Movie 86: The Hunting Party

Celebrated war reporter Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) has a melt down on air during the Bosnian war and kills his career. His camera man, Duck (Terrence Howard) gets a promotion and a cushy job in New York. 5 years after the war has ended he returns with the station anchor and new kid at the station Benjamin Strauss (Jesse Eisenberg). Hunt meets up with his old partner and tells him he has a fantastic story, he knows where wanted war criminal The Fox is. Reluctantly, Strauss and Duck join up with Hunt and head out in to the wilds…

There’s one thing British films do really well. Serious as fuck, with very dark comedy. The US not so much, though they manage it sometimes. This is one of those times.

I vaguely remember the Bosnian conflict. I know it was pretty damned horrible, but I don’t know all that much about the history during and since outside of that. This film does serve as a bit of an education. And as many good political stand ups know, you learn more if you have the odd laugh. This is why The Daily Show’s viewers are the best informed in the US. It keeps your attention if there’s the odd dick joke.

This isn’t really all that base, and it will go from light hearted black humour like telling the kid to watch out for land mines to the main characters being shot at pretty damned quickly.

It all hinges on two things. A well written and worked out plot that gives the characters good motivation, and good chemistry between the leads. Thankfully they got both things right. Hunt is out to get his career going again and for revenge, Duck is there to help out his friend and have some danger in his life again and Strauss is out to prove himself to his dad. And probably himself too.

There is a sense of danger here. They are in very rough and hostile country. There’s also plenty of comedy too as they play off each other, and encounter some quirky side characters. And it sticks a knife in now and again, particularly right before the end credits when you get some data points, with a political message and some satire. As it says at the starts everything is true except for the completely crazy stuff. The question is, what’s the crazy stuff? Personally I think some of that was true.

Its not quite a masterpiece but it did what a good movie should do. I was entertained through out. I cared about the characters, and I’m not much of a Gere fan. And it left me wanting to see more of these guys. So it’s worth a look.

Next up: Thick As Thieves