2014 - BIG GAME, far fetched but entertaining

After sitting through the disappointing and frankly ridiculous Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters I was reluctant to take on another tall tale of a film.  To my surprise Big Game for all it's outrageous story elements is actually very entertaining.

The film is set in Finland and involves a young boy on his first hunt.  He's desperate to prove to his father that he got what it takes to be a hunter.  For reasons really confusing to explain he happens to stumble on to a plot to kill the President of the United States played by the always game Samuel L. Jackson.  After Air Force One is shot down by terrorists over Finland, the President must rely on the boy to evade the terrorists as they race through the forest for help.

 

The film manages to have it's tongue firmly in it's cheek but still walk the line as an entertaining action/adventure film.  This is no easy task but the director manages to orchestrate the action and story elements in some quite clever ways.  The young boy hunter played by the Finnish actor Onni Tommila interacts with Samuel Jackson very well.  Tommila makes a great action hero in the tradition of an Indiana Jones adventurer and Jackson seems to enjoy his sidekick role.

 

This film is a very tall but entertaining tale.

The film was written by Jalmari Helander and Petri Jokiranta the running time is 90 minutes.