First Kill

The kid is being bullied. Logically, his dad takes him on a hunting trip, spinning the various virtues of killing animals. It takes courage to hunt, the dad says, and what could be more courageous than shooting a deer from a distance with the telescopic rifle? He needs to learn to stand up to himself, the dad says, and apparently shooting animals is the best way to learn that, and to avoid being bullied.

The action sequences are OK. The movies does not suffer from excessive logic.

OK, there are reviews of this movie here calling it the worst movie ever. I disagree. It actually wasn't bad. Not Bruce's best work but still entertaining. The inconsistencies were not glaring and if you even notice them you're looking for something to complain about.

Teaching a child to handle a gun: this is the part I had a problem with. A few minutes and saying "safety-safety-safety" doesn't do the job.

This movie had decent cinematography, and the directing was a mish mash in various aspects (worked well with visuals but poorly with the actors).

The writing/screenplay was very bad and had too many plot holes and was predictable. The story/concept in itself was not bad and somewhat entertaining, but was executed poorly from a bad screenplay and sub- par directing.

The score was either absent when needed, or atrocious when present. Was it some high school students on strings the entire time?

Finally there's the terrible acting for 2 of the main characters - the little boy (excusable as a young amateur actor but should have been cast or directed better) and Bruce Willis. Seriously Bruce, put some effort into your acting, you used to be convincing. That straight- faced smug look and monotonic voice is passé. Bruce needed part of William DeMeo's over-acting, of which made him unconvincing as well.

Gethin Anthony as Levi had the best performance, and the only character that was convincing. Hayden Christensen was OK, but not even close to convincing in his character. Also poorly cast or directed.

Considering all the "In Association With.." production companies shown at the start that were involved in this movie, I expected much better.

It's only a 6/10 from me.

The film crafts a brilliant atmosphere and tension, Hayden is usually stamped all over by critics for his acting but here it feels genuine and real. He has a believable relationship with his child and while not he greatest film in the world it provides some brilliant entertainment and deserved better than it was given.

I watched this with an open mind until it became clear that the scriptwriter/director/producers must have been in the employ of the American motor industry.

The protagonists drive into the woods in a Range Rover only to be told by Over-The-Top-Aunty, that their chosen 4x4 won't get them anywhere and they should instead drive her yankee pick-up.

A nitpick some might say, but anyone knowing anything about cars knows the Range Rover is the singular best off-roader in the world (apart from its more utilitarian predecessor: the Land Rover). A small point but it marks a complete lack of knowledge, understanding and research.

Then later on the same OTTA offers them yet another truck... and I'm pretty sure that character wasn't running a garage.