There are no new spins on the coming-of-age, boy-vs-world plot in Silver Wolf. It follows the standard formula and does not attempt to break any new ground. However, it does create a misconception in the mind of the viewer that has potential to cause a child to get hurt badly.

The story: Jesse's father dies while trying to rescue Jesse (Shane Meier) during a ski trip. Jesse is angry at his mother for leaving his father shortly before the accident and his anger is greatly increased when she tells him that she must sell his father's house because his father made some bad business decisions.

Jesse, full of anger and guilt, chooses to go live with his uncle, Roy (Michael Bjehn), a park ranger who lives in a cabin in a national park surrounded by cattle farms. Wolves have been reintroduced to the park but they are starting to roam and kill cattle. The ranchers are in an anti-wolf uproar and are shooting wolves, in spite of the penalties under the Endangered Species Act.

Jesse rescues a wolf that has been shot and is starving. Meanwhile, he is befriended by Lucy Rockwell (Kimberly Warnat), whose father John Rockwell (Roy Scheider) is the head of the Rancher's Association.

The Rancher's Association hosts an annual cross-country event that consists of 10 miles of cycling and 10 miles of being towed on skis by a dog. City slicker Jesse decides to enter the event with his wolf, Silver, and his snowboard (since he can't ski). Of course, the event is always won by Lucy's brother Clay (Jade Pawluk), who is not only the biggest bully in town, but also the very person who shot Silver.

During the race, Clay lets his dog attack Jesse, then Clay comes after Jesse with a ski pole. Silver attacks Clay and gives him a good bite. Even though Silver was protecting Jesse and Clay started the whole mess, the law is very clear: when a wolf attacks a human, the wolf must be killed.

The only way Jesse can save Silver is to find his pack and reintroduce him to them. But his pack has migrated 50 miles to the north through some of the most treacherous country in the region. This is the exact situation that got Jesse's father killed. If the country and the weather are not enough, they are being chased by John and Clay, who intend to shoot the wolf from their helicopter.

Silver Wolf has a solid storyline, but their timeline makes the entire story incredible. Does anybody believe that a city boy could train a wild wolf to pull a snowboard through a town crowded with people and alongside humans and dogs in a cross-country event ... in less than a month? I'm all for using the imagination in books and movies, but there should be some factual basis for things. This is just too far out in left field to allow the viewer any chance of believing it. Come on ... the film required a team of four wolf wranglers, yet you're asking us to believe a lone boy got a more intense job done alone in a month? This will get some kid hurt when they believe they can work that same miracle.

I bought this movie because of the snowboarding. The front cover states: "A wolf and a snowboarder team up for the ride of their lives." The back cover has a breathtaking shot of an airborne snowboarder kicking up powder, which was the one truly breathtaking shot in the entire film.

What a disappointment! This camera crew should spend a couple of years in the photography lab at Modesto Junior College in California, then go on back down to Hollywood. That junior college professor could teach them to shoot action. Somebody needs to. At times I wondered if they were intentionally shooting the background so people would realize how beautiful the country is. If so, they need to label the darned movie as a travelogue and stop making people think they are going to see some hot snowboard action!

Silver Wolf is a great movie shot down the drain by an unrealistic timeline and crappy camera work. I cannot recommend this one and am still aggravated that I bought it for snowboarding action and got such a grievous disappointment.