Hunter, The (2011) [Blu-ray]
Adventure | Drama

Tagline: Some mysteries should never be solved

Martin David, a skilled and focused mercenary, is sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger's genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing. Usually a loner, Martin becomes increasingly close to the family; however, as his attachment to the family grows, Martin is led down a path of unforeseen dangers, complicating his deadly mission.

User Comment: lasimp from Australia, 11 October 2011 • I live in Tasmania and I know the country well enough. When I moved here in the 70's it was still considered possible that somehow the tiger had survived in some remote part of the island . Not So. Decades of intensive forestry and clearing and no hints of survival. Still the tantalizing reports occasionally surface. The animal has moved on to pure mythology. Into that scenario comes this beautifully filmed Eco thriller that has a great story line but is also about our beautiful island. The scenes are artfully mixed from various places in Tasmania and the original footage of the tiger is reproduced again for the big screen. How thrilling it was to see that old footage of the thirties (last definite sightings) again.This is the last surviving footage of a peak predator that was not a dog or cat relative but a marsupial and very strange. The film builds slowly and carefully, William Defoe is in a great role which he carries off so well Frances O'Connor and the kids are just entirely in the role! Go see this film if you have the chance and enjoy a beautiful movie I have avoided all discussion of the final 20 minutes go see it and be so surprised!! Its a beautiful and at times tense movie.

Summary: Beautifully filmed Eco Thriller.

User Comment: richard-1967 from United States, 22 January 2012 • Willem Dafoe plays a mysterious loner hired to find the Tasmanian Tiger, which is considered extinct. The film co-stars two wonderful kids and the Tasmanian back-country, extraordinarily beautiful.

What's great about this movie is that in addition to telling an excellent story, it is beautifully filmed and, as a bonus, sent my wife and me to the Internet to look up Tasmania and the Tasmanian Tiger, which indeed is considered the most recently extinct animal. So we learned something too! As for the story, sure you can carp and say it's too far-fetched, or too sentimental, or has holes in it (what story doesn't). But it hangs together quite well and is not only multi-faceted but refreshingly unpredictable.

And the wonderful Silence. Few actors can work in silence as well as Willem Dafoe. This may be his strongest-ever performance, his expressive face being his best feature. Many scenes are told in silence, or rather with only the sounds of the back-country and the excellent movie score.

Dafoe triumphs in a movie that is, after all, ultimately about his well-drawn character. After all, it is called "The Hunter."

Summary: Great Dafoe, magnificent Tasmania, powerful Silence.

User Comment: Anton29 from London, England, 6 October 2011 • An elite hunter secretly hired to locate the last Tasmanian Tiger (extinct but, in this film, recently sighted), get genetic samples for a pharmaceutical company and then destroy all traces of it. He soon runs into serious problems. The Hunter takes you into some beautiful country and has a great performance by Dafoe at its centre and while it does offer quite a few reasons to grumble, I am not. I was entertained, I 'escaped', and I was on the edge of my seat when the danger kicked in towards the end. Only after the credits did I really begin to take stock of the defects and by then it was a case of 'while I really enjoyed it, I must say that...'. Basically, some of the characters and their motives etc. are not very well handled, and there are threads left hanging in a slightly messy way at the end. I imagine it was a bit of a rushed underfunded job. But: beautiful landscape beautifully shot; Dafoe's craggy, haunted presence - alone in the wild forests of Tasmania and, almost like some kind of awkward alien, relating to others; a hint of romance, and some cute moments with a couple of lovely children; the compelling main theme of hunting the elusive Tasmanian Tiger; suspense, and a nail-biting final showdown; and the Tiger itself, were enough to keep me happy. All in all, The Hunter is a very good bit of entertainment.

Summary: An escape into beauty and danger.

[CSW] -4.5- . There is no way that I could say it any better than this Netflix reviewer: "Very slow, very good. William Defoe (actually almost all the acting is very well done) and the cinematography makes a simple script work wonderfully. Great surprise! I wish it was easier to find great movies like this. In an age were major movies goals are to achieve nothing but maximum profit at all cost, this is a diamond in the rough. Enjoy it!" Or this one: "A patient, emotional drama about a mercenary-type loner who discovers what he's really been looking for all this time. Willem Dafoe's performance cannot be praised enough, as the movie relied on him to make the seemingly dull look watchable, and he did it with a grace rarely seen. The guy could make 100 minutes of setting traps entertaining. The cinematography is also worth a mention, as the camerawork was just as important as Dafoe in making the wilderness a beautiful sight, while also putting a daunting tone to its endless evergreens. It's a bit slow, and the 2nd act drags out a thin middle, but the ending is a satisfying one. Dafoe is the reason to watch, and his hunter's discovery of a deeper spiritually is a worthy trip." Again, enjoy it!
[V4.0-A4.0] MPEG-4 AVC - No D-Box.

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