"The Hunt" (2020) - A Review

[Guest]

"The Hunt" (2020)
Runtime 90 min, aspect ratio 2.39:1
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence and language throughout)
Director: Craig Zobel
Written By: Damon Lindelof, Nick Cuse
Studio: Universal Pictures

For all the hype and controversy surrounding it, "The Hunt" really doesn't live up to its early reputation, but it has some fun moments.

The film opens in what appears to be the first-class section of an airliner but which is later revealed to be a private jet on its way somewhere. A bit of the old ultra-violence ensues, I guess to let viewers know they can expect a gore-fest in this picture, and it does not disappoint. This moment segues into a scene reminiscent of "Predators" (the 2010 version with Laurence Fishburne and Danny Trejo), in which the prey characters, none of whom know each other in the slightest, are parachuted into an alien landscape where there are a lot more questions than answers, and who are quickly killed off one after another without ever learning how or why they got there. In this action-suspense film which has a lot of dark humor, we don't even learn their names (even the credits have only descriptive nicknames for these short-lived players, and they don't have any dialogue. I'm guessing this was how the producers kept costs down - much of the cast is only on screen for a few moments before being spectacularly wiped out).

"The Most Dangerous Game" has been done many times before, so this movie's sole saving grace is several John Wick-style creative killings with setups and dialogue which borrow from Quentin Tarantino, exploding into violence without warning, so it's fun in that respect. However, where it isn't fun is in the political us-vs-them moments. I found the characters and their motivations lacking depth, but hey, when a flick opens with a carotid-artery stabbing followed by a high heel in an eye socket, I guess there's no point in expecting a Shakespearian epic. The one character who has some real motivation other than immediate survival is the arch-villain, Athena (Hillary Swank) whose reasons for being part of this whole "Hayseed Skeet" scheme are revealed in a flashback later in the film, and it's one of the few scenes in the movie which actually has credibility by showing how the Internet mob can so easily ruin people's lives.

As you might have read in some of the publicity surrounding this picture, it's soon revealed that a group of snobby, upper-class SJWs are hunting "Right-Wing Rednecks" for sport. To wit, a major plot dichotomy cometh. Most of the "hunters" are effete, pearl-clutching soyboy leftists, so it demands quite a suspension of disbelief that these bleeding-hearts could even look at a firearm without having a "Pee, meet pants!" moment, let alone handling and operating one.

As mentioned, most of the dirty-dozen "basket-of-deplorables" are quickly killed off in colorful and creative ways, except for a couple of lucky/smart ones, primarily Crystal (Betty Gilpin). After the initial kill-off, the story eventually focuses on her, and we slowly learn how she is not one of the hated right-wing Alex Jones types who are being hunted down, and we also learn that the SJWs are wrong about Crystal in more ways than one: the lefties have made a common mistake which the ivory-tower types often do - they have critically underestimated one of those "deplorables" whom they perceive to be inferior to them. A Tarantino-style battle at the climax is a satisfying conflict resolution, and fun to watch, even if one is reminded of "Kill Bill".

This film has several of Radio Free Rocky D's "Bachelor B's": Bullets, Bombs, Blood, Bashes, but no Beasts (except for an adorable adolescent pig) and no Breasts (dang). It's an okay way to spend 90 minutes, especially now when piped-in entertainment is a big deal. My Internet here in Germany is quite spotty lately, probably due to network saturation caused by people doing the same thing I am: pouring movies into my computer as quickly as possible.

mh

Edited April 4, 2020 by Guest