Hunter Killer

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
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Beverly Hills, CA
I just saw this movie. It received terrible reviews:

“Think of every military action movie cliché you can. The maverick hero who's just an average guy. The uptight, rule-following second-in-command who learns a good lesson. The token concerned woman who has one line. Enemies who aren't so different after all. So many of these hackneyed stereotypes are thrown at the Gerard Butler-starring Navy thriller “Hunter Killer” that you have to wonder if this is the “Scary Movie” of submarine cinema.”

“Literally everyone's going rogue, including the Russian defense minister Durov (Michael Gor), who usurps the handsome but very dumb Russian President Zakarin (Alexander Diachenko); not to mention the U.S. Department of Defense and the NSA . . . “

“When the coolest thing about a submarine thriller is the sight of the officers stiffly leaning forward as their vessel goes into a deep dive, you know there's a problem.”

“. . . this by-the-numbers military thriller chugs along like a submarine with a disabled engine.”

“. . . the cliche-ridden dialogue wouldn't feel out of place coming from adolescents playing submarine games in their basement.”

“There are so many good movies in theaters right now — thoughtful, artistic, well-acted and well-told movies that studios preciously save for this time of year with the distant hope of Oscar gold in their future. The Gerard Butler submarine movie "Hunter Killer " is not one of those movies — it is bombastic and garish, ridden with clichés, preposterous politics and diplomacy, and frenetic, video game energy.”

“The film starts out confusingly. An American submarine is torpedoed by a Russian sub in Russian waters, but back in the U.S., all they know is it's disappeared, and they've got to go find it. The man for the job, Rear Admiral John Fisk (Common) concludes, is Captain Joe Glass (Butler), who we're told is not like the other guys. He "never went to Annapolis." Why that makes him especially qualified for this mission will basically remain a mystery, other than the fact that he'll readily disobey orders and go rogue at any opportunity. He's seen stuff, guys, and not in a Naval Academy classroom.”

“Hunter Killer' review: Make me a submarine sandwich, extra ham for Gerard Butler”


You should have the gist of the critical commentaries by now.

The reviews for this movie were so bad that my local big movie theater in Downtown Los Angeles literally gave away free screening passes.

I must be the softest, easiest movie audience in the world because I thought the movie was exciting and pretty darn good!
 
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Ultrafast69

VIP/Donor
Aug 27, 2018
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225
385
Seattle, WA
www.audio-ultra.com
Always fun to watch these movies as a critic, but not in a mean way. I navigated nuke boats out of San Diego and Pearl, and we did some crazy things beyond imagination and can say no more.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
That sounds pretty amazing. But as an expert you would probably pick apart every tiny thing in the movie that was inaccurate.

Maybe I’m just a sucker for contemporary submarine movies. Crimson Tide is one of my favorite movies!

Did you like Crimson Tide?
 

Ultrafast69

VIP/Donor
Aug 27, 2018
222
225
385
Seattle, WA
www.audio-ultra.com
Yes, this is good. Theres some truth in it, but it’s Hollywoood - the purpose is to entertain, and it does.

One of my favorites is Das Boat
 

Folsom

VIP/Donor
Oct 25, 2015
6,024
1,490
520
Eastern WA
Critics always expect action movies to be the next Casablanca; but when they don’t get it, the bomb the rating.... Unless it is one of the new horrific Star Wars movies, then they rate it high, or websites give fake ratings....

Sometimes mindless or cheesy action is all a person wants or needs. We have been quoting old action films for decades, and new ones? No one quotes them, like, ever.
 

Dimfer

Member Sponsor
May 8, 2010
621
181
1,605
Canada
we watched the movie in our HT while waiting for 2019, everybody thought it was a good movie..
 

spiritofmusic

Well-Known Member
Jun 13, 2013
14,606
5,415
1,278
E. England
London Has Fallen takes "so preposterous you just can't look away" to new depths.
 

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