Hunt
Watch Hunt on Netflix.
Face recognition is not my strong suit. Watching Octopussy, I couldn’t tell Roger Moore from Louis Jourdan. Watching Schindler’s List I couldn’t differentiate between Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes (which made some scenes even more harrowing, as you can imagine). Hunt has a slew of South Korean actors I’m not familiar with, all dressed alike and with similar haircuts shooting at each other. If movie prosopagnosia is a thing, I have it. And I don’t think it’s racism either; Squid Game had all characters dressed alike, but they were still instantly recognizable. At least Sniper Guy in Hunt has a huge scar on his face, I would have liked more of Sniper Guy.
It doesn’t help that this political thriller set in 1980s Korea has more plot twists than all seasons of 24 combined. Every faction of the South Korean government is at war with the others, four countries are running their own nefarious schemes, everyone is a double agent and every double agent is a turncoat. The action is nail-biting and the set pieces are masterful, but the stakes are so muddled and the ethics are so compromised you don’t know who to root for. If The Woman King makes me crave moral ambiguity, Hunt swings the pendulum a bit too far.
However, this is not a cynical film, as characters acting out of self-interest quickly get their comeuppance and our protagonists do try to follow a moral code. Undeniably, it is wonderful to experience a spy thriller so unfettered by jingoism. Those with high powers of concentration, familiar with the South Korean cast, or weaned on The Americans should give Hunt a watch, the drawbacks described above may just be perceived as strengths.