If there’s one genre of film that never seems to get its due, it’s that of a submarine picture. Putting out at least one film a decade, they preying upon the public’s innate fear of claustrophobia, as a means to easily ratchet up tension. And it works fantastically. More often than not, a movie like Hunt For Red October or Das Boot spring up. Mixing dime store thriller trappings with rousing underwater battles. Films that can juggle ridiculous and chest pounding elements simultaneously, crafting a special kind of crowdpleaser. Other times you get Hunter Killer, a project that feels as if someone forgot about it on a shelf, long long ago. Things would’ve been better off, if it had maybe just stayed there.
In the frigid, unforgiving waters of the Artic, an American submarine stealthily tracks a Russian sub. Suddenly an explosion rings out, the US naval officers quick to assess they weren’t the ones to fire. As soon as ease washes over them, they themselves are hit by an unseen torpedo, leading to a watery grave. Thousands of miles away, at the Pentagon, RA Fisk (Common) tries to ascertain what just happened. Bringing it to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Donnegan (Gary Oldman, pre-Darkest Hour), they devise a plan to covertly investigate who was trying to set off an international incident, while not causing one, as well. Thankfully there’s another sub in the region, the USS Arkansas. Only, it’s currently without a Captain.
Enter Joe Glass (Butler). A career seaman they’re quick to point out “didn’t go to Annapolis”. Code for “he doesn’t follow protocol”. Although, for a film that’s all over the place, he only occasionally makes crazy decisions. As Glass readies to test the waters, Fisk also warily teams up with NSA analyst Jayne Nyquist (Linda Cardellini), to send a Navy Seal unit to check out a nearby Russian base. Just in case anything hinky is going on. Sure enough, Defense Minister Dimitri Durov (Michael Gor) is planning a coup, by kidnapping the sitting Russian President (Alexander Diachenko) and daring America to intervene, setting off WWIII in the process.
So much of what holds Hunter Killer at arms-length, is an over reliance on inside baseball. In that it would work better as a History Channel special. Where a seasoned naval vet breaks down each section. Which makes sense, given that the novel the film was based on, Firing Point, was written by such an individual. What appears on screen may be authentic (they go through laborious pains to have it come off as such), yet doesn’t prove to be thrilling, in the act. That’s because the work it’s based on may be from 2012, but feels like a relic of the Cold War era. That notion seeps it’s way through every pore of the film, making it a slog to watch. Not helping matters is a smattering of stock footage from the Air Force and Navy, paired with poorly done CGI work. This reeks of cheapness.
It goes without saying this is a picture that want’s desperately to be a “guy’s film”. Hoping to stand alongside the likes of ridiculous action films of 80’s. The majority of which were put out by Cannon Films. They go as far as casting Toby Stephen’s as the film’s Chuck Norris stand-in. Characterized by tossing quips, growling and showing a little remorse when it comes to foreign policy. Only a distinct lack of denim and roundhouse kicks separates the two. At the same time, it hews too closely to the outmoded model. Mostly in its treatment of female characters. Through the entirety there are roughly 3 women with speaking roles. The rest seemingly relegated to standing around tables or sitting at desks. Arguments could be made about authenticity, but that’s a lame excuse. As a work of fiction, there shouldn’t be limits as to whom can fill what roles.
At first glance Hunter Killer feels like it’d be the perfect outing for Butler’s current brand. Nestling nicely between Den Of Thieves and Geostorm. Sadly, director Donovan Marsh brings a paint-by-numbers approach to the proceedings. Clearly over his head, he never allows Hunter Killer to embrace the campiness clearly lurking under the surface. Instead shifting tones wildly, while swinging between 4 concurrent story lines. Dialogue is often terribly clunky or forced. That’s partially expected, coming from the writers of Chain Reaction and Ghost In The Shell. Surprisingly Butler comes off as slightly restrained here. Attempting to convey stoicism, rather than engage in his regular hysteronics. It’d work too, if the second half didn’t see him teaming up with Russian Captain Andropov (Michael Nyqvist, in his last role). Nyqvist has little to do, but carries with him an air of respect that seems unworthy of the film he’s trapped in.
If there’s one nagging overarching problem with Hunter Killer, it comes in the fractured sense of who the film wants to cater to. Is it an authentic Naval based action pic? Is it a rah-rah patriotic piece of pseudo-propaganda cheese? That kind of film has proven sustainable recently, with Butler’s Olympus Has Fallen and on the international level with Wolf Warrior 2. Committing to that formula would have rectified other issues in the process, excising the self-serious tedium it wallows in. Without a sense of fun in place, it ends up being a forgettable ride. The kind that desperate grandchildren will snatch up when they can’t think of anything else to get their grandparents for Christmas.
