The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

Games like Overwatch, Counterstrike and PUBG have cracked the world wide market with their battle royale genre. However, history has shown that this is not a lasting trend as other genres arise to take their place. With no single predominant game currently reigning at the top of the industry, what will happen when players demand something new?

The “the hunter becomes the hunted” is a phrase that means that the person who was once in control of their life, now finds themselves being controlled by someone else.

Bruce Willis has been quite busy recently, starring with Megan Fox in ‘Midnight in the Switch Grass,’ Jaime King in ‘Out of Death,’ Frank Grillo in ‘Cosmic Sin,’ and Chad Michael Murray in ‘Survive the Game.’

Despite the fact that all of these films have some action, they haven’t been as memorable as one would anticipate from a film starring Bruce Willis.

The action thriller ‘Apex,’ directed by the action veteran, will be released in the United States on November 12th. Neal McDonough, Lochlyn Munro, Trevor Gretzky, Megan Peta Hill, and Alexia Fast, among others, co-star with Willis.

Edward John Drake directed ‘Apex,’ marking the director’s third collaboration with Willis. Drake and Corey William Large collaborated on the writing. It’s the umpteenth remake of the 1994 classic ‘Surviving The Game,’ which, coincidentally, is practically the same title as one of Willis’ latest films. This film is yet another version of American writer Richard Connell’s 1924 novella “The Most Dangerous Game.”

The Hunter Becomes The Hunted

This film takes place in a future environment with cutting-edge technology, including high-tech firearms. Willis portrays Thomas Malone, an ex-cop spending life in prison for a series of heinous crimes that have earned him the reputation of being one of the most dangerous inmates. Apex, a firm that administers a hunting field in a remote place for society’s insanely affluent, approaches Thomas and offers him a chance at freedom.

Wealthy persons go to the island and spend astronomical sums of money to kill humans for fun in the same manner that hunters shoot animals in the woods. Malone is given the opportunity to become the prey, and if he escapes his pursuers, he will be set free.

Malone accepts the offer, desperate to be free after being imprisoned for so long. The hunters first overestimate their victim based on his age, believing him to be an easy kill, only to be surprised later when the tables are turned on them.

Malone utilizes his stealth to pursue and eavesdrop on his hunters, and quickly discovers that they are crazy murderers who would shoot anything that moves, thus he spends the whole of the film lurking in the woods, eating allegedly toxic wild berries, and eventually turns their scheme against them.

The firm has been converting inmates into prey, and Malone was selected because he is regarded as one of the deadliest, posing a challenge to the wealthy. This narrative is similar to that of the 2020 film ‘The Hunt,’ albeit the latter has a distinct tone throughout, whilst ‘Apex’ opted for full-on action.

The story doesn’t seem as intense as it should be, given that it’s an action film about expert and deadly people trying to kill an equally dangerous person who is not only highly skilled but also considered one of the best professionals on the field, and the larger universe created around the game is never fully explored.

Apex seems more like an early stage of a ‘Westworld’ vacation than a full-fledged hunt.

Willis’ role is very much a non-entity here, much as in ‘Midnight in the Switchgrass.’ Despite the fact that he appears throughout the film, his presence is realized only at the conclusion.

Because ‘Apex’ is mostly focused on Malone as the primary protagonist, it doesn’t make sense that he doesn’t receive nearly as much action as the main character should, leading one to believe that he is included in the film for marketing reasons.

I’m not sure if that’s the legacy Willis wants to leave behind, especially since the previous films he’s been a part of have been so terrible, despite the fact that fans had great hopes.

The storyline of the story isn’t as exciting as it seems. The assassinations are tedious. There isn’t much of a fight until far after the movie has gone over an hour. It’s simply a gang of jerks plotting and killing one another. The landmine explosion sequence, on the other hand, was a wonderful jump fright.

Willis gives one of his finest performances for the low-budget action film, despite not getting as much action as the crowd would have liked. As the twisted, bloodthirsty assassin who always gets his victim, McDonough excels at bringing out the cold-blooded killer who will send shivers down the spine of any target. His scary blue eyes contribute to the suspense of his character’s heartlessness.

The rest of the hunters are just a cast of people that are attempting to conceal their flaws or the excitement of the chase by being strong in this world. West is the brains behind the operation, and she’s determined to grow her company by adding increasingly difficult objectives that will keep her customers engaged and interested.

In the end, ‘Apex’ seems to be a huge rip-off. A few glimpses of fancy-looking planes and transporters, together with pretty awful CGI and a few lines of conversation, make up the future scenario on the lonely island. It isn’t really impressive or aesthetically appealing. There isn’t a single wow element to be found in this film.

In contrast to what Willis’ fans have grown to expect from his films, this one underwhelms to a large degree, leaving another group of unhappy Willis fans.

Since a result, it’s vital to walk in with low expectations, as Apex isn’t in the same league as the A-class films in which a performer of Willis’ star power would feature.

However, it is a simple picture to watch; thus, it is worth seeing merely to be irritated by Willis’ underuse in the film.

RATING: 5/10

The “when the hunter becomes the hunted song” is a track that has been released by The Hunter Becomes The Hunted. It was released on their album “The Hunter Becomes The Hunted”.