Disgraced war correspondent Simon Hunt (Richard Gere) approaches his former cameraman, Duck (Terrence Howard) in Sarajevo five years after the Bosnian War ended. Hunt claims to have located a notorious war criminal, “The Fox” (Ljubomir Kerekeš) in the mountains near Montenegro. Duck agrees and joins Hunt on his quest for revenge, a return to journalistic relevance, and a $5 million reward. Along for the ride is recent Harvard grad and son of a network executive, Benjamin Strauss (Jesse Eisenberg), who learns quite a bit about what war journalism really means, especially when the trio are mistaken for a CIA kill squad.
I really liked this movie because it was realistic. The cinematography didn’t make things particularly lifelike, nor was the acting really superb. Richard Gere, Terrence Howard, and Jesse Eisenberg are all good, but no one stands out. No, it’s the script and story that make this movie realistic. Just like real life, things go from zero to sixty and back again all in a matter of minutes. There’s levity that breaks the tension of near death. Things tie up neatly, but that happens in real life too. Elements of near-absurdity mesh really well with some really dramatic and emotional scenes. Director Richard Shepard did a good job of balancing all this.
3.5/5
Brian's Film Log 