[yasr_overall_rating]
An Assassin helps a young woman avenge the death of her family.
Sam Worthington has come a long way since his breakout role in 2009’s “Terminator Salvation,” in which he co-starred alongside Christian Bale and the late Anton Yelchin. His next starring vehicle, James Cameron’s mega-blockbuster “Avatar,” followed by “Clash of the Titans,” proved that the actor had a nose for picking good action vehicles. In the years since, he has starred in an assortment of both action-oriented movies as well as more serious fare (“The Debt,” “Texas Killing Fields,” “The Shack”) but “The Hunter’s Prayer” gives the actor the best of both worlds, allowing him some genuine emotional heartfelt moments along the way.
As Lucas, a washed-up junkie assassin, he takes on an assignment in which he must kill Ella (Odeya Rush), a 16-year-old-girl whose father, Martin Hatto (Eben Young), stole from his crooked employer, Richard Addison (Allen Leech), and embezzled millions of dollars. Addison quickly has Martin and his wife killed and assigns the task of killing their daughter Ella, to Lucas. When he finds her at a nightclub in Switzerland with her boyfriend, he cannot muster the courage to go through with the assignment but when he notices another assassin at the same location, he knows that he has been set up. He kills his nemesis and rescues Ella and together, they make their way across Europe on the run, not just from other killers but from the police too. Lucas informs Ella that the only reason he took the job was that his wife and daughter’s lives were being threatened. When they reach England, Lucas brings Ella to a hideout he uses from time to time and realizing that he cannot operate because of his continued drug use, he informs her that he is going to try and quit cold turkey. While he is going through withdrawals, Ella disappears into the night and Lucas quickly ascertains that she is going after Addison, the man who killed her parents and he must make one final decision, to either run away, or try to save her life.
There have been numerous movies about hitmen and the emotional turmoil they go through and “The Hunter’s Prayer” is another good addition to the list. Sam Worthington gives a stellar performance as a man at the end of his tether, who would rather be spending his time with his family, than tracking down and shooting unsuspecting victims. Odeya Rush, who plays Ella, his intended target, is very reminiscent of a young Mila Kunis and together, they form an unanticipated alliance, as he sees much of his young daughter in her and the more time they spend together, the more protective of her he becomes.
The film is directed by Jonathan Mostow, the man who helmed the terrific and suspenseful Kurt Russell flick “Breakdown,” followed by “U-571” and “Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines” and here, he wisely chooses substance over style. It would have been so easy to make another hitman film, filled with explosions and stunts galore and while there are some terrific car chases and moments of action, the story centers more on the relationship between Lucas and Ella, slowly pulling you in so that you realize he is not just another hired goon, that there is actually a back story to his life and a reason as to how he wound up where he is. “The Hunter’s Prayer” is a solid action film fueled by two terrific performances that carry it through to its somewhat expected finale, and proves that there is more to Mr. Worthington than just cyborgs, aliens, and mythical creatures.
Available on Blu-ray & DVD Tuesday, August 8th
