Movie Review: The Bounty Hunter

The Bounty Hunter

PG-13 for sexual content including suggestive comments, language
and some violence.
Genre: Action, comedy
Running Time: 1 hour 46 minutes

Milo Boyd, a down on his luck bounty hunter, gets his dream job when he’s assigned to track down his bail-jumping ex-wife, reporter, Nicole Hurly. Of course Boyd thinks he’s heading to an easy payday. But, when Nicole gives him the slip so she can chase a lead on a murder cover-up, Milo realizes that nothing ever goes simply with him and Nicole. The exes continually one-up each other – until they find themselves on the run for their lives!

They thought their promise to love, honor and obey was tough…
But staying alive is going to be a whole lot tougher.

Not Your Run Of The Mill Romantic Comedy

Just what we need. Another sloppy romantic comedy with predictable elements, story line and acting as we find Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler appearing on the big screen together in The Bounty Hunter.

Honestly, that’s what I was thinking heading into this movie. As a result, I also said this latest Aniston/Butler movie would either be really good – or – really bad. Watching the trailers had some funny moments, but did the trailer contain all the funny parts? There’s really no middle ground when it comes to preconceived notions about The Bounty Hunter.

So, what did we think after sitting through about an hour and 45 minutes of The Bounty Hunter?

When all was said and done, we were pleasantly surprised!

The genre for The Bounty Hunter says action, comedy. But, we wondered if it would have a romantic side too. While that is present, it certainly isn’t the main theme. That’s really the secret and genius of this movie. But, at the same time, while it’s a secret, it also has the potential to hurt ticket sales for The Bounty Hunter. Many moviegoers watch the trailers thinking it will be nothing more than another sloppy romantic comedy starring Jennifer Aniston. I do believe many people are tired with her type-cast roles.

When it comes to acting, Gerard Butler is the one who carries this movie. Jennifer Aniston is pretty much just along for the ride and eye-candy for the movie. While Aniston can carry a scene, for the most part she really hasn’t been able to break out of the Friends genre when it comes to acting. I don’t see a lot of acting growth here.

Not A Strong Movie – But An Okay Movie

As already mentioned, when it comes to acting, if it weren’t for Gerard Butler, The Bounty Hunter may have been a total loss.

Yes, we did laugh during the movie and we’re happy to report that all the funny parts are not in the trailer. But, at times The Bounty Hunter seems to struggle to keep your attention. The action, intrigue and suspense in this somewhat of a who-dun-nit flick does keep your attention. However, when the script writers fall into romantic comedy mode working with the relationship between the Butler and Aniston characters, at times the movie slows to an almost complete stop.

As for the rating, with a PG-13 rating, we have to say The Bounty Hunter is a cautionary family-friendly movie. While there are no steamy sex scenes, the content is a little on the heavy side at times to say it’s family-friendly. In all honesty, teens much under the age of say 15 or 16 would probably end up being bored through the flick.

When all is said and done, while The Bounty Hunter is funny and worth the price of admission, even though it’s not a really strong movie. There are a few lessons about what makes a good relationship sprinkled along the way which also adds to the redeeming factors for this movie.

But in the end, The Bounty Hunter probably best fits into the “turn your mind off and laugh” category.

Enjoy the show!
Dr. Rus