My quick rating - 3.3/10. The story here is a straightforward premise. A group of ex-military members on a mission to recover stolen money clash with a lone hunter who gets to it first. Unfortunately, the execution of this concept leaves much to be desired, making this film an exercise in endurance rather than entertainment. Even with a relatively short runtime of 94 minutes, the movie still feels painfully slow. Its bland pacing and uninspired action sequences left me yearning for something—ANYTHING—to break the monotony. The story is riddled with clichés and predictable beats, with nothing to elevate it above the countless other films that have tackled similar plots (and done it far better). The attempt to introduce a new action hero out of Chris 'C.T.' Tamburello falls flat. His performance as Will Walker lacks the charisma or physicality to carry an action film, leaving you disengaged and indifferent. Coupled with uninspired direction by Justin Lee, who has made better films, the characters fail to leave any impression, let alone make you care about their fates. The technical shortcomings are glaring. The sound design is a prime example, with overly loud, distracting footstep noises drowning out dialogue in several scenes. It’s as if the microphones were strapped directly to the actors’ shoes, capturing every crunch of gravel at the expense of coherence. Add to that poor set decoration that fails to establish any sense of authenticity or immersion, and the film feels more like a hastily thrown-together student project than a professional production. Plot twists, which should inject excitement or intrigue, instead come across as illogical and baffling. They serve no purpose other than to pad the runtime, making the story feel even more convoluted. Simply put, Hunting Games is a misfire on nearly every level. From its unoriginal script to its amateurish execution, it’s hard to find redeeming qualities in this snoozefest. Ok, Danny Trejo and Bruce Dern are here briefly but they cannot save the script even with their star power. If you’re looking for an action flick to get your adrenaline pumping, you’d be better off revisiting old classics because this one doesn’t hit the mark.
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