‘Hunted by Night’ stars Jencarlos Canela as a butt-kicking deer hunter

It’s easy to pick apart the negatives in Hunted by Night, the new movie written and directed by Juan C. Bofill and starring Jencarlos Canela. It’s an action movie that embraces all of the action movie cliches — slow-motion fight sequences, villains with cowboy hats, heroes with perfectly sculpted muscles and death scenes where the victim is cradled in someone’s arms and a few final words can be said.

If you’re looking for Shakespearean drama, this is not the movie for you. If you’re looking for nicely choreographed hand-to-hand combat scenes, there’s a marginal enjoyment in the 115-minute movie. Turn off the brains, and try to enjoy.

Brandon (Canela) and his two friends (Al Galvez and Seth Gordon) head out on a hunting trip in the Florida Everglades. They’re away from their families for a little bit and can let their hair down as they search for some white-tailed deer.

Then opportunity falls out of the sky — literally.

Bundles of cocaine are dropped from a private plane right into the general vicinity of the hunters. They’ve obviously stumbled upon a drug operation worth millions and it’s up to them whether they want in on the action. Jose (Galvez) instantaneously starts scheming of how they can take the cocaine and start selling through a cousin who deals in Miami. Peter (Gordon) is along for the ride, but Brandon has some understandable reservations.

This is where the plot ends. From here on out, it’s action scene after action scene. Apparently, these drug dealers are crazed mixed martial artists with a seemingly endless array of kicks, punches and weapons. They attack the three hunters with unmerciful anger and never stop the bloodshed until their boss, Paco (Bofill), tells them to stop.

The action is somewhat interesting and serves as the only purpose for enduring Hunted by Night. Bofill was the stunt coordinator on Charlie’s Angels, Reno 911: Miami and The Substitute, so he knows how to get his actors to fly through the air in violent ballets. As a director, he’s less successful. He relies too much on slow motion, almost to the point where it cheapens all of his fight choreography. If Hunted by Night were played in real time, it could probably chop off 20 minutes to the duration. As it stands, the movie features a painfully slowed-down sequence almost every 5 minutes.

The acting is fine, but honestly it doesn’t take much to populate this story. It seems that most of the supporting actors were chosen for their muscles and fighting skills.

I did enjoy Galvez as the self-destructive member of the hunting trio. His was the only character that actually elevated the proceedings to more than a WWE match in the woods. His quest to sell the cocaine and his commitment to seeing his plans all the way through gives the movie its best arc.

Canela looks the part, but there’s not much to the Brandon character. He’s supposedly a family man whose heart is in the right place. He’s supposedly on the straight and narrow. He’s supposedly the good one of these three hunters. But with very few lines of dialogue and not much to do but kick butt, Brandon feels like a piece of meat sent in to rescue the day.

Bofill has created an action-packed thriller that only works on the most basic of levels. If features punch after punch after punch, followed by kick after kick after kick. Add in a few grenades, machine guns and car explosions, and it’s the recipe for lots of sweat and blood.

By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com

• Hunted by Night

• 2012

• Written and directed by Juan C. Bofill

• Starring Jencarlos Canela, Al Galvez, Sonya Smith, Seth Gordon and Bofill

• Running time: 115 minutes

• Not Rated

• Rating: