The Hunting Party (2007/Genius DVD)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: B-     Extras: C     Film: C+

 

 

Richard Gere, Terrence Howard and Jesse Eisenberg play three reporters in and around Bosnia trying to find out why a war criminal they seem to be able to track easily keeps evading the U.S. Government’s supposedly massive powers in The Hunting Party.  This political drama/comedy/thriller had much hype gong for it, some of which felt like an Oscar-begging contest, the other part of which acted as if it had a big political statement to make.

 

Unfortunately, Richard Shepard’s film become to self-contained, predictable, Hollywood-like and safe to be effective on any of these levels to distinguish itself from any such film since the 1960s and though the cast is very good, they are not given enough to do.  Once again, a film “based on a true story” relies on that far too often and the 101 minutes does not add up to much more than everything we have already seen.  Only Howard and Eisenberg will have anyone looking at this again in a few years as their stars rise.  Otherwise, this is one hunt you can call off.

 

The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image is soft here, though seems like it would look much better in HD or a film print as shot by Director of Photography David Tattersall, B.S.C., and done not have as much shaky camerawork as younger and/or more idiotic cameramen would give it.  Color is not bad and the print is clean.  The Dolby Digital 5.1 mix is not bad, dialogue-based and as good as it is going to get for a film like this.  Extras include deleted scenes with optional director commentary, full-length director commentary, theatrical trailer, the Esquire article that inspired the film, director interviewing its writer and a making of featurette.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo