based on Jack London’s 1903 novel, director Chris Sanders helms this outdoors adventure yarn, starring a weather-beaten and bearded Harrison Ford. Set during the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush, a dog named Buck is stolen from his owners in California, and sent to the Yukon to work as a sled dog, where he befriends a grizzled frontiersman (Ford). This is an unashamedly old-fashioned Boys’ Own yarn, lovingly crafted and affectionately retold. Dependable as ever, special mention must go to Ford himself, who gives a minimalist performance of saintly gruffness and empathy with Buck’s troubled past. Admittedly, there’s a lot of CGI, but the purity of the adventure makes Call of the Wild a simple pleasure.
