The Bounty Hunter (D- or .5/4 stars)
Nicole Hurly & Milo Boyd ('supposed' real life love interests, Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler) are contentious exes in 'The Bounty Hunter', a miserable romantic comedy directed by Andy Tennant. 3 yrs. ago, on the 4th of July, this duo was married. Now they are divorced & absolutely hate each other. Milo, once a cop & now a bounty hunter, is assigned a case that he can't wait to dig his teeth into - locate ex-wife Nicole & throw her in jail! After failing to show up for a court hearing (she'd been investigating a murder cover-up story she's writing for a N.Y. magazine), her bail was revoked & now she's a fugitive (ha). Their reunion doesn't go well; with him constantly chasing her down. They keep one-upping each other. Absurd tongue-in-cheek plot points litter the screen.
And of course, as these movies do, they wind up falling for each other again - because then there wouldn't be a movie. Side note: why any woman would go back with a guy who stuffs her in his car trunk, or why any guy wuld go back with a woman who tasers him ... is beyond me. Rant over. Burgeoning feelings aside, Milo soon realizes that this job won't be as easy as initially assumed, thanks mostly to the fact that Nicole has stumbled onto something huge & there are nefarious criminals who now want her dead. -- Gosh, this movie is so bad -- As soon as Milo enters the picture, they want him dead, as well. A plethora of henchmen hired by main villain Mahler (Peter Greene) set-out for Nicole & Milo. And our derring-do duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure. Gag me.
'The Bounty Hunter' aims to be one of those genre-crossing romantic/comedy/action flicks. Problem is: the romance is both poorly developed & tepid, the characters are unlikable, the comedy is completely absent, every convoluted thing that happens would never happen in real life (just in shallow movie world), & the action is completely unnecessary. So what does that leave you with, a big 'no one cares' throwaway movie; the same pile of sh*t that we see over & over again. There are a few moments of interest throughout the 110 min. (too long, by the way). I liked Christine Baranski as Nicole's gaudy entertainer mom. Aniston & Butler are always watchable. But the direction is poor, the writing is worse, the film looks cheap, & the Aniston/Butler completely phone-in their performances.
If you wanted to see any boiling hot chemistry btwn. real life love interests Aniston & Butler, you'll witness none of it, here. Back to the writing for a second: not only is the film crammed with half-baked, incidental subplots & side-characters (Stewart's kidnapping & CRUEL torture, anyone?), but the dialogue (very bicker-heavy) is a headache-inducing travesty. And when I say that the dialogue is bad, I mean BAD. i.e., whenever a character does something even remotely unacceptable, you've got the other character quipping something like, "you have got to be kidding me", followed by instantaneous generic action music, & a poorly choreographed chase scene. THIS example encapsulates the exact quality & flow of the entire movie.
Let's take a look at some of Aniston & Butler's film history: Love Happens, The Break-Up, Along Came Polly, Gamer, The Ugly Truth, RocknRolla, Nim's Island. Why aren't they giving better efforts? We know what they're capable of (some fun, even award-worthy work), so why are they accepting such garbage projects? But most importantly, why do the crowds still flock to their recent movies? It's inconceivable to me. Other than a few isolated moments of entertainment, Tennant, his team, & the actors give the absolute bare minimum in a film that should have gone straight-to-DVD.
And of course, as these movies do, they wind up falling for each other again - because then there wouldn't be a movie. Side note: why any woman would go back with a guy who stuffs her in his car trunk, or why any guy wuld go back with a woman who tasers him ... is beyond me. Rant over. Burgeoning feelings aside, Milo soon realizes that this job won't be as easy as initially assumed, thanks mostly to the fact that Nicole has stumbled onto something huge & there are nefarious criminals who now want her dead. -- Gosh, this movie is so bad -- As soon as Milo enters the picture, they want him dead, as well. A plethora of henchmen hired by main villain Mahler (Peter Greene) set-out for Nicole & Milo. And our derring-do duo find themselves on a run-for-their-lives adventure. Gag me.
'The Bounty Hunter' aims to be one of those genre-crossing romantic/comedy/action flicks. Problem is: the romance is both poorly developed & tepid, the characters are unlikable, the comedy is completely absent, every convoluted thing that happens would never happen in real life (just in shallow movie world), & the action is completely unnecessary. So what does that leave you with, a big 'no one cares' throwaway movie; the same pile of sh*t that we see over & over again. There are a few moments of interest throughout the 110 min. (too long, by the way). I liked Christine Baranski as Nicole's gaudy entertainer mom. Aniston & Butler are always watchable. But the direction is poor, the writing is worse, the film looks cheap, & the Aniston/Butler completely phone-in their performances.
If you wanted to see any boiling hot chemistry btwn. real life love interests Aniston & Butler, you'll witness none of it, here. Back to the writing for a second: not only is the film crammed with half-baked, incidental subplots & side-characters (Stewart's kidnapping & CRUEL torture, anyone?), but the dialogue (very bicker-heavy) is a headache-inducing travesty. And when I say that the dialogue is bad, I mean BAD. i.e., whenever a character does something even remotely unacceptable, you've got the other character quipping something like, "you have got to be kidding me", followed by instantaneous generic action music, & a poorly choreographed chase scene. THIS example encapsulates the exact quality & flow of the entire movie.
Let's take a look at some of Aniston & Butler's film history: Love Happens, The Break-Up, Along Came Polly, Gamer, The Ugly Truth, RocknRolla, Nim's Island. Why aren't they giving better efforts? We know what they're capable of (some fun, even award-worthy work), so why are they accepting such garbage projects? But most importantly, why do the crowds still flock to their recent movies? It's inconceivable to me. Other than a few isolated moments of entertainment, Tennant, his team, & the actors give the absolute bare minimum in a film that should have gone straight-to-DVD.