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Samuel L. Jackson is the President of the United States. Imagine how cool that would be. The actor who can speak-shout “motherfucker” like no one else on this planet as the Commander in Chief of this great nation. That alone is worth the price of admission to see this Finnish action adventure flick. Now, imagine Jackson as President of the US of A being protected by a 13-year-old kid on a coming of age hunting journey as shady secret service men and terrorists chase both of them through the Nordic wilds. Got a cheese-eating grin yet? Yeah. I still have mine, too. This is the B-movie territory of Big Game and you, if you like the nostalgia factor cranked to 11, won’t mind it at all.

Recalling the spirited vibe in movies like The Goonies and E.T., Jalmari Helander’s latest action romp is the story of how Oscari (Onni Tommie) and the President of the Free World (Jackson) became the “bestest” of friends. Jackson’s president is a weakling. He crumples at the faintest of sounds and is pretty much regarded as a lame duck by everyone surrounding him. His survival – thanks to a rescue via escape pod – of Air Force One’s forced crash puts him on a one-shoed survival mission through unfamiliar land. Jackson, who is fully engaged and expertly aware of the type of movie this is, brings the noise as only he can. He’s distinguished as president and full of humility as a man.

To Oscari – after he realizes that the President is not an alien from outer space in a clever scene that pays homage to an aforementioned film title – he represents the birth of his adulthood as he is on right-of-passage hunting journey to bag his first deer … with a bow. Tommie, a child actor on the rise, is a good match for Jackson and is well-versed in the lines of dialogue befitting of an action movie from the 1980s. Lines like “These are my woods” come across with a child’s importance and also resonate with viewers familiar with these lyrical tropes.

Helander, who absolutely delivered with the horror-fantasy thriller Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale in 2010, is again flexing some serious knowhow. He’s winking throughout the action that sees Jackson and Tommie dragged through a dense forest by a helicopter attempting to shake loose an extra passenger and using – à la Die Hard 2 – a plane’s ejection seat functionality to escape a massive explosion. His mantra continues to be GOOD DUMB FUN with an emphasis on good.

Like any comic book, this is a lively tale not to be taken seriously. Co-starring Jim Broadbent and Ray Stevenson, Big Game has a cast that pretty much knows this.  Getting this tone done correctly is – again, like a comic book – a serious work of art. Clearly. Some of the action sequences are cartoonish but, damn it, Helander pulls it off. And it completely benefits from fully embracing the concept and the fun spirit that drives this picture to its rather bloody conclusion. It’s unpretentious, highly engaging and, if you want to be specific in nailing down its tone, should be viewed as a companion piece to Jackson’s Snakes on a Plane.

Currently in limited release but available through some cable pay-per-view providers, Big Game never once falters in its design to entertain whoever pays to play it.

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[tab title="Film Details"]

MPAA Rating: PG - 13 for sequences of intense action and violence, and some language.
Runtime: 110 mins
Director: Jalmari Helander
Writer: Jalmari Helander
Cast: Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Ray Stevenson
Genre: Action | Adventure
Tagline: Big Action. Big Adventure
Memorable Movie Quote: ""
Distributor: EuropaCorp USA
Official Site:
Release Date: June 26, 2015
DVD/Blu-ray Release Date: August 25, 2015
Synopsis: Samuel L. Jackson stars as the President of the United States who crash-lands into a Finnish forest where he meets a young boy called Oskari (Onni Tommila) who is out to prove himself as a hunter. Together they must try to evade an assassination attempt on the president.

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[tab title="Blu-ray Review"]

Blu-ray Details:

Available on Blu-ray - August 25, 2015
Screen Formats: 2.40:1
Subtitles: English
Audio: English: SDH; Spanish
Discs: 50GB Blu-ray Disc; Single disc (1 BD)
Region Encoding: A

Anchor Bay releases Jalmari Helander's Finnish action flick Big Game on blu-ray with a 1080p 2.40:1 transfer that is spot on. Colors are bold. Images are crisp. And, oh, the scenery is breathtaking. The Bavarian landscape (masking as Finland) absolutely pops against the accurately saturated fleshtones of Tommila and Jackson. Shadows are deep and black levels retain their edges. With many nods to Amblin Entertainment's past, Big Game is a visual blast that is supported by a fairly bombastic English/Finnish Dolby TrueHD 5.1 audio track.

Supplements:

Commentary:

• None

Special Features:

While sparse, Anchor Bay gives fans a real treat with the unrated version of the film. Now, don't get the wrong idea as there is no nudity or violence added into the film. What the unrated version does is add 5 minutes to the beginning of the story. These five minutes add to the backstory of Oskari and show him training with his bow and pretending to achieve his first kill. They aren't necessary but, from a writer's point of view, they are important in establishing Oskari as the lead character. Very nice.

• Big Game Unrated (with a Dolby TrueHD 2.0 track)

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