Saving Vladimir?

Banned in Russia and Ukraine for wholly different reasons, ‘Hunter Killer’ is the latest military undersea “techno-thriller” in the tradition of such previous films as ‘The Hunt for Red October’ and ‘Crimson Tide.’  Ever since reading Tom Clancy’s THFRO I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for claustrophobic, suspense-filled modern submarine yarns, so the question of whether I’m going to see this or not in the theaters was never in doubt regardless of what the critics thought of it.

Rugged Scottish action star Gerard Butler, perhaps best known for his roles as Spartan King and overall badass Leonidas in Zack Snyder’s stylishly kinetic adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel ‘300’ and “Die Hard” Secret Service Agent Mike Banning in ‘Olympus Has Fallen’ and its sequel, ‘London Has Fallen,’ plays Navy Commander Joe Glass, hot-shot maverick skipper of the state-of-the-art Virginia class Fast-Attack “Hunter Killer” submarine USS Arkansas on a mission to stave off World War III.  The global crisis was precipitated by a brazen coup when the Russian president (the “good” guy) was ousted during a visit at a remote naval base by his trusted defense minister, who turned out to be a power-hungry megalomaniac intent on precipitating a war with the United States.

As much as I wanted to like HK, it ultimately left me with a sinking feeling (pun intended) because it simply isn’t “real” in the sense of being even the least believable.  The geopolitics underpinning the whole exercise is laughable and could have very well been conceived by a 10 year old.  The poor excuse of a plot is weak and the action is uneven, again defying all belief.  While I probably held HK to a higher standard than the typical moviegoer because I’m a “military buff” who had read tons of techno-thriller novels, I can’t help who I am and that’s just the way it is.

Grade: C