Caffeinated Clint
It’s another round of grilled cheese for ‘’Snakes on a Plane’’’s Samuel L.Jackson with ‘’Big Game’’, an unarguably fun modestly-budgeted affair that’ll capture the attention of any unpicky teenager but fail to impress anyone who fancies a glass of Pinot with their films.
Jackson plays the POTUS in the Finnish-produced actioner, a silly hour-and-a-half that pits a stranded world leader and his unlikely pre-teen comrade-in-arms against crooks and some harsh, wild terrain. The plot is as thin as Paris Hilton’s waistline, and the effects and whizbangery seems to have been bankrolled by a local, cash-strapped bakery chain, but the real goods lie in the fun and ridiculousness that occupies each frame. Sure, there’s some kind of subplot and message in here pertaining to a kid’s right-of-passage and it’s also a sweet tale of unlikely friendships and fathers-and-sons, but ain’t nothing going to tie the wacky action sequences and over-the-top choreography of the thing.
Oskari (Onni Tommila) is out in the wilderness, hunting with his dad and other strong-willed woodsmen. In an effort to prove to his manly-man of a father that he has what it takes, Oskari preps for a solo overnight mission in the bush, armed with only his bow and arrow, where he’s determined to show ‘em all. As it so happens, Air Force One is flying overheard, with the President (Jackson) onboard, when Oskari is going about his test below.
One of the President’s traitorous security guys (Ray Stevenson) sabotages the plane, and the president is forced to escape in a capsule. He lands, of course, not far from Oskari, and ends up joining the young boy on his trek. The bad guys aren’t far behind though, so the duo are forced to combine their distinctive set of skills to outsmart, outrun, and outmaneuver them.
Clearly going for something that doesn’t take itself too seriously, and keen to mostly please the ‘beer and pizza’ crowd, director Jalmari Helander (“Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale”) keeps events light and fun, while reminding Hollywood that – even if some of it does look a bit tripe when compared to what Michael Bay produces – action movies can be produced for less than the cost of a dozen wheelbarrows of gold ingot.
