Hunter Killer (Review)
Hunter Killer Cries Havock and Let’s Loose the Fish of War.
The thing that I realized early on in Hunter Killer is that there’s a reason you don’t see too many submarine movies on the big screen. While it might seem cool seeing those underwater tube slinking about as they play cat and mouse with their enemies, most of the time the really intense moments end up with sailors playing the quiet game. Sure there are some exciting moments when the action heats up, but this is hardly the most exciting military picture of the year. That being said, I did overhear someone in the audience tell their friend, “As a former submariner, I have to say that was pretty damn cool,” and he would probably know better than me.
For some reason, I just can’t give up on Gerard Butler. Even though he’s made so many truly awful movies over the years from Geostorm to Gods of Egypt (though I did have good things to say about his recent film, Den of Thieves), I can’t help but like the guy. Hunter Killer doesn’t lessen my unreasonable love for him, but he isn’t exactly given a rich character to work with. This time around he’s playing a submarine captain that’s a real “man of the people” (hell, his name is even “Joe”) or in other words, a lazy way of making him likable by his men and the audience. I won’t this technique doesn’t work, but it sets the tone for the film in general. Hunter Killer doesn’t really waste time developing its characters or even really tapping into the psychological aspects of being on a submarine. I only mention the second part, because it feels compelled to have the characters mention it from time to time, which is one of my bigger pet peeves when it comes to movies. Personally, I’m a firm believer in showing, not telling.
While Hunter Killer might not exactly be a thought-provoking film, it does a pretty good job of blowing stuff up. The film follows an American submarine that’s sent on a covert mission to save the Russian president from a coupe. Of course, watching a bunch of people in a tin can for two hours would get pretty boring, pretty fast. So, director Donovan Marsh tosses in a few Navy SEALs on a parallel mission just for good measure. The problem is that watching the SEALs do their thing proves to be much more exciting and entertaining than the main characters on the sub. That is until the third act when things really start to heat up, but that third act lasts so long that it feels like it might never end. Thankfully it eventually does, but not before I started to yawn a bit.
I don’t think anyone will say that Hunter Killer is a good movie, but I do have to agree with the mysterious audience member I overheard at the end, it certainly was pretty damn cool. Rather, it has some pretty damn cool moments. For one thing, it gains a bit of credibility by casting Gary Oldman as the Joint Chiefs of Staff. It’s a far cry from the rich performance we got form him in Darkest Hour, but most of the time his character is just passing through scenes to shout and add a bit of emotion to the film. More often than not, he actually shares scenes with Common, which end up more than a little one-sided when it comes to acting abilities. That is to say that Common isn’t exactly the most convincing actor, but that’s not really what Hunter Killer calls for. After all, this is a fourth-quarter action film that had little hopes of being a blockbuster.
Hunter Killer is a film that is pure spectacle, which is a shame because there are some pretty crummy CGI sequences and some really obvious stock footage from Naval exercises. Of course, there are also some really cool parts as well. For one thing, Hunter Killer loves showing off some of the toys the Navy uses. There are plenty of mini-subs, drones, and all kinds of nifty tools of war that I’ve never even heard of before. Then again, I think that Hunter Killer is counting on that. The problem I had with the film is the inconsistency when it comes to the effects used in it. Some sequences are absolutely jaw-dropping, while others are absolutely laughable. That’s almost inexcusable though when it comes to a film that supposed to be about multi-million dollar war machines going toe to toe with each other. The acting and story are almost second thoughts when it comes to movies like this, but the special effects are non-negotiable.
Hunter Killer is going to be one of those movies that will prove to be completely unmemorable in a few weeks time. However, it does just fine as escapist cinema. There are plenty of things that go boom, a few gunfights, and the very stake of the world resting on the success of its absurd mission. Is it worth the price of admission? Probably. Is it a movie you should race out and see in theaters? It certainly shouldn’t be my first choice, but it wouldn’t be my last choice either.
