Big Game (2014)
Runtime:110 minutes
Director:Jalmari Helander
Actors:
US President William Alan Moore
Vice President
General Underwood
CIA Director
Writers:
(screenplay by)
(based on the original story by) and
(based on the original story by)
Production companies:
(in association with)
(Ketchup) (in association with)
(Waterstone) (in association with)
(in association with)
(in association with)
(in association with)
(in association with)
Plots:
A young teenager camping in the woods helps rescue the President of the United States when Air Force One is shot down near his campsite.

Table of Contents

big game

The President of the United States relies on a 13 year old Finnish boy for survival in the action/adventure .  Oskari () is a boy in Northern Finland, who is sent out into the wilderness on a coming-of-age hunting trip.  He comes across the escape pod of US President William Allen Moore (), who was forced to eject from Air Force One, after it was attacked by the terrorist Hazan (), with the help of traitorous secret service agent Morris ().  While the Vice President () tries to locate Moore with the help of CIA expert Herbert (), Oskari sets out to guide the President to safety.

Big Game is the type of film that doesn’t get made too much anymore.  The film is reminiscent of the adventure films that came out all the time in the 1980s and 1990s.  While best classified as an action/adventure, there is also quite a bit of comedy in Big Game.  Much of the comedy comes at the expense of Samuel L. Jackson, who plays the President as a bit of a wimp, who is more about looking tough than being tough.  Of course, the film also features many Jacksonisms, including a very crowd-pleasing line towards the end.

Even though Samuel L. Jackson receives top billing in the film, the film is all about Onni Tommila as Oskari.  It is sort of amazing that a 13 year old Finnish boy is able to stand on equal footing with a star as large as Jackson.  Oskari’s coming-of-age journey is at the centre of the plot of the film and is in direct contrast to Hazan, who is also on a hunting trip, albeit for the “Big Game” of the President.  The plot of Big Game is simply Oskari and the President on the run from Hazan and Morris, which includes some quite enjoyable action set pieces, including one involving a helicopter and a freezer.

While Oskari and the President’s wilderness adventure was a joy, the scenes of the Vice President and CIA searching for them came off as little more than exposition, even though it does feature an interesting cast of characters, such as Victor Garber as the Vice President, as General Underwood, and as the director of the CIA.  Also, Jim Broadbent steals the show somewhat as CIA operative Herbert, who is in charge of the rescue.

Altogether, Big Game is a very enjoyable and crowd pleasing action/adventure/comedy.

 ★ ★ ★ ★ | LIKED IT 

Big Game opens today at the TIFF Bell Lightbox

This post was proofread by Grammarly 

Streaming Info for Big Game

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