Hunter Killer

Clocking in at a trim 121 minutes, Hunter Killer does something few contemporary action films accomplish – it’s deliberate, direct, and straight to the point. This seafaring yarn about a Russian coup to ignite a nuclear war with the U.S. is concisely scripted, and the life-and-death action zigzags when you least expect it. Gerard Butler is cast as Joe Glass, the skipper of the USS Arkansas, a hunter-killer sub, but he doesn’t come with the usual pedigree. First, he didn’t graduate from the Naval Academy at Annapolis. Second, he rose from the ranks to his captaincy. After he receives orders to take the helm of the Arkansas, he informs his seasoned crew that he knows their jobs better than they do, and he promises to run a taut ship. Gerard Butler, also a producer of the film, is surrounded by a wonderful cast. Oscar winner Gary Oldman co-stars as volatile Admiral Charles Donnegan, along with Common as Rear Admiral John Fisk, the late Michael Nyqvist as Captain Sergei Andropov, Commander of a Russian submarine, and former James Bond nemesis Toby Stephens as U.S. Navy SEAL team leader Lt. Bill Beaman. Warning: this is not a date night movie. This is totally a dude flick in the classic “submarine” movie tradition. Women will absolutely hate this.

[R]