Hunter Killer

Seemingly bound to end up in heavy rotation on TNT or USA Network, "Hunter Killer" is an efficient enough thriller to watch on a weekend afternoon. I don't mean that to be a slight, because there's a certain gruffness and "let's get the job done" kind of spirit that most Gerard Butler-led features have utilized as of late. Think about Butler's scene-chewing performance as 'Big Nick' in "Den of Thieves." These performances don't possess wit or verve as much as they feel like they're designed in a lab to please a specific type of viewer. The type of viewer that craves lead characters that like doing things that violate the rule book but end up getting the job done.

"Hunter Killer" is no different. In it, Butler stars as Captain Joe Glass, a U.S. submarine captain with a grab bag of unconventional tactics. A U.S. submarine is shot down in Russian waters and Glass is tasked with leading an operation to find out what happened. Soon after arriving at the scene where the submarine went down, Glass and his entire crew discover there's been a coup to throw the Russian president out of power. Now Glass, in addition to a Navy Seal unit running on land, must fight against time to stop rogue dissidents from starting a war.

If that sounds of any interest to you, know that "Hunter Killer" is exactly the movie you think it is and nothing more. Even Butler's affinity for a certain degree of camp gets subdued in a plot engineered from a page of Hollywood Mad Libs. There's impending war? Check. A man with a particular set of skills can save us all? Check. Is there a rousing climax that's followed by tertiary characters warming up to the hero? Check. Luckily for us, the 122-minute "Hunter Killer" moves most narrative expounding to the side in exchange for an incident-driven plot with plenty of predictable twists that raise the stakes.

New to Blu-ray, "Hunter Killer" comes with an insightful two-part featurette titled "Surface Tension: Declassifying "Hunter Killer." In it, the special feature takes a deep into the research that Gerard Butler and director Donovan Marsh did before shooting the film. It becomes immediately clear in the featurette that Butler is overly fond of these "save the day" genre films but also goes into this and most of his role having done his homework. Aside from that, this Blu-ray release comes with a decent audio commentary from the director who very clearly has a passion for submarine warfare. I would only recommend a purchase if you're already a fan of "Hunter Killer." Otherwise, it's worth a rental or watch on TV.

"Hunter Killer"
Blu-ray
$39.99
https://www.lionsgate.com/movies/hunter-killer