Hunter Killer

This review may contain spoilers!

In the past couple of years, Gerard Butler has really come back with some decent blockbuster features. I would give Hunter Killer a 7.5/10.

Hunter Killer is the sort of military blockbuster that will have you on the edge of your seat gripped in suspense, the scenes are set up really well to hold your attention in a state of nervousness right till the last second. While this feature is brilliantly thrilling it also manages to depict a theatre of water that we don't normally see in a feature film, the underwater depths. The submarine naval combat is fascinating to observe; everything feels monolithic yet you're still vastly aware of how small the submarines are compared to the ocean it sails through. This only ups the stakes, making every moment of conflict all the more risky and enticing. The plot really manages to weave together a fascinating narrative between that of the naval conflict, the black ops team and the command centre in Washington. The cinematography is stunning, capturing grandiose settings while proving extremely dynamic in the more confined sets. The special effects enable some great rendering of the submarine itself and the huge Russian dreadnought, really immersing you into the conflict between these two that sits at the heart of the final act. The score for the film plays to the scale of the scenes; which obviously adds to the action but also adds a lot of power behind moments in which characters give uplifting speeches or face death at the hands of the Russian radicals.

Common, who played RA John Fisk, has had a really solid year for his roles thus far; Common's RA was exemplary at keeping a level head and managing the theatre of war from afar. Gary Oldman, who played CJCS Charles Donnegan, is an extremely aggressive and antagonistic role; Oldman plays a role that feels rather relevant right now and he makes many key choices in his portrayal that conveys this. Gerard Butler, who played Captain Joe Glass, makes for a great leading protagonist who really knows how to share the screen; Butler's character is stoic yet extremely capable and diplomatic under fire. Carter MacIntyre and David Gyasi, who played XO Brian Edwards and Cob Wallach respectively, really brought forth the mood and emotion upon the greater submarine as a whole; Gyasi served to play a more moral compass for Butler while MacIntyre did a great job at portraying the fears and anxieties the crew held. Alexander Diachenko, who played President Zakarin, is extremely charismatic and fits the benevolent leader role he is in; Diachenko plays a strong leader with ever-present values well yet also shows his powerlessness in the face of unexpected betrayal. Michael Gor, who played Admiral Dmitri Durov, is a great antagonist for the film; Gor shows an almost insatiable desire for power and a hunger for a battle to ensue. Michael Nyqvist, who played Captain Andropov, gives a very subtle yet powerful performance it what is his last American feature; Nyqvist has great chemistry with Butler and the trust these characters build is the emotional centre of the film.

However, the best performance came from Toby Stephens, Michael Trucco, Ryan McPartlin and Zane Holtz, who played Bill Beaman, Devin Hall, Matt Johnstone and Paul Martinelli respectively. This group's military black ops subplot worked strongly alongside the main story and the group of actors had such fine chemistry and camaraderie that they wound up standing out strongly. Trucco and McPartlin really lent a tough vibe and immersed the audience in the military operation at hand. Holtz takes the audience on one of 'new recruit who has to prove himself' stories and it actually works rather well. I was strongly impressed by Stephens who managed to make time for funny bits of banter in amongst the action and violence; yet not for a moment does he drop the fearless leader persona he is portraying. It's rare for a group of actors to come together so strongly that it's hard to pick a single best performance, but this one is a no-brainer for me.

The first act of this film really rushes you out the gate and introduces you to a lot of characters and subplots very quickly, this can be a little jarring at first and takes time to settle in with. More significantly is how quickly Hunter Killer dives into the meat of the film, entering conflict quite early which feels a little premature when we're still processing a lot of information being given to us. The film plays the blockbuster angle very safe, the heroes and villains are just that and wouldn't come across as especially complex if the film didn't have such a solid cast. The film's pacing is quite strange because it rushes itself to act three which is where you feel like the narrative wants to be the whole time. Unfortunately, this means that a lot of the story passes by rather passively so that the real excitement can kick off later.

Linda Cardellini, who played Jayne Norquist, is quite a go-getter role that doesn't fit very securely alongside Common and Oldman; Cardellini's 'we share everything' attitude feels naive and doesn't mix well with the tone of the feature. Yuri Kolokolnikov, who played Oleg, is given a little too much screen time for the significance of his character; Kolokolnikov is quite a generic fighter/bodyguard who gets pushed from being a background figure into the spotlight rather abruptly. Caroline Goodall, who played President Dover, is quite a dry performance to watch and doesn't lend a lot to the film; the portrayal of the President should feel like a major role but in Goodall's hands the role became boring.