Gary Oldman struggles to make his Joint Chief of Staff pomposity credible, while Gerald Butler retains his suave courage-under-fire persona with a fair bit of elan.
The Hunter Killer
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U/A: Action, Thriller
Director: Donovan Marsh
Cast: Gerard Butler, Alexander Diachenko, Michael Gor, Gary Oldman, Michael Nyqvist, Linda Cardellini, Zane Holt, Yuri Kolokolnikov
Rating:
This film adaptation of American best-selling novel Firing Point(a sequel to their first book Final Bearing)by former US submarine captain George Wallace and submarine historian Don Keith, has a submarine specialist, Joe Glass(Gerard Butler) turn Captain on a top-secret mission into enemy(Russian) waters just as an elite team of Navy SEALS set shore on the Russian harbour to take stalk of developments that seem to be heading into World War III. What began as an effort to rescue a downed US sub's possible survivors turns into an impromptu rescue of a coup defanged Russian President(Alexander Diachenko).
The characters lack depth but the narrative is sweetly paced and has enough thrilling moments to whet your appetite. Gary Oldman struggles to make his Joint Chief of Staff pomposity credible, Butler retains his suave courage-under-fire persona with a fair bit of élan, Alexander Diachenko as the Russian president has little to do other than look aggrieved while Michael Gor as coup artist, military minister, Admiral Dmitri Durov tries hard for menace and the effort shows.
Watch the trailer here:
Hunter Killer has beautiful shots by cinematographer Tom Marais, - the cat and mouse underwater games are heightened by the mountain-like iceberg range that adds picturesque value to the entertainment. The cutting between the underwater submarine action and the elite SEALs stealthy ops, though not sharp enough, manages to get you into the thick of things without much ado. For this kind of a movie, graphical mix of green screen, stock footage and live action scenes are an expected. Director Donovan Marsh manages to make it interesting enough so that you can take the behind the scenes contrivance in your stride. The wonder is that for a movie that primes itself as an underwater action flick, there's negligible marine life on display. So, despite the hyper dramatics, the believability takes a nose dive. This effort may not come close to delivering legendary cold war thrills like in 'The Hunt for Red October' but as a modern wannabe it manages a neat enough finish!
Also Read: The Goose Bump Moment For The Cast Of Hunter Killer!
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