Review: Big Game

Big Game is not meant to be taken too seriously. A throwback to the '80s/'90s-era adventure flicks, this second feature by Finnish director Jalmari Helander is eager to please and aims to be nothing more than silly escapist entertainment. Every so often, especially in the final half hour, it succeeds.

Thirteen-year-old Oskari (Onni Tommila) is taken to the Finnish mountains by his father, a famed hunter. Oskari is meant to undergo a traditional rite of passage wherein he must spend 24 hours in the wilderness alone and return with a trophy. Though Oskari is no Katniss with a bow and arrow, he is determined not to disappoint his father, who seems already resigned that his son is not going to be following in his footsteps.

Deep into the woods at night, Oskari suddenly finds himself narrowly avoiding an unidentified flying object as it whizzes past. The thing reveals itself to be an escape pod containing a very special passenger. "From what planet are you from?" Oskari asks as the figure comes into view. "I am the President of the United States," responds William Moore. Moore is played by Samuel L. Jackson, who steps not too far out of his comfort zone to portray a lame duck president who is not exactly a badass extraordinaire.

The President has just been betrayed by his Secret Service agent Morris (Ray Stevenson), a painkiller-popping traitor bitter over his enforced early retirement. Morris has joined forces with Hazar (Mehmet Kurtulus) who is, as is numerously mentioned, a grade A psychopath who has paid an inordinate sum to literally hunt Moore and make the President his ultimate trophy. As the Pentagon team - comprised of the Vice President (Victor Garber), a CIA terrorist expert (Jim Broadbent), a military general (Ted Levine), and a senior staffer (Felicity Huffman) - huff and puff to locate the President, Oskari must protect the leader of the free world from being captured by Morris and Mehmet.

Yes, the premise is ludicrous and preposterous. At least Helander is well aware of this as are the cast, who are game and go with the flow of this lighthearted movie. It can certainly be dumb, sometimes not in a good way, but Helander handles all the elements with a sense of fun. One can glean his inspirations - definitely Spielberg's E.T.: The Extraterrestrial, on which this film feels loosely based; and Richard Donner's The Goonies.

Big Game

Directed by: Jalmari Helander

Written by: Jalmari Helander

Starring: Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Jim Broadbent, Ray Stevenson, Victor Garber, Ted Levine, Felicity Huffman, Mehmet Kurtulus