Henry Cavill has the makings of a movie star and a truly terrible eye for choosing roles. This year, aside from his cameo in a billion-dollar Marvel movie, he starred in two spy thrillers that bombed hard. His performance in The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare was enjoyable, and his performance in Argylle wasn’t a disaster, but that couldn’t save the films. It seems like only a matter of time before Cavill’s surefire box-office draw status fades. Still, he can clearly bring in a crowd, even for garbage like Night Hunter.
Henry Cavill Chases the Night Hunter onto Paramount’s Top Ten
Fair warning: Night Hunter is the most spoilable movie I’ve ever seen. It’s not great, but if you still want to see it, don’t look up anything at all about it. The reviews, the Wikipedia, and even the alternate title pretty effectively blow the twist on this one. That said, the Night Hunter doesn’t do a great job of hiding its twists during its runtime either. Henry Cavill stars as English-accented Minnesota detective Walter Marshall, who must investigate a criminal case straight out of a dozen other movies. Cavill’s not the only star here, either. The young psychologist who helps him is Alexandra Daddario; his boss is Stanley Tucci; he works with Nathan Fillion; and the vigilante maniac who he turns to for assistance is Ben Kingsley. Yes, Kingsley essentially portrays Chris Hansen as the Punisher, only using his daughter as bait. Things go off the rails early.
Night Hunter is a kind of film that’s been very common since The Silence of the Lambs. It’s a thriller about a few professionals working overtime to stop a serial killer. Every element here feels borrowed from another example, from Se7en to Split. It’s almost like a showcase of moments you remember from better movies. It even maintains the familiar terrible view of mental health, to an almost alarming extent. The obvious escalating question is why all of these famous people would sign up for the project. Night Hunter‘s script offers no answer, as it wouldn’t draw most of these stars to the table. The writer/director, David Raymond, is a virtual unknown. It’s not a project that makes anyone look good. I’m most immediately reminded of The Snowman, which was equally baffling with slightly less star power. The world may never know what dragged Henry Cavill into this movie.
Night Hunter is bizarre enough to be entertaining, but it’s just too glum to be fun. Obviously, the subject matter doesn’t exactly open the door to wacky comedy, but it’s willing to go off the rails in ways that only seem to raise eyebrows. The film’s questionable morals never feel intentional. I’m not asking for sign posts clarifying the D&D morality alignment of each action, but it could stand to either revel in bad taste or deliver at least one decent person. Ultimately, Night Hunter‘s central mystery is its greatest failure. Still, Cavill was enough to draw in a few viewers, most of whom won’t leave satisfied. Fans of decent thrillers should probably keep hunting for something better.
