The Bounty Hunter

Andy Tennant's movies have been hit and miss. He directed Anna and the King and Hitch, but also Fool's Gold and this. He should have a better hand at choosing his scripts by now cause this one is a mess.

It's a hybrid of romantic comedy and action movie. It fails in both categories. The characters are one dimensional and under developed. If it weren't for Butler's natural charm I would've ended up hating his character, a drunken gambler who got thrown out of the police force. The action is cliché for the small amount of time it graces us with its presence, and most of the humor falls flat, maybe because you've already seen/heard the jokes before, from other, better movies.

For all their likability, both Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston seem to be on auto pilot. Gerard is his own charming persona and Aniston is, well, Rachel from Friends, though they exhibit some chemistry. Neither will benefit from starring in this movie. Side note: Christine Baranski is wasted in a role far beneath her talent.

That's not to say this is a bad movie. It has some fun moments, though familiar, and it will not seem a total waste of time. On the other hand it isn't a particularly good movie and you will forget about it as soon as it is over.

If there's a bounty hunter to haul in "criminal" comedies, then The Bounty Hunter" should receive capital punishment for murdering the romantic comedy genre. So far this year When in Rome looks even better now by contrast, and, well, She's Out of My League looks even cute.

But this one is a killer. Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is the titular cop who tries to take his ex-wife Nicole Hurley (Jenifer Aniston) to jail because she's jumped bail. Everyone associated with this film except the talented Christine Baranski as Nicole's cabaret-singing, swinging mother should be locked up. I laughed not even once given that the film is paint by numbers plot about exes who still love each other and fight almost to the end to disprove that situation.

Aniston's only observable talent here is to display a well-tended body in tight short skirt (even though she plays a reporter, most of whom could not go the News Awards looking half as good), and Butler shows he still has his 300 abs, muscular arms, and seductive lisp. After those attributes, the stars are on their own with lines to blush over and set ups trite as could ever be conjured.

A bounty hunter is not a real cop, and The Bounty Hunter is not a real comedy. Both want to be much more than they are but will never be. "Book 'em, Danno!"

I was excited when I first saw the previews of this movie. I am a HUGE Gerard Butler fan and I don't believe he's ever done a movie with Ms Anniston. The concept was fair enough...a romantic comedy with a little suspense thrown in. I left the theater feeling..."that's it?" Sure there were a couple cute things here and there, maybe a little suspense, but definitely not enough to carry a movie! The pace was much too slow for me, although I'm sure the actors did what they could with the script they were given. I loved seeing Gerard in Law Abiding Citizen, but this was truly disappointing! I am a big movie fan, but I wouldn't recommend seeing this to any of my friends :(

The Bounty Hunter was better than I expected it to be. It was a chick flick-- but it was cute. It was definitely different and following the men&women chick flick style from The Blind Side. It actually had some action so it was also similar to Mr. and Mrs. Smith in some scenes which was refreshing, but it also had really CHEESY chick flick scenes especially with cheesy chick flick music. However, it's perfect for girls and a very nice film for a Friday night out with the girls or etc. Jennifer Aniston surprisingly was wonderful in my opinion in this film (as much depth as a screenplay allows in this type of film) while Gerard Butler was Gerard Butler. He wasn't as drop dead gorgeous as he was in The Ugly Truth, but good enough with hilarious moments. Definitely a romantic-comedy not to be missed for Jennifer Aniston or Gerard Butler fans. Amazing chemistry between these two.

It is a well known fact that American comedies generally suffer from lackluster scripts, usually employed as vehicles for rising or established stars. The Bounty Hunter is no exception, as its charm lies solely in the joint presence of Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston, rather than in the fact that Andy Tennant (Hitch) is directing. Of course, even two fine actors such as those in this film are no good if the material is beneath their talent.

The story goes like this: Butler is an ex-cop who currently works as a bounty hunter. One day, he is given the opportunity to bring in his ex-wife (Aniston), who is wanted by the police after jumping bail. As he tracks her down and embarks on a hellish journey to take her back home, the two find themselves in the middle of a murky murder case, not to mention a series of situations that put their hatred for each other to the test.

On paper, there's plenty of potential for a moderately entertaining action comedy: think Midnight Run with a rom-com twist. Unfortunately, the film is an uneven mess, jumping from cringe-worthy "romantic" moments to OTT action scenes, complete with clichéd hotel room/strip club bits that have been out of fashion for quite some time. The tonal inconsistencies are reflected in the acting, as well: supporting performances range from passably straight (Jeff Garlin) to borderline ridiculous (Christine Baranski), whereas the leading duo does generally fine when they're together, less so separately, with Aniston being clearly more at ease with the less physically demanding stuff, while the opposite is true for Butler.

In short, The Bounty Hunter is an inconsistent picture that doesn't have enough laughs for a comedy, nor the appropriate direction for an action flick. The best option would be to ignore it altogether.