Hunt To Kill.

Well the same production company that produced The Stranger produced this, so it naturally flows, enjoy!

Hunt To Kill is another direct to DVD Canadian action film. What is pretty special is this film was successful, well in terms of sales at least, being one of the most successful direct-to-disc titles of the year!

Hunt To Kill is a roller coaster of rising tension and danger as Jim Rhodes, a US Border Patrol Agent, tries to protect his massive cunt of a daughter from a bunch of criminals as he leads them through the mountains. Wow a film staring Steve Austin where his daughter doesn't die!

The one thing that lets Hunt To Kill down in terms of narrative is its reliance on plot convenience. I know in the real world this wouldn't happen any way but I mean especially so, this film pushes my suspension of disbelief to breaking point. Everything in Hunt To Kill only works because of how perfectly convenient the last moment was, logic be damned. It can be forgiven the first few times but the sheer amount of times it happens with such consistence, it almost becomes annoying and distracting how obvious it is. If only it was all this easy in real life.

There are some serious pacing problems too. Although the first and final acts are action packed awesomeness and the third act is more than worth waiting around for, there is still no denying that the middle act is pretty boring and where most of the plot stupidity leaks from, this whole section could do with a massive trim. I mean the characters are fun but it does a bit of a Lord of The Rings with just lots of scenes of people walking about, why is this shit here?

However, in terms of action, Hunt To Kill excels. The action really is that good. We get a little bit of everything, visceral and powerful gun fights, explosions, fisticuffs, showdowns, makeshift arrows and more! All wrapped up in one of the most satisfying final villain takedowns I have seen in quite some time.

And despite being a direct-to-disc film it all looks great as well. The choreography is strong and fun, the cinematography and editing make it thrilling and stylish. The film is pretty damn intense without the need to be depressing at the same time. I mean sure the film gets darker as it progresses and has some serious moments - and a few that even feel like they've come straight from a horror film but I found this a lot more fun than the dour The Stranger.

What really stops the film from tipping into depression is how colourful all the villains are. Plus all the actors seem to really enjoy their characters and when the actors are having fun, when they are comfortable in their roles, it really helps the audience enjoy the film too, there will be no Oscars, obviously but I really enjoyed the cast and characters, for once.

Steve Austin especially is fantastic, he just has such presence on the screen, probably because he's built like a brick shithouse, that has other brick shithouses for muscles. I know he's playing a badass again but his characters in all the films so far have been very similar, although his character isn't exactly different here, it's at least mixed up with his survival knowledge and his ninja skills. I mean Steve Austin gets to play a character who actually uses stealth and doesn't just go into rooms guns blazing?! Madness! So yeah, he gets to both shoot people and do some rock climbing. Rhodes would actually make a pretty good slasher villain at times as he dips in and out of the shadows with his compound crossbow, he is awesome.

So do I recommend it? Hunt To Kill may not change the world but I honestly can't think of many better direct-to-disc action films. If you're going to check out any of these Stone Cold films, pick this one, it's awesome.

Think About It!

-Locke