Hunter Killer (2018)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 2018
	Director: Donovan Marsh
	Actors: Gerard Butler (300, Olympus has Fallen), Gary Oldman (Lost in Space, Darkest Hour), Common
	Country: USA, CN, GB
	Genre: War, Action
	Conditions of visioning: 14.06.2019, in-flight entertainment system 10" screen.
Synopsis: After an incident between a Russian and American submarines and the subsequent threat of escalation, Joe Glass (Butler) is tasked with the investigation for his first mission as submarine captain.
Review: I didn't have to think twice about watching this movie: nuclear submarines, USA-Russia tensions, Gerald Butler and the promise of a decent budget... I just hoped it would be less stupid than Olympus has Fallen. For one thing the president of the USA is not the hero of the story so that helps. Gary Oldman is prominent on the poster but doesn't have such a big role, in fact apart from Butler nobody has and the dialogs are more evenly spread between Linda Cardellini (nice to see her outside of The Avengers: Age of Ultron where she plays Hawkeye's wife), Common (yes that's the rapper/actor's name) and many other protagonists. Of course The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide (How come I haven't seen it in seven years?!?) come to mind (Das Boot belongs to another age and style). Hunter Killer can't compete with them as the story is weaker, its Actors are not as strong and it relies more on Action and high-tech weapons than pure suspense to keep the audience on edge. But I have to say that in that category, it does pretty well and I was not disappointed by the Action and the role given to Gerald Butler. I didn't feel any timeout in this dense story, but I must admit that several characters are too caricatural, like the captain's XO or the bad guy who is just evil. Other aspects could be criticized but didn't bother me: the fact that it is an ode to the American military (why did the watch the movie if you don't like to see that??), that it seems too easy to start a military escalation or to convince an enemy captain to help you, the unrealistic submarine maneuvers (zig-zagging between icebergs) and weapons (like drone torpedos). Hunter Killer may fall in the category of movie that I like to watch once a year for fun.
Rating: 6 /10