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The Hunter
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63 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 15 Critics What's this?

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  • Summary: The Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary 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. (Magnolia Pictures)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 15
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 15
  3. Negative: 0 out of 15
  1. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Stephen Holden
    Apr 5, 2012
    90
    The Hunter never declares who is good or bad or right or wrong. And the implications of Martin's decision when the moment of truth finally arrives are left for the viewer to unravel.
  2. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    Apr 27, 2012
    88
    To keep serious cinema from going extinct, this could be sold as "The Hunger Games" cross-bred with "The Lorax," but it's better and more mature than either of those hit movies.
  3. Time Out New York
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rothkopf
    Apr 3, 2012
    60
    You watch Dafoe's intelligent hands skillfully setting traps, building fires and squeezing triggers, and wonder if an entire movie might be made of such manly components. Probably not.

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  2. Mixed: 1 out of 1
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  1. FDT44
    5
    Though "The Hunter" has an aptly casted protagonist, Willem Dafoe, as fitting for the film as any actor, it fails to consummate any real solution; audiences are left waiting for the hunt through inquisitive lens, are briefly interrupted with forays into detractingly impertinent melodramma (the remote farmhouse with a grieving drug-addled mother and her two vexatious children), and then are met with poetic, philosophical, and transcendental overtones, which although are redeeming, feel forced and ultimately come too late. What television director, Daniel Nettheim, gets wrong is that he leans too heavily on the flinty, chisel-featured Dafoe, who single-handedly dominates the film's action, with no support from anyone else but Sam Neil, who is confoundingly given too inconsequential a role--he deserves better. As mentioned, Dafoe is great, again solidifying his prowess as a physical actor; he is so engrossing to watch, one can't help but wonder if his maniliness--gathering wood for fire, preparing traps, and taking aim at targets--can be made into his own television show; he's more rugged, raw, and untamed than other reality-TV survivalists. But, perhaps the most captivating element of 'Hunter' is its astounding cinematography from Robert Humphrey, who wonderfully captures the Tasmanian frondescence; the lush Tasmanian buttongrass and enchanting mountain peaks serve as effective backdrops to the increasing unease and dread. Overall, "The Hunter" is an ecological think piece that is aided by a strong lead and wonderous landscape, but suffers to actualize itself into anything but, "what if..." One is likely to leave the theater changed, thinking about it long after the credits have rolled, but such contemplation can't be had without a heaping sense of displeasure over the film's concluding irresolution. Put briefly: "The Hunter" is lean.… Expand
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