The Bounty Hunter (2010 film)
The Bounty Hunter is an action-romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant, starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The story centers on a bounty hunter (Butler) hired to retrieve his ex-wife (Aniston) who has skipped bail. The film was released in the United Kingdom and United States on March 19, 2010.[3]
Plot
Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is a down-on-his-luck former police officer turned bounty hunter. The story begins with Boyd hot on the trail of his latest bounty; a criminal he chases from a Fourth of July parade, whom he catches, but is arrested by the police as well. Bobby (Dorian Missick), a friend of his, bails him out and tells him that he needs to get on with his life and forget about his ex-wife which is a mutual friend. Meanwhile Nicole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston), Milo's ex-wife, is an investigative reporter looking through the story of a supposed suicide, scheduled to appear at a court hearing due to being charged with assaulting a police officer (which she later clarifies was slightly knocking into an old police horse while trying to drive around traffic). The morning of her trial, however she gets a big lead on her story and leaves before attending her hearing, thus receiving a court order and removal of her bail rights resulting in a warrant for her arrest. Nicole goes to meet her informant Jimmy (Adam Rose) but just prior to her arrival, he is forcibly removed from his car and kidnapped.Milo hears about Nicole skipping bail, and the promise of receiving $5,000 as his share for capturing her, he believes the whole situation to be a dream come true. He learns from his investigations that Nicole went to visit her mother Kitty (Christine Baranski) in Atlantic City and comes across her at a race track, using his memories and knowledge of her to capture her. After a failed escape attempt, Nicole uses money and her knowledge of Milo's gambling habits to make a wager; if he wins $10,000 at the craps table, he will let her go. He is successful to $8,000 but a subsequent argument causes him to lose everything. After securing Nicole in a hotel room, he proceeds to also lose his paycheck in gambling.
The next day, Nicole uses a tazer on Milo and makes another escape attempt, only to be foiled again when Milo catches up with her. Nicole's leads inadvertently finger Bobby in connection to a man (Peter Greene) following the two of them whose intent is to kill her. Milo and Nicole run from the man and the ensuing car chase causes the man to overturn his SUV and abandon it. They get the name 'Earl' from the car and point them toward a local country club. While undercover, they learn that Earl is employed at a tattoo parlor called Blue Ink, and start making their way there. Bobby contacts them and warns the pair to stay off the road.
They stop at Cupid's Cabin, the bed and breakfast in which the couple had celebrated their honeymoon. Each realizes the other has feelings for each other, but overhearing a conversation with his employer, Milo seems to imply he's only wanting to sleep with Nicole, turning her cold shoulder on again. She eventually handcuffs him to the bed and escapes again; This time going to the Blue Ink. She finds Jimmy and frees him before she is captured by another pair, who are looking for Milo in order to pay off an $11,000 gambling debt. Milo comes to rescue her, and they find out the connection that Bobby and Earl were once friends, both police officers, and a recent move of stored evidence would give the pair of them access to confiscated narcotics.
Bobby arrives and meets with Earl, but Bobby plans to turn Earl in, and there is a shootout, leaving Bobby injured. Milo goes after Earl but is briefly at a disadvantage when he is ambushed by the man. Nicole approaches with a shotgun, forcing Earl to surrender. As Bobby is being loaded into an ambulance, the pair tell him that they implicated him in connection, briefly offending Bobby. Milo and Nicole, while appearing to have reconciled admit that they each need to put their jobs first; a step that Milo takes to turn Nicole into the police. Milo then punches a police officer on his way out, and is also arrested, being placed into a cell adjacent to Nicole. Through the bars they admit their love to each other, and kiss.
Cast
- Jennifer Aniston as Nicole Hurley, a Daily News reporter.
- Gerard Butler as Milo Boyd, a bounty hunter and former police officer.
- Christine Baranski as Kitty Hurley, Nicole's caring, wise, but somewhat perverted mother.
- Jason Sudeikis as Stewart, Nicole's co-worker who has unrequited feelings for her.
- Jeff Garlin as Sid, Milo's friend and semi-employer.
- Coral Anderson as Ethal
- Peter Greene as Earl Mahler, a tattoo shop owner.
- Dorian Missick as Bobby Jenkins, a police detective who is a friend of Milo and Nicole.
- Cathy Moriarty as Irene, a gift shop owner.
- Ritchie Coster as Ray, one of Irene's minions.
Release
Critical reception
The film has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 8% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 114 reviews. The consensus given is "Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston remain as attractive as ever, but The Bounty Hunter's formula script doesn't know what to do with them – or the audience's attention."[4] It also holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 22 out of 100 at Metacritic.[5]Roger Ebert gave the film a star and a half out of four, commenting that "neither [Aniston nor Butler] is allowed to speak more than efficient sentences to advance the plot" and that it is rife with "exhausted action clichés."[6] Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic gave the film three and a half stars out of five: "As formula films go, The Bounty Hunter is more enjoyable than most, even if it packs in as many clichés as any." She also praises Aniston's and Butler's performances, but is critical of the "improbable" plot.[7]
