Killing Season hits Blu-ray and DVD on August 20th from Millennium Entertainment.
I tend to like movies about dudes hunting each other. It probably all started for me when John Woo came across the pond and directed a be-mulleted JCVD in a film I still love to this day, Hard Target. But then I branched out to Ice T’s Surviving The Game (1994) and eventually found some others as I explored the action greats’ filmographies; movies like Death Hunt (1981) with Lee Marvin and Charles Bronson, or even the more recent Seraphim Falls (2006) in which Liam Neeson and Pierce Brosnan mercilessly hunt one another. Whether there are two men on equal footing, squaring off against one another in the wilderness, or whether the rich are paying to hunt humans for sport, there is just something elementally cool to me about man hunting man movies. Maybe I should actually read The Most Dangerous Game at some point, huh?
Killing Season is the latest film in that hallowed sub-genre of films about dudes hunting each other out in the wilderness. Even the tag line boils it down for you pretty nicely: “The purest form of war is one on one.” This time around you have a chin-strap-bearded John Travolta donning a strained and prominent Croatian accent who is out to seek revenge against Robert De Niro’s retired American war veteran.
The entire first act of Killing Season pretends we don’t absolutely know that these two men are going to end up hunting one another. There are some war flashbacks after an opening text screen that fills the viewer in on what happened in Serbia and Croatia in the mid-1990s. (A civil war that turned into a genocide for those who aren’t aware). De Niro and Travolta’s characters of course had a run in, but it works out dramatically that De Niro didn’t really see the young man’s face so later when Travolta tracks down the subject of his revenge at an isolated cabin in the woods, they are able to drink Jagermeister together and bond over old war stories before Travolta’s character ultimately plays his hand.
Besides Travolta’s beard and accent, as well as a flashback sequence that felt low budget and fake, the first act of the film isn’t actually that bad dramatically. It is very problematic because it is entirely just set up and prologue for what every single viewer must know is going to devolve into a fight to the death.
But if you were really hoping for Robert De Niro: Action star… this probably isn’t the movie. Yes, the trailer has a bit of hand to hand combat between these two screen legends, and all the posters and key art promise plenty of bows and arrows. And yes, you’ll get some of that here. But screenwriter Evan Daugherty (who wrote Snow White And The Huntsman and is on tap to write the upcoming Divergent and new TMNT film) really seems to have been going for the drama here.
See, Travolta’s character, like every screen villain ever, isn’t content to just kill his prey. First he has to buddy up to him and then taunt him, offer him tons of exposition and back story, and the real kicker is that he requires a confession of De Niro’s sins. But being that De Niro’s character has left his belief in God behind, he isn’t too keen on the idea of confession. All sorts of cat and mouse shenanigans follow as the tables are turned over and over. Hunter becomes hunted, and vice versa, in increasingly unlikely scenarios.
As the film played out, I was mostly enjoying myself in spite of the film’s bevy of issues. But then when our dueling soldiers stumbled into a decaying church in the middle of the woods I couldn’t contain my eyes from rolling a little. With these two men so obsessed with the process of confession and forgiveness, of COURSE they stumble into a shattered church with stain glass windows and dramatic lighting to boot.
I’m probably coming off a little bit too harshly but I’ve basically laid out the bulk of my issues and complaints with the film. There is a major lack of tension when the whole audience knows where all of this is going. And the suspension of disbelief asked of me as a viewer was simply too much. The blatant stunt doubles, green screens, and on-the-nose confession allegory simply can’t allow me to really recommend this film or entirely buy into what it is trying to sell.
That said, let me dive into a few things I did enjoy about the movie. Both characters have moments in the film of real drama and emotion. I can’t deny that, even if there are more false notes than true ones. De Niro has a bit of a monologue in which he admits his whole isolated lifestyle and even his cabin are all “bullshit” and that he knows deep down he is isolating himself from family and society because of his past. This is a moment in which having De Niro cast in your otherwise merely passable film really helps you out. There is a similar moment in the midst of a lot of clunky exposition in which Travolta’s character finally reveals his story, his path to vengeance, and it is interesting when all is said and done. But the progression of the film is too forced and false for the several moments of legitimate character work to really shine through.
I’m ultimately going to delve into heavy spoilers regarding the ending, which was easily the best part of the film and the most surprisingly fresh element. But I can’t get into it without major spoilers. So if the basic premise and set up of the film sounds interesting to you, or you love these legendary actors, or the prospect of a fairly original ending to this tried and true sub-genre is of interest, then sure… go ahead and check out Killing Season. Otherwise, you probably won’t be missing out on all that much.
SPOILERS
After countless table-turnings and forced action sequences… our leads are spent. You’ve come to realize that Travolta’s character isn’t so much a villain, and that De Niro’s character isn’t so much a hero. They are both old soldiers, perhaps the very soldiers they pretended to be to one another over their bottle of Jagermeister earlier in the movie. Sure, De Niro ends up with the upper hand in the end… but he chooses to put down his weapon. Ninety five percent of all other action films or man-vs-man dramas would have found a way for Travolta to pull one last gun and give De Niro a chance to blow away the villain in self defense. Here, the tired old men simply come to an agreement. They offer a surprisingly genuine confession to one another, extend forgiveness, and walk away. They give each other a chance to right the wrongs of their lives. All the set up that leads us to this refreshing conclusion is forced and clunky. But I’ll be the first to admit that I was genuinely shocked at the ending and appreciated what director Mark Steven Johnson (Daredevil, Ghost Rider) and writer Daugherty were going for. I also had a little more understanding of why Travolta and De Niro might have signed on to a project like this beyond a paycheck (which neither actor is necessarily above doing). The ultimate ending of Killing Season is what the film is all about. All of it leads to a bold and hope-filled statement that we actually can put our wars behind us and work towards a new wholeness. Even the most hardened and cynical among us would at least have to appreciate the intention behind this film, even if all the execution is lacking. With the whole creative team of Killing Season sticking this landing so well, you have to stop and pay a little credit where credit is due.
THE PACKAGE
As I’ve mentioned, there are multiple instances of green screen and questionable set design and flashback-usage throughout this film and that kind of kills the visual element for me. Seeing the great outdoors in high definition is often one of my great cinematic joys, but Killing Season isn’t really a pretty film for which you’ll cherish the visuals.
And as far as extras go, there is one quick little behind the scenes featurette that lasts about as long as your average theatrical trailer. And that’s all you get here.
So the package isn’t much to speak of, and the film ends with a surprising and fresh ending that doesn’t quite make up for the rest of Killing Season’s clunkiness. If you are like me and love dudes hunting each other in the woods, then maybe you should give Killing Season a spin. Those on the fence should just watch Hard Target again. That’d be a great decision.
And I’m Out.