Hunter Killer is a military action flick that hoped to cling onto the coattails of those before it, but ultimately got thrown in the mud. Hunter Killer follows Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) as he leads a submarine crew to uncover the crash site of a sub in the Arctic Ocean. When he arrives, it is suddenly evident that they are not alone, and that much more is happening under the water than a simple rescue mission. From that moment we are thrown into a battle between Russia and the US, and the behind the scenes officers that work to dissolve it. There are two running plot lines the entire movie. The first takes places in the submarine with Gerard Butler and his crew, and the second revolves around a group of soldiers going into Russia to do a rescue mission. 

I will first say this, Hunter Killer is not a good movie. This may be the most generic movie I have ever seen. Gerard Butler mans the submarine with lackluster emotion, and the entire ensemble cast seems like they were tricked into doing this, or some high-level executive’s nephew was producing the movie. All of the shots are mediocre, and the dialogue would be better in a made for TV movie. 

The CGI is laughably bad, and the sets are obviously fake. I could have sworn they used effects from 1998. The worst of it is that it’s not campy or outrageous. It takes itself way too seriously, and that in turn produced an agonizingly boring film. 

There are slight glimmers of fun near the end though, in the scenes that follow a group of soldiers past enemy lines. These one or two scenes in no way save the movie though. Most of the time watching the film I was confused about where it was going, or frustrated about why all the characters were making terrible decisions. The only parts that kind of sparked my interest in the slightest were the shootouts and chase scenes. All of the activity in the submarine was pretty boring.

All in all, Hunter Killer is a huge flop that will not be remembered. There are so many issues that keep it from being successful, but I think that the mediocrity of it all is what makes it so forgettable. I mean, how can Gary Oldman not save a movie? It’s GARY OLDMAN. If you need a good nap, or the curiosity is killing you, feel free to check it out!