I’d like to start by admitting that this “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” movie review came out of nowhere.
I somehow missed that flick.
When I first bumped into it, I was intrigued (and almost bought) by the vivid poster.
Then I watched the trailer and I was already persuaded that it was my destiny to watch that actioner immediately.
It looked different and crazy from most of the flicks that I have recently seen.
So that is why I am really excited to present you my thoughts about “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” (2017) as well as some details about this really funny action movie.
This is an independent, direct-to-DVD action-comedy directed by Robert Kirbyson who is mainly known for his work on short indie films.
“Boone: The Bounty Hunter” which was released on May 9, 2017, is one of his most ambitious projects up to date.
I dare to say that it is also the most successful one.
Already wondering what it is all about? Let’s jump to the plot then.
Contents
The Plot
“Boone: The Bounty Hunter” follows the exploits of the reality show star Boone and his crew comprised of the hacker Denny, his sidekick Kat and the muscular-build Jackson.
Together they bring down delinquent celebrities who break the law with the intent to easily get away with it.
The crew record everything on camera in real time and Boone is known as America’s favorite reality-show bounty hunter.
They use sophisticated gadgets and often complicated stunts to track down and hunt the celebutantes who dare to violate the law.
No matter how rich and famous you are, if you have unpaid parking tickets or you do any criminal activity, you are about to get Boone’d.
While Kat and Denny are technical specialists, Boone and Jackson are the enforcers who hunt down the celebrity thugs.
Boone is a skilled parkour practitioner and his charisma and spectacular stunts gained the show huge fame in America.
By the way, you’d like to check out this ultimate guide for beginners to parkour just to see how difficult it is.
One day, however, the producer of the show announces to Boone that the TV ratings are extremely low and the show is soon to be canceled.
Boone believes that only one episode would be enough to restore the popularity of the show and seeks the perfect opportunity for an interesting case.
For better or for worse, such opportunity arises when a former colleague of Boone’s working at the DEA gives him a clue leading to a powerful drug cartel.
The desperate for fame Boone captures the son of the drug kingpin in Mexico only to find out that he and his crew are being chased by corrupted police officers and thugs who will stop at nothing to kill them.
Soon Boon uncovers more than he bargains for and understands that the real meaning of justice and ratings is not as straightforward as he thinks it is.
The Cast
A solid movie is made with a solid cast.
By solid, I don’t necessarily mean famous, even though most of the actors participating in the movie are popular.
I rather mean actors performing with enthusiasm.
This is the case with the cast of “Boone: The Bounty Hunter”.
In the role of Boone, we see another WWE star with acting aspirations – John Hennigan (“Hercules: Reborn, “Sharknado 5”) also known as Johnny Nitro and Johnny Mundo.
John has all it takes to look perfect as the muscular-build Boone – the towering height combined with big biceps, the ability to perform his own stunts and the gotta-have on-screen charisma.
The strikingly-beautiful Spencer Grammer, mostly known for her role as Casey Cartwright on the ABC Family College comedy-drama “Greek”, plays Kat – an important part of the reality show’s crew.
Osric Chau (“Supernatural”) is in the role of Denny who is a skilled hacker who has a crush on Kat.
In the rest of the cast we can also spot the UFC star Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lorenzo Lamas (“Renegade”) as the tough bartender Walker, Jonathan Lipnicki (“Stuart Little”) as Ryan – the spoiled son of the drug lord, and Lesley Fera (“Pretty Little Liars”) as the producer Madame Sylvia.
The actor from ‘Hercules: The Legendary Journeys’ Kevin Sorbo and Erika Eleniak (“Under Siege”, “Baywatch”) have funny cameos, as they get Boone’d.
The Asian beauty Jane Park Smith in the role of the badass Tess does a great job as a villain and shows some mind-blowing martial arts techniques.
The world-class martial artist T.J Storm also has a small but significant role as Benicio Cardoza – a mercenary working for the drug cartel who is a highly-skilled killer specializing in close combat.
Richard Tyson (“Black Hawk Down”, “There’s Something About Mary”) is also convincing in the role of the powerful drug kingpin Cole who is ready to sacrifice even his own son for money.
Why ‘Boone: The Bounty Hunter’ Is An Elite Action Movie?
At first, I thought that this is going to be just another cheap b-flick with so poor execution that it will make me laugh hysterically.
It is not the quality of the movie that made me laugh, however, but the witty dialogue, the comic situations that the characters get involved in and the amusing comedy which is very well-positioned throughout the story.
The action kicks off with the introduction of the film showing us Kevin Sorbo desperately running from the relentless Boone who performs exhilarating parkour stunts in order to catch the guilty as charged celebrity.
When the chase passes through the home of an old lady, she politely asks Boone to give her an autograph on her breasts and the long-haired stuntman doesn’t disappoint her.
The boiling point occurs when Boone and his crew go to Mexico to kidnap Ryan – the son of the drug lord Cole, in a desperate search for an intriguing scenario for their next reality-show episode.
Boone spectacularly infiltrates a local bar turned into a whorehouse in order to catch the lascivious Ryan and slips him out of the bed where he lies with two prostitutes.
Here we see some intense fighting scenes and one must give the proper credit to John Hennigan who does an awesome stunt work.
From that moment on, the action almost never stops and the story keeps fiercely developing while Boone and company are being constantly chased by police officers and the thugs led by Cole.
Soon we found ourselves deeply sympathizing with the main characters while sitting on the edge of our seats, profoundly involved in the plot line until the explosive finale.
The Action Scenes (Stunt Work)
“Boone: The Bounty Hunter” includes a huge number of impressive stunts and eye-catching martial arts sequences.
The stunt work in the movie is truly mesmerizing as most of the actors perform their own tricks and acrobatic moves.
It is visible that John Hennigan feels very comfortable executing complicated parkour flips and jumps as well as wrestling techniques, practiced on the WWE ring.
The fight between Boone and the twins Juan Cardoza and Benicio Cardoza is super fun and spectacular to watch.
The martial arts sequences are very well-choreographed and both T.J. Storm and Lateef Crowder show their badass fighting skills.
The Asian born Jane Park Smith is wonderful as the ninja-skilled Tess and we see why her character is a woman that nobody would want to fight with.
Except for Kat who at one point confronts her and we witness a savage girl fight.
It is rare to see a parkour action movie, containing such an amount of perfectly executed action scenes.
The Acting
All the actors do a great job in portraying their characters.
They act with such an enthusiasm that it totally compensates the naïve plot.
During the end subtitles we see some cut scenes and from them, it is visible that all the actors have great fun while shooting the movie.
It is like they are doing it just for pure pleasure and in fact, this is not far from the truth.
A curious fact is that John Hennigan (who also co-wrote the script) reportedly sold his house and cut his salary in order to be able to self-fund the completion of the film.
Violence and Nudity
This is an action-comedy movie.
With that being said, you don’t have to be surprised if you see some violent fights or girls in bikini.
That’s what we all love to see in an actioner, right?
Overall, there aren’t any gruesome scenes or explicit nudity and the level of profanity is law.
However, be advised that the content rating certificate is TV-14, meaning that the movie is not suitable for children under 14.
The Soundtrack
“Boone: The Bounty Hunter” has a pumping soundtrack which solidifies the intense action.
The genre of the tracks used is mostly alternative rock and believe me that really gets you in the mood and immerses you into the story.
Final Verdict
“Boone: The Bounty Hunter” is just another proof that low-budgeted movies can also be quality movies.
There is one important ‘if’, though.
You can make a quality action-comedy movie only if you put a solid amount of enthusiasm in the whole process.
That is exactly the case with this highly entertaining parkour flick.
With a bit naïve, yet original and engaging plot, “Boone: The Bounty Hunter” delivers intense action, combined with witty humor and lovable characters.
This is a movie that doesn’t pretend to be more than it actually is and in this case, this happens to be a successful formula.
It hits the spot with a blast.
Did we just witness the birth of an exciting action-comedy franchise?
We’ll have to wait and see!
Meanwhile, if you are a celebrity, stay away from getting Boone’d!
Did you have a chance to watch the movie already? Share your thoughts in the comments below!