Director goes astray with "Hunting Party"

Gere and Howard play the aptly named Hunt and Duck, a TV news reporter and cameraman, respectively, who have dashed through the world’s worst war zones, from Somalia to El Salvador. Hunt is forever on the hunt for hot action footage, while cameraman Duck must duck all the bullets and explosions coming at him as a consequence. Then, in Bosnia, in a village brutally ravaged by ethnic cleansing, Hunt suffers an on-camera meltdown during a live feed on network television.

Five years later, Duck, on a quickie assignment to Sarajevo with anchor Franklin Harris (James Brolin), meets up with Hunt, reduced to peddling stories to whoever will buy. Hunt dangles a major exclusive in front of Duck: He knows where a Bosnian Serb war criminal known as the Fox is hiding. Eventually, Duck bites, so along with rookie reporter Benjamin (Eisenberg), the son of a network exec, the three go on a Fox hunt.

And here is where the story goes astray. On a mountain road in a stolen vehicle, Hunt makes it clear that he aims not to interview the Fox but to capture him. With suspense music worthy of the next James Bond film to encourage them, the trio assume the guise of CIA agents and eventually start to believe in that identity. But unlike a Bond or Bourne movie, which slams from A to B to C to D, this hunting party goes from A to B and back to A again. Wild goose chases and dead ends introduce a host of rustic villains but serve only to alert the Fox to their presence. And would these war vets be foolish enough to talk loudly in restaurants about their plans so that all may hear?

Shepard insists that the quest is personal for Hunt. The Fox’s men murdered his pregnant girlfriend in that village, and he means to "wipe that smile off his face." Which is OK if that’s the story you want to tell, but there goes any comedy. The movie is now a revenge melodrama filled with lame comedic moments that work against the suspense. Shepard actually does a good job of pumping up these suspense sequences, yet the repeated 11th hour rescues stretch credibility beyond the breaking point.

There is credibility, though, in Gere’s burned-out case, who looks haggard even after a good night’s sleep and maintains a simmering frenzy that borders on true insanity. Howard, on the other hand, looks too well rested, having traded war zones for a cushy job in New York. Back in Bosnia, he comes alive again. Eisenberg gets a few laughs as a scared Harvard grad over his head in the real world, but the film goes to that well once too often.

Production values are terrific, especially David Tattersall’s cinematography and Jan Roelfs’ production design. They conspire to make Bosnia still look like a very scary place.

Cast:

Simon Hunt: Richard Gere

Duck: Terrence Howard

Benjamin: Jesse Eisenberg

Franklin Harris: James Brolin

Fox: Ljubomir Kerekes

Magda: Kristina Krepela

Mirjana: Diane Kruger

Duck’s Girlfriend: Joy Bryant

Screenwriter-director: Richard Shepard; Based on an article by: Scott Anderson; Producers: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf; Executive producers: Adam Merims, Bill Block; Director of photography: David Tattersall; Production designer: Jan Roelfs; Music: Rolfe Kent; Costume designer: Beatrix Pasztor; Editor: Carole Kravetz-Aykanian.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter