REVIEW | The Hunting Party (2012)

Richard Gere is Simon Hunt, the discredited star reporter whose career went downhill soon after his meltdown on national television while covering the Bosnian war. His best friend and assistant, cameraman Duck (Terrence Howard),  however, went on to become successful. Five years later, Simon and Duck meet again in peacetime Bosnia, and along with Benjamin Strauss (Jesse Eisenberg), the son of the network's VP, they go on to hunt the world's most wanted war criminal,  Boghdanovic a.k.a. The Fox. Mistaken for CIA agents, the trio gets closer to capturing the war criminal—and to the 5-million-dollar bounty—but not without getting into a series of troubles.

Based on a true story from an Esquire magazine article written by Scott Anderson, The Hunting Party is a monotonous narrative, very much confused with which direction to seriously take. Comedy? Or Drama? The movie opens with these words in gigantic fonts: "Only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true," and already, the movie feels forced. Like trying to sound Esquire-witty. But with the heavy subject matter of war and genocide, a comedic treatment feels off. Deadpan, serious conversations, then the occasional humor, interspersed with haunting visual memories of the war, makes the movie unabsorbing and messy.

The locations, in Saravejo, and in Celebici, in the border of Republic Srpska and Montenegro, are breathtaking. The architectures, the landscapes, the quaint cafes and restaurants, the movie looks like a motion picture of National Geographic photographs, which will delight you like your regular travelogue. However, since the screenplay is banal, lacking the vibrancy and richness that the visuals offer, the film simply flops. Yes, there were small, genuinely funny moments, but the only noise you can produce is a short chuckle or a snort. Also, there is zero thrill in the hunt, and The Fox doesn't induce fear or mystery.

Despite the tiresome appearance of Eisenberg in a typecast role of a nerd, the cast deliver good performances. Unfortunately, such talents are wasted on a sad, sad, disappointing movie adaptation. It feels like one stretch of a lifeless, colorless journey, with only tiny bursts of life in between.  Only the ending will spike your interest, because it proudly reveals which are fiction and real in the movie, and the ones which the filmmakers tweaked for creative purposes. Oh, okay, cool. Thank you for the information.

1 out of 5 stars

In Philippine Cinemas September 19, 2012