Rating (2 out of 5)
When your audience laughs out loud signals you have a hit unless you just released a nail biting action film, which probably means you released a dud. Unfortunately for Hunter Killer I laughed a number of times. Walking out of the theater with a small on my face felt really good, but a dud this is.
Plot: The defense minister of Russia launches coupe de tat and captures the Russian president. A US submarine, commanded by Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) must navigate Russian waters and save the Russian president, who has been rescued by 4 special ops personnel, to prevent World War III.
What I Liked: I like to find proof every now and again that celebrities are just working people like ourselves. I submit Hunter Killer as proof celebrities are simple working folk. Why would Gary Oldman take on such a role, unless he has a standard of living he enjoys, and Hunter Killer is a paycheck that will help him meet that standard. While the standard of living of Gary Oldman is probably better than mine, still nice to know that sometimes he has to grin and bear a bad assignment every now and again as well.
I am partial to submarine stories. I think the men and women who have and do serve on submarines are amongst the bravest people in the world. Imagine the stress of being underwater in cramped conditions combating enemies without seeing your target and the constant threat of dying underwater; truly brave souls. It’s a story I always enjoy and when the focused on the submarine action, the movie wasn’t bad.
Laugh Out Loud: The submarine crew lays silently at the bottom of the water on the sea bed after being attacked, everything goes silent. Everyone takes their headsets off and looks to the Captain…Such a cheesey moment, I couldn’t help but laugh. There are so many moments LOL scenes, gosh, it was so bad it was good.
What I Didn’t Like: Really you have to overlook just about everything in the movie and realize nothing could really happen. The pièce de résistance of unreal events is when missiles about to hit the submarine are shot out of the air by big machine guns on a destroyer about a 1/2 mile away. Too much.
The thoughtless crafting of Gary Oldman’s character detracted from the story and made Gary Oldman’s character wasteful. Wasting great talent on a useless stereotype character saddened me.
Too many characters. Super thin plot, only Navy no Air Force or Marines. The intent was to inspire with some dramatic scenes but the script missed and the scenes were hokey.
Conclusion: Wait for Hunter Killer to come to the small screen. Invite friends over, have a few drinks, then laugh the night away with this humdinger. I will watch Hunter Killer again, I always need a good laugh.