MovieChat Forums > The Hunter (2011) Discussion > Muddled mess of a movie

Muddled mess of a movie

posted 13 years ago by Bear1027
53 replies | jump to latest

Extremely disappointing movie with an ending that was so illogical it made me go “What the…?”

A company wants the Tasmanian Tiger so bad that they will (despite their own best interests and logic) kill an environmentalist because he MIGHT have seen one once a few years ago (according to his daughter) and will incinerate a mother and child (even though they were able to break in and steal the coordinates from Martin’s desk without waking anyone) will now respond to Martin’s final actions with “Oh, he found it’s den and killed it. That’s a wrap guys! Call off the hunt.” That’s just silly.

I have three major problems with this movie.

1.) Martin was a little bit of a loner in the beginning and not so much at the end. I love subtle but this arc was nearly non-existent, muddled and unnecessary.

2.) The company’s logic is stupefying. Why would anyone bother to kill the environmentalist or his family? It’s an unnecessary risk. It’s not like the Armstrong’s were keeping a pet Tazzy Tiger in the backyard and weren’t sharing it. To that point, if Martin decided he didn’t want to hunt it, then they just would hire another hunter. It’s not like he ran off with their money. Where’s the motivation for anything the company was doing?

3.) The ending; Martin decides to kill the last of the species to keep the company from getting it?!!?!? That’s nuts! Why not just have him go native out there protecting it from other hunters?!? How does he even know it’s the last one, that doesn’t make sense? Others have mentioned the possible medical benefits its body might provide, but what about just saving it for the sake of saving it?

And don’t get me started on Sam Neill’s muddled story line. Not his fault, great actor but was he friends with loggers, sexually interested in Ms. Armstrong, working for the company (and complicate)?!?!?!?

The story is just so busy making its point that it fails to tell a coherent story.

[–] KatoC 9 years ago

Totally agree with you. I would like to add two particularly odd (i.m.o)occurrences in the movie:
1. The mentioning of a german based company called RedLeaf (the name on the stationary is german, also RedLeaf appears to be a GmbH, which is the german version of a limited liability company, the more common version of legal entities used for a company), without any reference in the later development of the movie. Is it some kind of innuendo? Does the director know more, but than, while shooting the movie, decides not to tell us after all? No idea. Being german, I naturally got interested and was hoping for some bigger picture implications. Alas, none of the kind would show.
2. The fight between Martin and his replacement hunter. I mean, we all know Arnold can't kill 100 attackers single handedly, and neither can Sly, but THIS! First (SPOILER) the ante-character gets caught in the trap. Now watch closely: with an opponent nearby, whom he tied up and threatened to kill, he gently lays down his sniper-rifle (you'd think that someone who owns that kind of *beep* knows better) and tries with both hands to get his foot out of the trap. No before you come hollering, I imagine it is painful to be trapped in that kind of a m-f, but this is supposed to be a pro, right? Anyway, no worries there, since he's evenly matched by the other moron (oh sorry, it was W. Dafoe) who first pulls on one gun and away from the guy, goes on distance (remember, his hands are tied up on the front of his body), sits down, manages to pull out his knife, open it, (of course, never even smelled the thought of simply gutting the bad dude with it), goes lengths to cut his cuffs open (BIG suspense) and finally shoots the guy. Ridiculous dramatic approach. Now, I am by no means an experienced mercenary, so, in reality, and with all the stress that kind of situation probably holds, it may well happen just this exact way. But this is a movie, it's supposed to be realistic, not real. Just my opinion.