Rent Hunter Killer (2018)

Navy memories - Hunter Killer review by JT

Being ex Royal Navy this film brought back memories although I was not a submariner. Enjoyed the film and so did my partner.

Impressive, taught, frightening - Hunter Killer review by AB

I really liked this film - OK it is in the same vein as Hunt For Red October as a submarine-based film but in this film (as in others) you realise the pressures of command that these submarine captains are under - not through leadership of men but the power that they hold in the capability of starting a conflict that will have no winners, and they are asked to play politics as well, dealing with people who drive a desk all day and call it pressure. Submarines are not as un-manoeuvrable as some will have you believe, just slow and steady when required and where everyone has to think in more than 2 dimensions. My one major gripe about the film was the unbelievably simplified scenario that the SEAL team just walked into a Russian naval base. I would recommend this film

A standard Gerald Butler action thriller, with enough rug pulls & surprises to keep it enjoyable - Hunter Killer review by TB

After various roles in various organisations and saving the world in various ways, Gerard Butler has chosen a submarine commander as his next port of call (sorry, bad pun but I couldn't resist it.)

Whilst it is fairly clichéd, it does have some good points. Michael Nyqvist, in what was sadly one of his final film roles, brings suitable gravitas & steel to his role as a Russian submarine commander who, after a betrayal from the Russian government, helps Butler's commander. The other actor who really makes an impression and probably was the best performance is Toby Stephens as the tough as nails Bill Beaman. You really believe that he is an elite level Navy Seal, thanks to some brilliantly directed action. There was one amusing addition to this film as well, albeit in a completely unintentional way: this was the first film that Gary Oldman starred in after winning his richly deserved Oscar. And literally it is a performance that is so phoned in, you wonder if he even bothered to look at the script and simply did a few days of filming just to cash in the cheque.

As I have alluded to in my other reviews of Butler's work, there is a running theme: you'll get effectively the same performance, with different scenarios and different levels of shouting. But it also has to be said that what he does, he does very well. He is a pleasure to be in the company of and as much as I wish he did more films like Coriolanus (by a country mile his best performance, even eclipsing Ralph Fiennes,) I enjoyed this film.

This, like many of his films, is a great watch on a Friday night when you want to switch your brain off and have some fun. Don't take it too seriously and you'll have a riot.

Hunt for Red October all over again - Hunter Killer review by MS

Boring, boring, boring.

Very disappointed in this film in general and I have loved Gerard Butler in almost everything he has done.

Smacked of Hunt for Red October [which I snored thro at the cinema].

Maybe its just the subject matter/genre of film - possibly just not for me.

Well-paced submarine thriller - Hunter Killer review by Alphaville

Do we really need another cold war submarine movie? The film is based on a 2012 book and adds nothing new to the genre. This time Gerard Butler is the captain, there’s skulduggery beneath the Arctic waves and his sub is sent in to find out what’s going on. You’ll get a laugh after five minutes when he’s hunting with bow and arrow in the high Bulgarian mountains and the caption says he’s in Scotland. All the usual tropes and chain-of-command technical dialogue is present and correct, as are the usual cgi shots of the sub skimming past the camera through murky waters. Will the Russian torpedoes sink Gerard? You get one guess.

A second even less interesting strand of plot has Gary Oldman playing a warmongering politician in Pentagon discussions about what to do. Two clichéd plots in one film not enough? Okay, let’s add in a rogue Russian general with weapons at his disposal. To say nothing of some happy-clapping at the end.

That said, this is a well-paced and never-boring film. Even the clichéd stuff has a cosy familiarity. If only Gerard wasn’t cooped up in his control room with nothing to do to flex his muscles, because there’s a third strand of plot involving a Black Ops raid on the general’s base, and this one does pack some excitement. Brit Toby Stephens is the leader but it should have been Gerard. As he’s also the film’s producer it was maybe too much for him. As he says on the DVD Xtras, that’s the part you’d expect him to play.

Overall the film gives a two-hour easy watch and the DVD Xtras are also worth catching. Gerard is always an enthusiastic interviewee and director Donovan Marsh delivers an interesting commentary for cinema buffs telling us how it was all done.

Routine actioner - Hunter Killer review by CP Customer

There's not much wrong with this film. It's fast paced, well acted and watchable. it's just that submarine warfare, nuclear threats, cold war, macho heroics etc is all, well, a bit passé. It needed some twists and some imagination to raise it a level.