L'Ame du chasseur

Netflix have done it again, yes they have made another movie that's a stinker.

In truth I have lost count of how many Netflix films are produced by them and they end up being awful.

Let me tell you this, don't believe the reviews that are giving this movie over five stars because it's a lie.

The story is one that's been done a million times before and much better, the pacing of the movie is not good, slow at times and you find yourself checking the time, which is a bad sign.

The fight scenes, Netflix says this movie is like John Wick, it's not the fight scenes are very amateurish at best, the old you go I go fight scenes, we have move Don from those type of scenes years ago.

I wanted to like this and fell for the reps of false advertising by Netflix, I won't fall it again.

Poor characters, including the stereotypical bad rich boss and tough mercenary guy. A confusing net of allegiances and relationships all around.

Too many "filler" scenes, it looks like the editor was required to extend the movie.

On the positive sie, the action scenes are decent and the landscapes are terrific.

Something called my attention: the main character says he grew up by the Cata river (heart of Eastern Cape province) but then belongs to a secret brotherhood from Lesotho? Also, why dues he keep speaking Zulu throughout the move? Eastern Cape speaks mostly Xhosa, Lesotho speaks Sotho...

Yooooo Botha, SA stepped up the game with this one man! So proud of them. I really enjoyed watching this. The cinematography was on point. The special effects was decent for an African production. But the acting was spot on from majority of the cast. I also loved the story, not many times do you get such mature and interesting crime story. I also enjoyed the Cape Town scenery. And no they didn't show table mountain.

The only drawback for me was the weak ending. That was a complete miss. The story could have done with a better ending honestly. It was cheap, it was very predictable and even though they were trying to pull that great spin off, it just didn't work and made the whole movie feel under developed.

If I had one advice for you, it would be skip the ending....cuz it will ruin the whole vibe.

Zuko Khumalo is part of the rebel group, an ace assassin and one such job of his ends up with him feeling guilty. He quits and starts a new life, finding the love of his life and her son. He is now leading a simple life as a mechanic and soon his past finds him. This makes him the new target of PIA whose chief is in cohorts with the corrupt presidential candidate who is all about cutting the loose ends and silencing his dissenters. As the conspiracy gets too much to bear, costing him dearly, how Zuko exacts his revenge and save his loved one, forms rest of the story.

This South African action film has it's moments and when the focus is on the action alone, it works. It is the conspiracy angle that gets bit too worked up and rather less convincing with the writing getting all too convenient. It's a film with serious tone and it doesn't deviate much from the main plot. It may not boast big action sequences but the hand to hand combat followed by the one with spears and machete, Heart of the Hunter remains partly entertaining. The contrived screenplay needed better treatment and though routine, it would've felt better if the focus was on one villain, for the hero to triumph.

Heart of the Hunter: South African Political Corruption/Conspiracy Thriller in which turned government intelligence agencies make use of all of the myriad surveillance assets at their disposal. Refreshingly the main villain isn't white, in fact you have to teach the third tier of the conspiracy to find a white leader though many of the field agents are a lighter shade of pale. Some savage hand to hand fighting, car chases and generally the sort of thrills and spills you'd expect from this genre. The conspiracy is a bit more sophisticated though even if the main crook is a tad in OTT in his portrayal. There is also an interesting secret group of assassins. Certainly worth watching. Directed by Mandla Dube, Written by Deon Meyer and Willem Grobler. On Netflix. 6.5/10.