To Walk With Lions review

In this Canadian/British/ Kenyan co-production, Harris plays George Adamson, him of Born Free fame. During the '80s, Adamson is still rehabilitating lions at his Kenya reserve, Kora, but is under threat from bandits, ambivalent government agents and his own old age. British drifter Tony Fitzjohn (Michie) takes a job at Kora, before later learning that his predecessor has been scoffed by a lion. Overcoming his reservations, he also develops a passion for Africa's wildlife.

But when Tony's forced to leave by flaring violence, Adamson stays on, fighting for his territory like the lions he has come to resemble.

Despite graphic images of poaching, To Walk With Lions misses the chance to explore in any depth the conflict between locals and Western conservationists. Instead, its focus switches to men asserting their masculinity, Adamson's cantankerous eccentricity and Fitzjohn's redemption, all played out against Out Of Africa backdrops and padded with a melodrama hokum surrounding Adamson's old flames and Fitzjohn's new ones.