REVIEW: It’s gotten to the point where I more or less automatically dismiss movies Mel Gibson appears in as an actor. As a director, he’s still pretty much at the top of his game (if we can ignore Flight Risk, that is), but as a movie star he tends to get slotted into the same kind of low-rent B-movies Bruce Willis made in his latter era, usually in small supporting roles. You know the type of films—they’re often called “geezer teasers,” and for the most part aren’t worth watching.

But the downside of this is that it’s hard to tell when Gibson is in a movie as the lead, as he’s always top-billed no matter how small his role is. As such, Hunting Season initially escaped my attention, until word got out that Gibson is actually the lead—and for me, an actioner with Gibson front and center is always worth checking out. Even some of his later-era vehicles, like Blood Father and Get the Gringo, are gems.

Sadly, Hunting Season is no gem, as it suffers from the same issues many of Gibson’s VOD movies have in recent years—namely that the directors, in this case R.J. Collins, have clearly had to make do with such a rushed production schedule, from pre-to-post, that the chances of making a good movie are practically nil. Hunting Season isn’t awful, and Collins does the best he can with the material, but there’s no denying that were Gibson not the star, it would be immediately disposable.

That said, Gibson is still an incredibly dynamic lead. While he doesn’t resemble the young, handsome star he was in his youth, Gibson—with his grizzled look and big bushy beard—still looks cool and carries himself with gravitas. There are flashes of the old Mel, or at least the kind of Mel we’d be getting if he were afforded bigger budgets for his action flicks. He doesn’t phone it in, and making it a father/daughter story was a smart move. You believe Gibson as Bo, a guy with a shady past who’s raising his daughter, Tag (Sofia Hublitz), to be self-sufficient and an expert shot (he buys her a handgun for her birthday). Yet he’s also shown to be loving, supportive, and willing to let her lead her own life—making him unstereotypical for this kind of role. Rather than being overprotective, he teaches her to protect herself.

When the bad guys make the mistake of crossing him, Hunting Season is fun to watch. Too bad it takes about seventy minutes of the ninety-minute running time for things to get really good. There’s too much flat domestic drama, making it hard to invest in or believe Bo’s need to do right by Hennig’s January. Tag mentions Bo was named after a Louis L’Amour character, which makes the quasi-western intent of the movie clear, but it lacks any sense of atmosphere. Jordi Mollà is also way overboard as the psycho baddie, with indulgent monologues that make him come off as more of a bad-guy parody than someone with real menace.

Yet when Gibson gets at it, there are some legitimately cool scenes—such as one where he dispatches a gunman with a lawnmower. That scene alone makes it worth checking out. I just wish Gibson were given the kind of material someone like Liam Neeson still routinely gets. I know he’s out of favor in many circles, but I also think he still has fans who would love to see him in an old-school action flick made with real panache.

Hunting Season (2025)

BELOW AVERAGE

5

The post Hunting Season Review: Mel Gibson is still a compelling lead even if the film is assembly line appeared first on JoBlo.

Mel Gibson is in the midst of shooting The Resurrection of the Christ, but before he delivers his follow-up to 2004 biblical epic, he’ll be taking out the bad guys in Hunting Season. Samuel Goldwyn Films has released a trailer for the action-thriller, which you can check out above.

The logline reads: “When a mysterious young woman washes up on the bank of a local river, both the feisty twelve young girl who discovers her and the overprotective father are forever changed by the arrival of this mysterious stranger into their home, and by the ruthless drug lord who will stop at nothing to kill her once and for all.” Raja Collins directed from the script by Adam Hampton. In addition to Gibson, the film stars Shelley Hennig (Teen Wolf), Sofia Hublitz (Ozark), and Jordi Molla (Jack Ryan). It’s set to be released in theaters and on Digital/On Demand on December 5.

I did have a chuckle at Gibson’s character threatening one of the baddies with a lawnmower, which he has a little trouble starting… at least at first.

As for The Resurrection of the Christ, that film will actually be two films. The project will be split into two parts, with Part One set for release on March 26, 2027 (Good Friday), and Part Two will follow on May 6, 2027 (Ascension Day). Jim Caviezel was initially expected to return as Jesus, with some digital trickery being employed to de-age him, but as production began, it was revealed that the role would be recast. Jaakko Ohtonen (Vikings: Valhalla) will star as Jesus alongside Mariela Garriga (Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning) as Mary Magdalene.

Gibson has previously described the sequels as “an acid trip,” adding that he’s “never read anything like” the script, which he wrote with Randall Wallace. The sequel(s) may make one significant change from the first movie, as it’s been rumoured that Gibson will be shooting the film in English, at least in part. The cast of the original movie spoke Aramaic, Hebrew and Latin to create a more historically accurate atmosphere.

Although controversial upon release, with many criticizing the graphic violence, The Passion of the Christ was a huge success, grossing over $612 million worldwide. In fact, it held the record as the highest-grossing R-rated movie in the U.S. until it was finally dethroned by Deadpool & Wolverine.

What did you think of the trailer for Hunting Season?

The post Hunting Season: Mel Gibson uses a lawnmower to take out the bad guys in trailer for new action thriller appeared first on JoBlo.