Review of Hunt to Kill (2010) by Adrian B — 12 Apr 2013

It's always seemed the logical step for professional wrestlers to try and make the leap to acting. The Rock has undisputedly been the most successful at this (though even his recent wrestling return hasn't helped the grappling game get taken anymore seriously by the mainstream media) and others have had middling success while some have bombed and found themselves fronting heavy metal bands and going on Strictly Come Dancing *cough*ChrisJericho*cough*.

Stone Cold Steve Austin was one of the late 90s wrestling boom periods biggest stars. A beer swilling, bird flipping rattlesnake with a blatant disregard for authority. Austin seemed prime material for Hollywood but he hasn't experienced the same success as The Rock. Austin's movies have been largely of the action variety and most have headed straight for dvd. That doesn't mean to say though that there hasn't been an odd gem amongst them. Hunt to Kill is one of these and exemplifies why Austin makes such a great action star.

Steve is a Canadian border patrol guy who is unable to prevent the demise of his partner Eric Roberts finds himself estranged from his teenage daughter and at the mercy of a bunch of big city crooks who have been double crossed by their leader and now need to catch up to him, and their money, before he crosses into the great white North.

The plot is somewhat similar to Sly Stallone's Cliffhanger but Hunt to Kill actually makes for a better film. The plot is rocket paced and the script tighter than you may expect to find. The bad guys spout their cliched dialogue but each of them has a pretty well defined character which makes them easier to hate. Action movies often live and die by their bad guys and Hunt to Kill's bunch are very fun. You can't wait for Austin to start picking them off one by one.

Like films such as Commando and Sudden Death, Hunt to Kill strikes it's balance just right. There's no massively over the top heroics but a believable scenario with some larger than life characters. Austin lumbers around in a menacing kind of way when necessary and there's some impressive kills along the way. His fisticuffs with former kickboxer Gary Daniels is a great fight combining MMA and wrestling styles. Gil Bellows lead bad guy Banks is an absolute riot and gets to say stuff like "Life is like a bottle of milk - everyone's got an expiration date".

Steve Austin may not be making as much money from his movies as The Rock but it could be argued that Dwayne Johnson has never made anything quite this fun. Hunt to Kill is right up there with some of the best action films ever made. A shining example of how to get the genre right.