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Movies / On DVD / The Hunting Party
The Hunting Party

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The Hunting Party (2007)

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Reviews Counted:86

Fresh:45

Rotten:41

Average Rating:6/10

Consensus: The Hunting Party is tonally awkward: its shifts from dark satire to serious political thriller create an uneven film, despite best efforts from its game leads.

Runtime: 1 hr 46 mins

Genre: Dramas

Synopsis: On the fifth anniversary of the end of the civil war in Bosnia, former hot-shot reporter Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) mysteriously shows up, five years after imploding on live television and... On the fifth anniversary of the end of the civil war in Bosnia, former hot-shot reporter Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) mysteriously shows up, five years after imploding on live television and disappearing into a self-imposed exile. Reunited with his cameraman, Duck (Terrence Howard), who has been promoted to a cushy studio gig working with anchorman Franklin Harris (James Brolin), Simon convinces Duck to go on a dangerous journey to get an interview with the wanted war criminal known as the Fox (Ljubomir Kerekes), based on the real-life Radovan Karadicz. They are joined by Ben (Jesse Eisenberg), the Harvard-educated nephew of a network executive who is in search of adventure and a good story. Together the three drive deep into Serb territory, facing more intrigue and danger than they ever could have imagined. Writer-director Richard Shepard (THE MATADOR) loosely based THE HUNTING PARTY on an article Scott Anderson wrote for Esquire magazine entitled "What I Did on My Summer Vacation," about five reporters who actually did go after Karadicz, and tried to capture him. Shepard infuses the film with a sly black humor and fills the story with a crazy cast of oddball characters, paying homage to Carol Reed's THE THIRD MAN, which was set in postwar Vienna. The three leads are excellent, especially Gere, who plays Hunt with a knowing grin that often hides what he's really up to. Shot on location in and around Sarajevo, lending the film an eerie reality, THE HUNTING PARTY--which claims at the beginning that "only the most ridiculous parts of this story are true"--is a fun, fascinating political thriller. [More]

Starring: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Kruger

Starring: Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, Jesse Eisenberg, Diane Kruger, Joy Bryant, James Brolin, Dylan Baker

Director: Richard Shepard

Director: Richard Shepard
Screenwriter: Richard Shepard
Producer: Mark Johnson, Scott Kroopf, Bill Block
Composer: Rolfe Kent
Studio: Weinstein Company

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Reviews for The Hunting Party

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Screen International | comment Comment
09/15/07
Screen International
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
10/18/08
Deseret News, Salt Lake City
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/15/07
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
04/23/09
Mark Bazer
Mark Bazer
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | comment Comment
08/01/08
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile

Has a few moments of Hunter Thompsonish comic inspiration, but its vibe feels more untethered by the minute.

Full Review Source: The Stranger (Seattle, WA) | comment Comment
09/13/07
Andrew Wright
Andrew Wright
The Stranger (Seattle, WA)

The Hunting Party looks chillingly authentic. But it also feels too much like it's all over the map.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
09/07/07
Bob Strauss
Bob Strauss
Los Angeles Daily News

A political statement cloaked in the animal skin of satire, Party is more easily digested as a highly effective acting exercise than a brutal karate-chop to geopolitical-soft minds.

Full Review Source: eFilmCritic.com | comment Comment
09/13/07
Brian Orndorf
Brian Orndorf
eFilmCritic.com

The biggest problem with the movie is the tone, which is by turns preachy, silly, mawkish and dark.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
09/07/07
Carina Chocano
Carina Chocano
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Set in postwar Bosnia, The Hunting Party is all over the place in tone and seeming intent.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
09/21/07
Carla Meyer
Carla Meyer
Sacramento Bee

It has the feel of a bold idea that has been watered down.

Full Review Source: St. Paul Pioneer Press | comment Comment
09/21/07
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul)
St. Paul Pioneer Press

"The Hunting Party" is a would-be political satire that paints itself into a corner before leaving a trail of unsightly footprints.

Full Review Source: ColeSmithey.com | comment Comment
09/13/07
Cole Smithey
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com

True to its word, there are plenty of ludicrous moments in 'The Hunting Party', which plays like a buddy adventure film.

Full Review Source: Kaplan vs. Kaplan | comment Comment
09/25/07
David Kaplan
David Kaplan
Kaplan vs. Kaplan

A forgettable contribution to all those movies about tormented, gonzo newsmen, stranded in some hellish outpost (in this case, Bosnia), who drink to drown those terrible memories but are committed to news, news, news.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
09/20/07
Desson Thomson
Desson Thomson
Washington Post

Richard Shepard brings the same obnoxious, flashy style and go-nowhere satirical instincts to The Hunting Party that he applied to The Matador and the pilot episode of ABC's Ugly Betty.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
09/03/07
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine

Lacking any dramatic credibility or historical authenticity, Shepard's thriller about the Bosnian wars is a silly, presposterous fantasy that can't decide whether it's about journalism, politics, male camaraderie, or coming-of-age.

Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
09/05/07
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

The Hunting Party, a misguided espionage spoof directed by Richard Shepard, needlessly insists on the veracity of its plot— -- and that tactic leads to its undoing.

Full Review Source: New York Press | comment Comment
09/13/07
Eric Kohn
Eric Kohn
New York Press

Adorns its bankrupt inanity in the robes of Importance

Full Review Source: CinePassion | comment Comment
08/27/09
Fernando F. Croce
Fernando F. Croce
CinePassion

A mixture of seriousness and humor that doesn't quite gel...easier to respect for its ambition than to praise for its achievement.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
09/06/07
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion

Although the film initially plays like breezy fun, it begins to crumble under the weight of lofty ambitions and a scattershot tone.

Full Review Source: Metromix.com | comment Comment
11/08/07
Geoff Berkshire
Geoff Berkshire
Metromix.com
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 >> >|
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