Written by Scott EdwardsThere has to be something to be said about loving what you do for a living, since many people have a hard time doing so. It is understood that you have to make money to live these days and while some people are not happy with what they are doing, they really do not have a choice. I am a firm believer that you should at least enjoy what you are doing, you don’t need to love it, but you have to like showing up. If that is not the case, there hopefully is a career change in the future, because life is too short to hate what you do. Falling behind on the construction of the railroad through Tsavo, Africa, Robert Beaumont has decided to call in one of the best. Colonel John Henry Patterson has made a name for himself as a man who can defeat any odds against him when building bridges and that is exactly what is needed in Tsavo. With the promise that John will end up hating his employer, he cannot pass up the opportunity to go to Africa, a place he has dreamed about venturing to his entire life. With a baby on the way, he knows that he will have to keep his head on a swivel, but when he finally arrives in Tsavo, he comes to discover what kinds of hardships exist in this place. Meeting Angus and Samuel at the train station, John quickly gets the lay of the land. With different workers from different tribes about the country, it is difficult to keep anything moving forward and there is another threat surrounding them as lion attacks have become a common theme around the camp. Knowing what must be done to help boost morale, John heads out with his new best friend Angus and waits to spot one of these bloodthirsty beasts and when one finally makes itself seen, John drops it with one shot. Seeing the change in the workers as soon as they see that they are safe, John can go back to focusing on building his bridge. During the night however, John’s favorite foreman Mahina is dragged out his tent by a larger lion and feasted upon in the surrounding grass. The sheer size of an animal that is able to drag the big man out to his death has the workers worried once again and ready to flee. John promises to protect them at all costs, but little does he know who or what he is coming up against. Seeing the one lion make its way into the camp is disconcerting enough, but when John and Samuel spot a second one as well, all bets are off the table. Being able to construct a large fence around the camp should be enough to keep the workers safe, but they soon find out that there will be no stopping the beasts they call The Ghost and the Darkness. Talk about a very depressing story as money seems to be the driving factor to get the bridge built in Tsavo with little regard for the lives of the workers. I really enjoyed the relationship that John and Samuel formed in such a short time and how quickly John was able to blend in with his surroundings. Then you get another hunter showing up to camp in Charles Remington who brings his own army with him and finds out that they are not what he really needs. The lions really seemed to be the stars of the show however, being able to escape any trap that was laid in front of them and they kept the master hunters guessing at what their next move would be. I must admit that I thought that this movie would feel a little dated when watching it again, but it flowed just fine and kept me on the edge of my seat as I tried to remember what the lions actually wanted. With plenty of blood, lion torn workers, the unforgiving Tsavo, gun play, a bridge and a battle with the devil itself, it is nice to see an older movie withstand the test of time by a couple of decades. If you ever decide to go down to Africa however, you might want to think twice about going to Tsavo, it seems like a really rough place to visit.
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