February 24, 2023
Hunter Killer (HK) movie review. 2018, 2 hours.
INSIDE: “This film is also about bravery, courage and self-sacrifice … besides being exciting, there is plenty to think about later.”
The stakes in HK are nothing less than a provoked nuclear war between Russia and the rest of the world. Does this sound familiar? How are we going to get through 2023 without this happening?
A quote from the film says, “It could have been ugly, really ugly. Instead it’s a beautiful day. ” There IS a hopeful solution. How they get to it, is what the film is about and some provoking thought for today. We may disagree on the film’s path to the solution, but that it needs to happen is evident.
Thus, in the context of its good submarine graphics and visual tensions, is the payoff of the last 2 hours you have invested. This is not the down-beat “The Day After Tomorrow” or “War of the Worlds.” There are thoughtful scenes and other times when everything breaks loose, seemingly out of control.
Illustrated for us is the application faith and wisdom. The story is actually about calm and the avoidance of fatal panic; the tossing of preconceived notions; the acceptance of snail-paced spiritual evolution; the consequences of power-mongering and about a man of peace in a tense war-footing situation. Hunter Killer may be misnomer of a film title — though people do die — but who would go see a movie called “Let’s talk about this”?
Because of this of all this, Hunter Killer is not for kids, or younger sensitive teens. Lots and lots of bullets fly on land, not on sea.
Noble self-sacrifice and courage are favorite themes of human beings throughout time, and therefore, often depicted in films. Such ideas are actually the embodiment of what Christ came to do and show us what it looks like in reality, not fiction. The echoes of his sacrifice in story-telling is naturally appeal to most of us. “Greater love has no man, than he lay down his life for his friends.” Most people, I believe, are touched in humbling way when they see this illustrated in some fashion, as it is here.
There is an absence of sex scenes, and profanity is kept to a minimum. I must admit, though, there are times when it is very realistic for most people to let loose an expletive in an imminent life or death situation. That is not gratuitous “shock” language meant solely for an “R” rating, to me. It’s more like, understandable, without making excuses for it.
Is it entertaining?
The film has plenty of nail-bitting moments. There are lots of action sequences along with good, life-like underwater submarine scenes that can keep you on the edge. My father-in-law was Chief of the Boat (COB) on a diesel sub in the Korean War era, so I imagine him in these situations when I see a film about subs. I cannot imagine how he did it.
Submarine navigation and operation is a marvel and takes lots of nerve. Since there have been genuine submarine disasters in America during our lifetimes (for many), such as the “Thresher,” in 1963 - the nation’s worst sub accident - the film makes it all the more tense.
Is it unique?
If you haven’t yet been inundated by submarine movies, (Hunt for Red October, Crimson Tide, etc) this film holds its own in production values, and realistic submarine environments, at least to a non-Navy viewer.
ALSO, subtly implied for those interested, is the theme of “outsider” in the accepted ascension to authority in the U.S. Navy. The outsider, Captain Joe Glass (Gerard Butler) is skipper of the U.S. sub in question, who ends up having the saving wisdom by NOT following established protocols. The film is careful not to paint the U.S captain as a rogue — and the Russian sub captain as well.
There is an entire, separate, review that could be dedicated to “Joe Glass as the ‘Captain-Who-Did-Not-Go-To-Annapolis,’” so he’s the navy guy who doesn’t go by the book. That’s another review, but any film endorsement from the USN is absent.
Warnings:
The script could have been better in the Washington D.C. scenes, but it’s brief enough not to be intolerable. Gary Oldman, who is a terrific and versatile actor, does not do his best work here as a Pentagon-based Admiral, but that’s the script talking, I think (and probably one of the reasons the United States Navy does not endorse the film in the credits).
Should you spend time watching it?
I found “Hunter Killer” in a Steel Box for $7 at Wal Mart, and was happily surprised. So, sure, see this submarine saga.
I recomend this movie for an evening when Marvel movies just aren’t enough anymore.
Besides being exciting, there is plenty to think about later in Hunter Killer.
