Hunter Killer

Hunter Killer

Starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Michael Nyqvist

Directed by Donovan Marsh

The Story:
After a U.S. submarine disappears near Russian waters, commanding officer Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) is sent by Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common) to find out what happened, as he helms the USS Arkansas.  Upon arriving at the wreckage, he discovers that the submarine was taken down by a torpedo, but also locates the Russian submarine, which looks to have been taken out by something on the inside.

He manages to rescue Russian commander Andropov (Michael Nyqvist), and convinces him that the U.S. didn't sink his submarine, but it was an act of sabotage.  Meanwhile, a group of Navy SEALS in Russia discover the Russian Defense Minister raising a coup against Russian President Zakarin (Alexander Diachenko), and learn that he plans on creating a new Cold War with America.  With the assistance of Andropov, Glass and his crew make their way to the Russian coast where they plan to meet the SEALS after they rescue the Russian President, but the Defense Minister doesn't want the President to get out, and will stop at nothing to see his leadership come to fruition.

The Pros:

"Hunter Killer" provides some great action sequences with loads of missiles and torpedoes being launched and damage getting taken.

The story is a very timely one, focusing on the tensions between the U.S. and Russia that we're experiencing now, and how even though both countries don't trust each other, at times they need to work together for the greater good.

The supporting actors give good performances, and oddly enough they emote more than the main actors do - probably because they're still trying to prove that they can play with the big boys.

The cinematography was cool, especially during the underwater action and one scene on land involving the SEALS versus the Russian military.  For the brief moments of action, the film really shines.

The Cons:

None of the major actors seemed to even want to be there.  Gerard Butler phones in his performance entirely, acting like a robot who has no depth or meaning to his character, and just serves as the big name attached to this bloated, boring tale.

Equally, Oscar-winner Gary Oldman could've done a lot better than this, playing an Admiral who is the stereotype of every Admiral in every film ever - one who rushes to judgment, is entirely hotheaded, and believes the only response is violence no matter what.

Speaking of stereotypes, they abound greatly in this film - from the no-nonsense SEAL commander to the second-in-command of the Arkansas who constantly questions his commander's leadership, there's no shortage of stock characters in this film.

At a few minutes over two hours, this film is entirely too long and bloated.  I found myself drifting off several times throughout the film, because there's long stretches of nothing at all happening.  They try to combine two different films into one, and somehow manage to make both incredibly boring.

The film shifts from the submarine adventure to the land rescue, and even though it's a long film, it still somehow feels like both sides are missing something.  Not that I want to see more of this film, but it just seemed very shallow on both ends with no real outcomes being delivered.

The rescue of the Russian President was the easiest rescue in film history, lasting about a total of five minutes.  The SEALS find the bad guys' headquarters, and BOOM - they enter, take out the men, and save the President with relative ease.

The Summary:
"Hunter Killer" is an overly-bloated, poorly performed film that followed almost every cliche in the book, which is almost as bad as another nautical tale - "Battleship" - but not as bad, which is a problem because at least "Battleship" will be remembered for how bad it is, while "Hunter Killer" will rest at the bottom of the ocean, completely forgotten.

The Score: D