Aimed at male teens the action film Big Game sets up a fun adventure that involves saving the President of the United States. To that audience, it pretty darn good showing how even the youngest of teens can achieve if they try. Even though the story gets a little farfetched, the sincerity and strong will acted out in the film make up for the highly fictional script. Now on DVD your more mature youngsters should enjoy this fast moving adventure.
The President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson) gets ejected in a special pod just before Air Force 1 gets attacked by Terrorists. Landing in the middle of the vast Finland wilderness he’s still in shock from the attack and trapped inside the capsule. Oskari (Onni Tommila) a fifteen year old Laplander who has been sent by his father into the forest to hunt for a deer as part of the ritual for becoming a man, stumbles upon the pod and sets The President free. The leader of a great nation now has to get help from a young teen to find his way out of the mountainous territory. Hot on his heels however, are a band of terrorists who are intent on bagging the biggest game ever.
The film proceeds from there as we find the young boy outwitting the terrorists in his attempt to show he can be a man. Director and writer Jalmari Helander brings his film to the screen with a lot of action and energy. He shows the peril that both Oskari and The President have to go through to reach safety, along with the bravery that grows within the young boy. He does a good job working with Samuel L. Jackson and putting him through some intricate scenes in the middle of a forest and on the edge of some difficult mountainous terrain.
Onni Tommila makes a good little actor showing he can keep up with the likes of Jackson. In some scenes he actually overshadows Jackson (if that is even possible) and becomes the braver of the two. As the young Laplander Oskari he uses some of the tricks his father taught him, shows little fear of his difficult surroundings and puts his life on the line to save the President of the United States. I enjoyed his performance and can see where most children his age will lean what courage is all about.
Jackson does a good job as The President in danger and even adds a little comedy along the way. He not only brings power, but finds himself in some silly situations. Especially when he has to deal with things for which he’s not familiar like falling down a hill in a refrigerated box or diving under the water to escape the terrorists. He’s a very good actor and shows he can handle most any genre of film, including being saved by a Laplander.
Big Game has been rated PG-13 by the MPAA for sequences of intense action and violence, and some language. Since the film does exhibit a good measure of heroism you may want to consider the following: If your tween has been playing a lot of action video games, he probably has been exposed to all kinds of extreme action. But, if you are concerned about the rating than please watch the film first or have an adult watch the film with him. The film’s language while mostly in English also has Finish with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good teen flick that shows best to males. (B for teens)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Ray Stevenson, Victor Garber, Mehmet Kurtulus, Ted Levine, Jorma Tommila, Risto Salmi, with Felicity Huffman and Jim Broadbent
Director and writer: Jalmari Helander
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some language
Genre: Action, Adventure
Running Time: 1 hr. 27 min.
Original Theatrical Release Date: June 26, 2015
Video Release Date: August 25, 2015
Language: English,
Reviewed Format: DVD
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1
Video: Widescreen, Aspect Ratio 2.40:1
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish
Number of Discs: 1 Disc
Distributed by: Anchor Bay Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
