I liked the movie not so much for the plot but what to do and what not to do in a survival situation. But regardless of whether or not the plot is good, bad or ugly I would recommend anyone who is a hunter, fisherman, hiker, camper. etc. to see the movie for no other reason than to get you thinking about what you would need to have at your disposal and what not to do in a survival situation, bear or not. I'm an avid hunter and have no interest in hiking or camping and pretty much know what to prepare for if I'm lost or injured. But it never hurts to think further. I've never heard of any attacks or even menacing of a black bear here in the Northern Adirondacks. It's most likely do to hunting pressure. Most bears shot here are not intentionally hunted but chanced upon by a deer hunter. But even hunters have a respect for the black bear. It's not what they do. It's what they "could" do. No one knows how they would react in the event of a bear attack. This includes even me carrying a high power rifle when hunting. I can give you a real life example of a "perceived" black bear attack. Back in the day one of my wife's uncles was a watcher during a deer drive. He grew up in the back woods. The drivers pushed out a black bear. The bear was running directly toward him. He thought the bear was attacking him. But it was not. It was simply trying to get away. When the drivers came to him they found he had not fired a single shot. But he had ejected all his shells out of his lever action rifle. He thought he was pulling the trigger but apparently got freaked out when the bear was coming in his direction. Probably took a little while living that one down.
The only major mistake I think Jenn made was not to follow the stream or waterfall downhill. The single most important thing at that time to do was to have a guaranteed source of drinking water. When you're experiencing dehydration you don't worry about contaminated water. You might get badly sick later, but you will die right now without water. In addition, the stream would have lead to either a river or a lake, possibly the same lake they came in on. Jenn would most likely also have a better chance of being spotted from a shore rather than in a forest. As far as the elk leading Jenn to the canoe, the elk was most likely going down for drinking water. The path to the canoe was most likely an established trail and would have been a path of least resistance for the elk. Animals, like people, want to do things the easy way, not the hard way.