Movie Review: Six Days, Seven Nights

Plot

A high-flying and ambitious editor of a fashion-themed magazine is taken on vacation by her boyfriend to a tropical island in the Pacific Ocean.

It is supposed to be a dream, once-in-a-lifetime experience that will also be some sort of honeymoon for them.

Once they get there, they are in for a cultural shock, as they realize that life at this tropical island holiday destination is very different from the big city environment that they have been used to so far.

The vacation takes an unpleasant turn for Robin Monroe, the female editor (played by Anne Heche), and becomes a dangerous, life-threatening adventure.

It is an adventure that leaves nobody unaffected, and also challenges the relationships of Robin with her boyfriend, Frank Martin (played by David Schwimmer), and their local pilot, Quinn Harris (played by Harrison Ford) with Angelica (played by Jacqueline Obradors).

Relationships can be put to the test even in paradise

A dream tropical island is believed to be the perfect place to make a budding romantic relationship even stronger, and help two lovers become closer.

Such a place may hide nasty surprises, however, and end up being the ultimate crash test for people who (think) are in love.

Temptations are everywhere, and if a romantic relationship is built on fragile foundations, this will show sooner than later.

It takes a strong character to show no to such temptations, but for a person who really is in love, deeply-rooted feelings and emotions will finally come to surface, and help lovers overcome any desire that results from those temptations.

Otherwise love may not be true or as strong as the lovers themselves would like to think and believe.

In this case, it would be better for them to be honest with each other rather than continue a relationship that is based on lies and insincerity.

As a final thought, a small, secluded place can prove to be more dangerous for a relationship than a busy big city.

But, just like a superficial relationship will not become stronger by the sheer fact of changing its setting from an urban to a tropical island environment, a well-founded relationship will not break easily at the first sight of temptation either.

It may sound cliché, but a truly strong relationship must have stood the test of time more than once, and it’s only then that lovers can feel sure about their love.

A distant memory of Indiana Jones

Harrison Ford have got us used to playing heroic, indestructible roles in the past.

One prime example is Indiana Jones who manages to come victorious out of impossible situations.

Although the element of unexpected and life-threatening adventure is still there, in this role, Ford is less impulsive in his actions and thirsty for adventure.

The motivation of hunting a mythical treasure has no place in this movie, so the plot is much less dramatic.

What makes the viewers’ adrenaline levels go high at some point is the appearance of a group of pirates who are determined to take the lives of the heroes at all costs.

This film also reminds me of the Tales of the Gold Monkey, where the main character is a pilot of an amphibious flying boat in the Pacific Ocean.

It also reminds me of the MacGyver TV series, because both main characters are highly inventive, and can work out solutions to unexpected situations.