All I could think to myself during this movie was: Bill Bryson must be so mortified.First of all, I have read ALL of his books and the Robert Redford portrayal was NOTHING like how BB comes across in his very witty and intelligent books. NOTHING! And like many other reviewers have noted, he was also much younger than RR when he did this walk.The movie was too slow and I didn't get a good feel for the main star: The Appalachian Trail.The book is a million times better in every respect. Just bypass this awful movie and read the book instead.

There's a classic (though probably unintentional) homage when Robert Redford, as a bored travelogue writer, and Nick Nolte, as his once-wild companion, are staring off the edge of an Appalachian Trail peak with nowhere to go but way, way down... Well the younger SUNDANCE could have survived but these guys are just too old to take risks... Though not entirely...The hike is quite a chore, especially so late in life, and the first twenty minutes doesn't really develop the characters but plays a sort of hesitation game while learning about other people that don't matter much (like Emma Thompson as a wife so open-minded she's just not interesting)... So once the journey finally gets underway, it's all about Redford's classy-wise Bill and Nolte's shaggy, weathered Stephan.Feeling catered to a mainstream audience and taking on a BUCKET LIST plot without Cancer, the movie itself hikes from here to there in a breezy, safe fashion. So when a load of misadventures happen (and keep happening) to the boys, from an annoying female camper to a jealous small town husband, the results feel contrived. But there is one particular scene (led by Nolte) where they not only genuinely bond with each other, the audience gets to see past the cliché "we're too old for this" template and the two veteran actors get to finally... act their talents.

Robert Redford plays author Bill Bryson as he and his friend Stephen Katz (played by Nick Nolte) walk the Appalachian trail. I've not read the book - I'm not awful keen on Bryson's stuff - but the movie is cute enough. Couple of old guys on the trail reflecting on life. It's a little uneven trying to tackle too many of the threads from the book.The Journey Aging Humor Environmentalism/ScienceIf they had left out the "Environmentalism/Science" which comes across as oddly placed footnotes it would be a tighter movie.Don't take it too seriously and it's OK - cute.

As far as awkward buddie movies go, A walk in the woods is relatively safe terrain. It doesn't have a great deal of charm but it is amusing, and the scenery is nice. Nick Nolte is an actor that doesn't do much for me. I have always found him hammy and unconvincing but his fits like a glove into this movie. He brings a great comedic touch to his over the top personality, and is the perfect contrast to the strait man of Robert Redford, who may be a little too straight for this movie. They hike the Appalacian trail together. Redford chooses this unlikely escape in the hope that it will help his writers' block. The two of them Huff and puff their way through the hills during the day and camp at night. They encounter snow, quicksand, bears, and the angry husband of a seduced woman. They have some exchanges that will make you laugh, and some others which are supposed to be insightful but aren't reallyA walk in the Woods is perfectly content to be a small movie, and thats what it is. It might have gone further with another actor playing the Redford role. Even the straight man needs to acknowledge that he is in a comedy, but Redford is too composed and takes himself too seriously.