"Big Game" is a film from last year written and directed by Jalmari Helander. If you heard of him, this is probably mostly due to his several "Rare Exports" (short) movies. He is from Finland and this also shows in his work here. Not only is the boy a Finnish actor that Helander worked with in the past, but there is Finnish dialog included and almost the entire film is set in Finland. However, there are also American influences. Or I should maybe say English-speaking influences instead as many of the actors are not from the United States.
I myself was delighted to see Ted Levine in here as well as Jim Broadbent and of course Samuel L. Jackson playing the President of the United States. My title of this review may initially refer to the young boy, but, as the movie goes on, it also applies to the President, who really starts off as a useless weakling. This was also a nice parody on the likes of Presidents turning into almost superheroes in other films when in dangerous situations. He does not and relies on a little Finnish boy to save his ass repeatedly. Special shoutout to Mehmet Kurtulus. I am from Germany and was pretty surprised to see him in here. Positive surprise for sure, he can pull off villain roles nicely. Yes the film is unrealistic many times, but it's lots of fun as well, so you can deal with the likes of the boy shooting one of the bad guys from a great distance with a self-made bow and arrow.
Helander kept this film pretty essential, movie does not even reach the 80-minute mark without credits. But he did a fine job I must say. You cannot even call the film too predictable. Yes it became obvious that the Vice President was in it at some point, but I did not expect Broadbent's character to be a part of it as well. Actually, this is another aspect where this film parodies other films and funnily goes even more over-the-top with the VP's last scene in the bathroom. This certainly made me curious about Helander's work. I recommend it. Don't watch it when you want something deep, but this is great pointless fun. Thumbs up.
I myself was delighted to see Ted Levine in here as well as Jim Broadbent and of course Samuel L. Jackson playing the President of the United States. My title of this review may initially refer to the young boy, but, as the movie goes on, it also applies to the President, who really starts off as a useless weakling. This was also a nice parody on the likes of Presidents turning into almost superheroes in other films when in dangerous situations. He does not and relies on a little Finnish boy to save his ass repeatedly. Special shoutout to Mehmet Kurtulus. I am from Germany and was pretty surprised to see him in here. Positive surprise for sure, he can pull off villain roles nicely. Yes the film is unrealistic many times, but it's lots of fun as well, so you can deal with the likes of the boy shooting one of the bad guys from a great distance with a self-made bow and arrow.
Helander kept this film pretty essential, movie does not even reach the 80-minute mark without credits. But he did a fine job I must say. You cannot even call the film too predictable. Yes it became obvious that the Vice President was in it at some point, but I did not expect Broadbent's character to be a part of it as well. Actually, this is another aspect where this film parodies other films and funnily goes even more over-the-top with the VP's last scene in the bathroom. This certainly made me curious about Helander's work. I recommend it. Don't watch it when you want something deep, but this is great pointless fun. Thumbs up.