Instinct

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Instinct

R,

1999,

2h 3m,

Drama

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Watchlist

Watchlist

28%

57 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

25,000+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

28%

Tomatometer

57 Reviews

67%

Popcornmeter

25,000+ Ratings

Years after he goes missing in the jungles of Africa, anthropologist Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins) resurfaces when it's discovered that he has murdered two poachers who were killing the gorillas he was studying. After spending an extended time living with the primates and without any human contact, Powell seems to be unhinged, and psychiatrist Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is called in to try to get through to the withdrawn and angry man -- who may be wiser and saner than he appears.

Critics Consensus

A convoluted and predictable plot overshadows the performances.

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Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

Jan 1, 2000

1.5/4

If there's anything worse than a movie hammered together out of pieces of bad screenplays, it's a movie made from the scraps of good ones.

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Bob Graham

San Francisco Chronicle

Jan 1, 2000

2/4

Instinct is the second one in a row that Gooding lifts out of mediocrity by the sheer force of his talent, intelligence and personality.

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Owen Gleiberman

Entertainment Weekly

Jan 1, 2000

D

Instinct" is a marketing hook attempting to pass itself off as a movie.

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Joe Lozito

Big Picture Big Sound

Dec 27, 2007

2/4

Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

Sep 24, 2007

F

Yet another spiritual weepie that decries human follies and yet puts a happy face on it all.

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James Sanford

Kalamazoo Gazette

Nov 14, 2005

1.5/4

anyone who goes to 'Instinct' expecting a terrifying thriller will find 'The Serenity of the Gorillas' is a long, long way from 'The Silence of the Lambs.'

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Albus S

Jun 1, 2017

The movie is absolutely fantastic

Ron P

Nov 23, 2007

I enjoyed this one and the main characters along with the message it brought about animals and the jungle. We are the Takers

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Jon Turteltaub

Director

Anthony Hopkins

Ethan Powell

Cuba Gooding Jr.

Theo Caulder

Donald Sutherland

Ben Hillard

Maura Tierney

Lynn Powell

George Dzundza

Dr. John Murray

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Synopsis

Years after he goes missing in the jungles of Africa, anthropologist Ethan Powell (Anthony Hopkins) resurfaces when it's discovered that he has murdered two poachers who were killing the gorillas he was studying. After spending an extended time living with the primates and without any human contact, Powell seems to be unhinged, and psychiatrist Theo Caulder (Cuba Gooding Jr.) is called in to try to get through to the withdrawn and angry man -- who may be wiser and saner than he appears.

Director: Jon Turteltaub
Producer: Barbara Boyle, Michael Taylor, Hunt Lowry
Screenwriter: Gerald Di Pego, Gerald Di Pego
Distributor: Buena Vista International [us], Toho Company Ltd., Filmes Lusomundo, Aurum Producciones S.A. [es], Gaumont [fr], Buena Vista Pictures
Production Co: Touchstone Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 4, 1999, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 27, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $34.1M
Runtime: 2h 3m
Sound Mix: Surround, Dolby SRD, DTS, SDDS
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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