The Bounty Hunter, a romantic-comedy, portrays the classic conflict between an ex-couple on the big screen, but fails to impress with its clichéd moments.
Ex-cop and now bounty hunter Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is sent to bring his ex-wife and journalist Nicole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston) to jail after she skips bail. Milo manages to track down Nicole’s location after contacting his ex-mother-in-law Kitty Hurley (Christine Baranski). After a brief confrontation at a racetrack followed by a comic chase sequence, Milo captures Nicole.
With the two thrown together, a hectic struggle between them ensues as Milo is forced to thwart each of Nicole’s constant attempts at escape. Her efforts to escape are quite predictable, yet the humor in her actions still bring out a few chuckles.
While Milo drives back to the city with Nicole in his custody, he discovers that he still has a soft spot for Nicole and plans to make it up for his rough behavior by taking her to their honeymoon spot, the Cupid’s Cabin. Nicole also observes that Milo still remembers more about her than she had expected. The two rekindle an old spark as they spend a romantic evening together. During these scenes, even all of Butler and Aniston’s acting skills couldn’t save the plot from being horribly clichéd. Each line fell into place in an extremely predictable manner. Unfortunately, the love doesn’t last as they end up arguing again, resulting in Nicole’s escape, with Milo being chained to the bed.
The plot takes a sudden twist when the story Nicole is researching is linked with corrupt police dealing in drugs. The two join forces to solve the case. Before their discovery, the movie consists only of a simple plot dealing with a farcical cat-and-mouse chase. Now, an intense investigation is then crammed between comedic romance scenes, leaving the viewer confused and lost. A car chase and Aniston wielding a shotgun doesn’t seem to fit the light-hearted banter between Milo and Nicole and only adds to the confusion.
The plot lacks originality and the lines are somewhat predictable. However, Aniston and Butler did excellent jobs in bringing out the best of their characters. This movie provides an occasional laugh, but could improve on developing a more in-depth plot.
The Bounty Hunter
Two and a half stars (out of five)
Cast: Jennifer Aniston, Gerard Butler, Christine Baranski, Jason Sudeikis, Jef Garlin, Ellie Hughes
Director: Andy Tennant
Running Time: 106 minutes
Rating: PG-13