Hunt to Kill (2010) – Review

Where to watch Hunt to Kill

2 1/2 Stars

Hunt to Kill begins like Cliffhanger and ends like First Blood, and in today’s B-movie offerings, that’s ingenuity. Typically these flicks only rip-off one blockbuster. Instead of Sly Stallone we have Steve Austin as a border patrol agent, a man still traumatized over of the death of his partner. He is also a loving father to a hormonal teenage daughter. She’s the kind of obnoxious (albeit beautiful) character that is perpetually snooty even while being pistol whipped by bad guys. Hunt to Kill is something of a novelty in that it features no less than three cast members from The Expendables. It comes as no surprise then that the highlight of the film is an extended hand-to-hand fight scene between Austin and Gary Daniels. For fans of either man, that sequence alone makes this required viewing.

As I had mentioned this picture owes more than a little to Cliffhanger, here we have the former Ally Mcbeal star Gil Bellows playing the John Lithgow role. Bellows makes a surprising turn as the lead heavy. He appears to be having fun playing against type in a genre that he is not known for. Instead of the Alps we have the remote forests of Canada. The film starts with a shootout at a meth lab that psychologically scars Austin’s character. Four years later he is still trying to shake the memory of that day. When he becomes involved with a group of fugitives on the run after committing a daring robbery the posse kidnaps the border-patrol agent and his daughter, forcing them to act as guides to retrieve a satchel of bear-bonds lost out in the wilderness.

At about the hour mark the film then morphs into a First Blood wannabe in which Austin mercilessly stalks his former captors and dishes out loads of punishment. The musical score is such a close resemblance to the iconic Rambo theme that the Jerry Goldsmith estate may want to think about legal action. Having re-read this review it may seem as if I am giving Hunt to Kill a negative review. In fact, I recommend the picture. It is a high energy little action picture. It is not on the level of Tactical Force, but it is well filmed and makes use of the snowy scenic outdoor setting. Plus, I had never seen death by ATV before in a B-Movie. It’s the little things that make the difference.

Director: Keoni Waxman
Stars: Steve Austin, Gil Bellows, Gary Daniels