Hyped Up Bounty Hunter Better Off Not Found By Audience

By Kayla Hamilton

Expectations was great as any movie with A-list stars such as Jennifer Anniston and Gerard Butler. Sometimes, however, it is better not to have great expectations. This is the case in point for the built up action/comedy/cheesy romance movie, The Bounty Hunter. Andy Tennant, director of the film, takes a hard hit to his well-earned directing ego with this bland and boring film.

One thing that Tennant (director of movies such as Ever After, Fool’s Gold, and Sweet Home Alabama) does have working for him in this film: the plot. Ex-cop turned bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Butler) is having some rough times. After his split from successful reporter wife Nicole Hurly (Anniston), he has had increasing bad luck and debt. Looking to pay off a little of what he owes, Milo gets a surprise that everyone sees coming. He has to bring in his ex-wife who jumped bail.

While Milo is looking for her, Nicole is trying to crack one of the biggest cases of her career, a murder that might incriminate one of her best friends. She is about to solve the case when her informant disappears. Using her sleuthing skills, Nicole believes he didn’t just disappear. He was kidnapped (not too hard to figure out when the kidnapper is driving away from the scene of the crime as she pulls up and his window was broken into). At this point Milo locates her to take her in for jumping bail, and the fun really begins. The path they take to jail has many unsurprising twists, leaving the audience with a disappointed air of familiarity, as everything is predictable.

Some parts of the film yes, are disappointing. What the director does a decent job of is to make the film at least semi-visually appealing. While it’s no Avatar, it isn’t completely tasteless. The only thing that could be said on this point is that it looked like some time was put into it. The cast list is also very appealing. Although credited to fame as Rachel on Friends, Aniston can (at times) deliver a decent performance as a film actress. Her ‘talent’ coupled with handsome Gerard Butler, seen in such films as 300 and The Phantom of the Opera, does leave any movie buff with a curiosity to see how well they play their parts. They did all right.

That could still be giving them more credit than they deserved. As much as it sucked and as cliché as the story line was, it was at least an attempt. It is just overpoweringly disappointing with the cast that they had and the amount it was advertised to leave a movie so unimpressed. The jokes weren’t that funny or clever, the plot dragged on, and the ending is the worst and best part. It is the worst because it was so predictable and it was also the best because the torture was over. So before going out and spending ten bucks a pop on date night, think again and choose a movie that is actually worth your time because this sure won’t be.