BIG GAME (Jalmari Helander). 98 minutes. Opens Friday (July 10). Rating: NNNN
Where to watch: iTunes
How does Finnish writer/director Jalmari Helander follow up the demented killer-Santa horror comedy Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale? Well, with Big Game, an action thriller that’s just as balls-out crazy.
In this film, the U.S. president (Samuel L. Jackson, of course) crash-lands on a mountaintop in northern Finland, where he’s forced to rely on a 13-year-old boy (Rare Exports star Onni Tommila, Helander’s real-life son) to help him evade the terrorists who’ve shot down Air Force One.
The modest budget means Helander can only afford a handful of set pieces, but the result is that when it isn’t concerned with nutbar action sequences like Tommila attempting to free Jackson from a freezer unit suspended from a helicopter as it’s dragged through the treetops, the film has to develop its characters.
Turns out that’s a great idea. This is one of Jackson’s best performances in years – his POTUS is just self-aware enough to be fun instead of stuffy. And the kid’s not bad either.
Some subtitles.