The Hunters (2013)

A Major Disappointment

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

I knew I was in trouble when the DVD opened up with previews for "Space Camp." This is the story of a family of Indian Jones types who hunt artifacts from fairy tales, legends, and history. In this story they introduce the characters as they search for the shards to the broken mirror from "Snow White." The film had promise in the beginning with exotic scenery, but then quickly switches to exotic places like Boston. The plot was a bit confusing as the shards were hidden so they couldn't be found, so they go find them before the bad guys can find them...making it easier for the "Krugen."There is one scene where we see a bathtub Porsche filled with blue Walmart reusable bags which had me shaking my head. Does Walmart really need the product placement? The film was an "Eh-Okay" production, most likely a company composed of Amazon reviewers. Who gives themselves a title of mediocrity? Oh, they're Canadians. My bad.I haven't figured out why no one used a real gun. They used single shot arrow-guns instead, which are bulkier. The acting was so-so. Alexa Vega, the eye candy wasn't convincing as the best lines were written for Tripp (Keenan Tracey) something parents name their kids when they conceive on acid.Kids might like it. This is similar to "The Librarian" series which I thought was infinitely better.

OK first off, it wasn't totally awful. It was rather foolish. The production design was, well, nonexistent. The art direction was dreadful. That being said, there are some somewhat good performances from the actors. I mean a mediocre actor can even pull off something worthwhile with a fabulous script. By the same token, not even the most accomplished actor can do much with a terrible script.The premise was old. The script was really thin. The dialogue was silly. There was no character development. The direction was disjointed. I am pretty sure this was a TV pilot, especially with this choice of cast. Some of the rather cliché scenes support this notion as well, like the closing scene. Please! Every single TV pilot since the 70s has had a similar scene.It's not a complete waste of time...no. I would recommend DVRing it and FF through most of it.

I picked up this movie not knowing anything more about it than the short description on the back of the jacket. That being said I thought it sounded interesting, I pick up a lot of movies like this I'm not always as lucky as I was with this one.The movie was rich with subplots and the main plot itself was quite good. The idea that the items from fairy tales are real and that there is a secret society that collects and protects them without using them is intriguing. The acting was adequate and actually surprising better than anticipated. The locations were nice and went well with the script, not overly staged. I throughly enjoyed this movie!That being said, I truly felt that the idea behind this script deserved MORE. More everything, it left me feeling like I really wanted the next movie but yet felt more like the budget of a TV show. I think this could be an enjoyable main stream series of movies if there were just more meat to it. I mean, why do they carry crossbows instead of guns? I don't want to give too much out I'm just trying to make a point. This is a good movie but the story line has a lot of potential if they could just give it a little more soul.

"Terry and the Pirates" meets "The Da Vinci Code"! Just plain fun! Let's have more…Victor Garber transform himself from a master of rectitude as the Canadian Ambassador in "Argo" to a master of evil as a delicious villain in "The Hunters." Plenty of action and exotic settings for characters who are a cross between comic-book Superheros and the boy and girl next door who find themselves in a fantasy world which becomes all-too-real. Twists, turns, and surprises galore! The stereotypical characters are appropriately stereotypical, while the main protagonists are appropriately human. I had a smile on my face for the whole movie, but for different reasons each time the plot turned. Overall, just plain fun.