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{{short description|2014 action-adventure film by Jalmari Helander}}
{{Short description|Action-adventure film by Jalmari Helander}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
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* Head Gear Films
* Head Gear Films
* Metrol Technology
* Metrol Technology
* Ketchup
* [[Ketchup Entertainment]]
* Waterstone
* Waterstone
* [[Bavaria Film|Bavaria Film Partners]]
* [[Bavaria Film|Bavaria Film Partners]]
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* [[Nordisk Film|Nordisk Film Distribution]] (Finland)
* [[Nordisk Film|Nordisk Film Distribution]] (Finland)
* [[Entertainment One]] (United Kingdom)<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Game (2014)|work=[[BBFC]]|access-date=3 April 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/big-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zodg1njc}}</ref>
* [[Entertainment One]] (United Kingdom)<ref>{{cite web|title=Big Game (2014)|work=[[BBFC]]|access-date=3 April 2021|url=https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/big-game-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0zodg1njc}}</ref>
* [[Relativity Media]]<br>Relativity [[EuropaCorp]] Distribution (United States)
* [[Relativity Media]]<br>[[EuropaCorp|Relativity Europacorp Distribution]] (United States)
* Ascot Elite (Germany)<ref>{{cite web|title=Film #56889: Big Game|work=[[Lumiere (website)|Lumiere]]|access-date=3 April 2021|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=56889}}</ref>
* Ascot Elite (Germany)<ref>{{cite web|title=Film #56889: Big Game|work=[[Lumiere (website)|Lumiere]]|access-date=3 April 2021|url=http://lumiere.obs.coe.int/web/film_info/?id=56889}}</ref>
}}
}}
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'''''Big Game''''' is a 2014 [[Action film|action]]-[[adventure film]] directed by [[Jalmari Helander]] and written by Helander and Petri Jokiranta. The film stars [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Onni Tommila]], [[Ray Stevenson]], [[Victor Garber]], [[Mehmet Kurtuluş|Mehmet Kurtulus]], [[Ted Levine]], [[Felicity Huffman]], and [[Jim Broadbent]]. It is one of the [[List of most expensive Finnish films|most expensive Finnish films]].
'''''Big Game''''' is a 2014 [[Action film|action]]-[[adventure film]] directed by [[Jalmari Helander]] and written by Helander and Petri Jokiranta. It stars [[Samuel L. Jackson]], [[Onni Tommila]], [[Ray Stevenson]], [[Victor Garber]], [[Mehmet Kurtuluş|Mehmet Kurtulus]], [[Ted Levine]], [[Felicity Huffman]], and [[Jim Broadbent]]. The film follows a 13-year-old boy named Oskari (Tommila) in his efforts to protect the [[President of the United States]] William Alan Moore (Jackson) from terrorists who shot down [[Air Force One]]. ''Big Game'' is one of the [[List of most expensive Finnish films|most expensive Finnish films]] ever made.


Premiering at the [[2014 Toronto International Film Festival]], the film was generally well received, with [[IGN]] calling it "a throwback to '80s and '90s adventure movie with a dash of comic book violence thrown in for good measure."<ref name="thr" /><ref name="twitchfilm" /><ref name="ign" />
Premiering at the [[2014 Toronto International Film Festival]], the film was generally well received, with ''[[IGN]]'' calling it "a throwback to '80s and '90s adventure movie with a dash of comic book violence thrown in for good measure."<ref name="thr" /><ref name="twitchfilm" /><ref name="ign" />


==Plot==
==Plot==
<!-- Per WP:FILMPLOT, plot summaries for feature films should be between 400 to 700 words. Please check the word count before making any additions. -->
When [[Air Force One]] is shot down by terrorists leaving the [[President of the United States]], William Alan Moore, stranded in the wilderness of [[Finland]], has only one person around who can save him: a 13-year-old boy called Oskari. In the forest on a hunting mission to prove his maturity to his kinsfolk, Oskari had been planning to track down a deer, but instead discovers the most powerful man on the planet in an escape pod. With the terrorists closing in to capture their own "Big Game" prize while [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] officials watch on satellite broadcast—including the Vice President, the CIA director, and former CIA field operative Herbert, brought in as a consultant—the unlikely duo must team up to escape their hunters.
[[Air Force One]] is shot down by terrorists, leaving William Alan Moore, the [[President of the United States]], stranded in the wilderness of Finland. In the forest on a hunting mission to prove his maturity to his kinsfolk, a 13-year-old boy named Oskari plans to track down a deer, only to discover an escape pod that holds Moore. The pair must team up to escape the terrorists, who are closing in to capture their own "Big Game" prize. [[United States Department of Defense|Pentagon]] officials including the [[Vice President of the United States|vice president]], the [[Director of the Central Intelligence Agency|Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director]], and a former CIA field operative Herbert, who has been brought in as a consultant, monitor the events through satellite broadcast.


Already feeling at a disadvantage as a hunter due to his father's reputation—his father having hunted and defeated a bear on his own hunt—Oskari's faith in himself is further shattered when he follows a map his father left him, only to find a portable refrigeration unit with a pre-killed deer head in it. Moore attempts to boost Oskari's confidence by reminding Oskari that he managed to save him, but they are subsequently confronted by Morris, a corrupt [[United States Secret Service]] agent who orchestrated the attack from on board Air Force One—having become disillusioned with Moore as president after sustaining a bullet-wound that left a fragment of shrapnel near his heart—and Hazar, the mercenary who hired Morris to get Moore to him. Although Hazar decides to put Moore in the refrigeration unit and take him home to kill, Oskari regains his confidence and leaps onto the unit before it can be carried away, cutting it loose from the helicopter and hiding inside it as it rolls down a mountain to land in a river.
Already feeling at a disadvantage as a hunter due to the reputation of his father, who had hunted and defeated a bear on his own hunt, Oskari's faith is further shattered when he follows a map his father left him, eventually finding a portable refrigeration unit with a pre-killed deer head in it. Moore boosts Oskari's confidence by reminding him of his goal. They are subsequently confronted by a corrupt [[United States Secret Service]] agent Morris, who orchestrated the attack from aboard Air Force One after sustaining a bullet wound that left a fragment of shrapnel near his heart, and a mercenary named Hazar. Although Hazar puts Moore into the refrigeration unit and takes him home to be killed, Oskari regains his confidence by leaping onto it before the helicopter can carry it away. Oskari drops the unit into a river.


Discovering that the river leads to the lake where Air Force One crashed, Moore and Oskari swim inside the plane to wait for rescue, but are attacked by Hazar, who sets a time bomb, saying that he has new orders to kill the President now, rather than torture him for later execution. Moore manages to grab a gun and shoot Hazar before he and Oskari escape Air Force One via the ejector seats, Oskari subsequently shooting Morris with an arrow as the former bodyguard leans out of a helicopter to shoot at them; while the arrow fails to penetrate the protective padding on Morris's chest, the shot is nonetheless fatal as it dislodges the shrapnel inside Morris so that it impales his heart. As Morris plummets, he reflexively fires his gun and the bullets tear into the helicopter, killing the pilot. The explosion of Air Force One destroys Morris's helicopter and sends Moore and Oskari flying all the way back to the camp where Oskari's village is waiting for him, arriving at the same time as the [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEAL]] team sent to search for Moore. With Moore acting as Oskari's 'prize', he assures Oskari's father that his son is the bravest man he has ever met, with Oskari subsequently receiving the [[Medal of Honor]] for saving Moore's life.
Discovering that the river leads to the lake where Air Force One crashed, Moore and Oskari swim inside the plane to wait for rescue. Hazar attacks them, sets a time bomb, and receives orders to kill the President rather than torture him for later execution. Moore kills Hazar before he and Oskari escape Air Force One using the ejector seats. Oskari shoots Morris with an arrow as the former bodyguard leans out of a helicopter to kill them. The arrow fails to penetrate the protective padding on Morris's chest, but the impact still kills Morris by driving the shrapnel into his heart. As Morris plummets, Air Force One itself explodes, destroying his helicopter, and sending Moore and Oskari flying all the way back to the camp where a [[United States Navy SEALs|Navy SEAL]] team simultaneously arrives to search for Moore. For his actions as Oskari's "prize", Moore assures Oskari's father, Tapio, that his son is the bravest man he has ever met. Oskari receives the [[Medal of Honor]] for saving Moore's life.


Back at the Pentagon, the Vice President and Herbert reveal in a private discussion in a bathroom that Hazar was originally a CIA operative; the plan was that he would kill the President to inspire a new ''[[War on Terror]]'', but with his survival Moore has instead become a hero. To ensure that nothing can be traced back to them, Herbert kills the Vice President by shoving him back against the sink, subsequently wiping the Vice President's shoe and the floor with soap to give the impression that he just slipped.
During a private discussion in the bathroom at the Pentagon between the Vice President and Herbert, they learn that Hazar was originally a CIA operative. Their plan would have had the President killed to inspire a new [[war on terror]], but with his survival, Moore becomes a hero instead, and the Vice President loses his attempt to become President. To ensure nothing can be traced back to them, Herbert kills the Vice President.


==Cast==
==Cast==
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* [[Victor Garber]] as [[Vice President of the United States]]
* [[Victor Garber]] as [[Vice President of the United States]]
* [[Ted Levine]] as General Underwood
* [[Ted Levine]] as General Underwood
* [[Jim Broadbent]] as Fred Herbert, a former CIA operative, advisor and head of the Terrorist Intel Unit.
* [[Jim Broadbent]] as Fred Herbert, a former CIA operative, advisor, and head of the Terrorist Intel Unit
* [[Ray Stevenson]] as Morris
* [[Ray Stevenson]] as Morris
* [[Mehmet Kurtuluş]] as Hazar, a former CIA operative posing as a freelance terrorist.
* [[Mehmet Kurtuluş]] as Hazar, a former CIA operative posing as a freelance terrorist
* [[Jorma Tommila]] as Tapio, Oskari's father


==Production==
==Production==
Line 102: Line 104:


===Critical response===
===Critical response===
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a 78% approval rating, based on reviews from 88 critics, the critics consensus states "''Big Game's'' enthusiastic throwback vibe will appeal to fans of low-budget '80s action movies, but co-writer/director Jalmari Helander adds a level of smarts and skill that make it more than just an homage."<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes |title= Big Game |id= big_game_2015 |type= m |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=14 February 2021 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]] the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite Metacritic |id=big-game |type=movie |title=Big Game |access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>
On [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has a 78% approval rating, based on reviews from 88 critics, with critics consensus stating "''Big Game's'' enthusiastic throwback vibe will appeal to fans of low-budget '80s action movies, but co-writer/director Jalmari Helander adds a level of smarts and skill that make it more than just an homage."<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes |title= Big Game |id= big_game_2015 |type= m |website= [[Rotten Tomatoes]] |access-date=14 February 2021 }}</ref> On [[Metacritic]], the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".<ref>{{cite Metacritic |id=big-game |type=movie |title=Big Game |access-date=14 February 2021}}</ref>


''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' <!-- THR Staff -->called it "A Presidential rescue tale that's ludicrous, in a good way."<ref name="thr">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-06 |author=<!-- THR Staff --> |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/big-game-toronto-review-730709 |title='Big Game': Toronto Review |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref><ref name="twitchfilm">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-04 |author=Jason Gorber|url=http://twitchfilm.com/2014/09/toronto-2014-review-big-game.html |title=Toronto 2014 Review: BIG GAME, Big Fun That Feels Totally Fresh |website=[[Twitch Film]] |access-date=12 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909013924/http://twitchfilm.com/2014/09/toronto-2014-review-big-game.html |archive-date=9 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> IGN called it "Goonies with guns".<ref name="ign">{{Cite web |date=11 Sep 2014 |author= Matt Patches |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/11/big-game-review |title=Goonies with Machine Guns |website=[[IGN]] |access-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref>
''[[The Hollywood Reporter]]'' <!-- THR Staff -->called it "A Presidential rescue tale that's ludicrous, in a good way."<ref name="thr">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-06 |author=<!-- THR Staff --> |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/big-game-toronto-review-730709 |title='Big Game': Toronto Review |work=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |access-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref><ref name="twitchfilm">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-04 |author=Jason Gorber|url=http://twitchfilm.com/2014/09/toronto-2014-review-big-game.html |title=Toronto 2014 Review: BIG GAME, Big Fun That Feels Totally Fresh |website=[[Twitch Film]] |access-date=12 September 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140909013924/http://twitchfilm.com/2014/09/toronto-2014-review-big-game.html |archive-date=9 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[IGN]] called it "Goonies with guns".<ref name="ign">{{Cite web |date=11 Sep 2014 |author= Matt Patches |url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2014/09/11/big-game-review |title=Goonies with Machine Guns |website=[[IGN]] |access-date=12 September 2014 }}</ref>

===Accolades===
''Big Game'' received a nomination for [[Saturn Award for Best DVD or Blu-ray Release|Best DVD or Blu-ray Release]] at the [[42nd Saturn Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Nakamura |first=Reid |date=24 February 2016 |title=''Star Wars: The Force Awakens'' Leads Saturn Awards Nominees |url=https://www.thewrap.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-leads-saturn-awards-nominees/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220321000705/https://www.thewrap.com/star-wars-the-force-awakens-leads-saturn-awards-nominees/ |archive-date=21 March 2022 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=[[TheWrap]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Cohen |first=David S. |date=23 June 2016 |title=''The Force Awakens'' Rings Up Eight Saturn Awards |url=https://variety.com/2016/film/awards/saturn-awards-winners-2016-star-wars-crimson-peak-walking-dead-hannibal-william-shatner-bruce-campbell-1201802152/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161228123946/http://variety.com/2016/film/awards/saturn-awards-winners-2016-star-wars-crimson-peak-walking-dead-hannibal-william-shatner-bruce-campbell-1201802152/ |archive-date=28 December 2016 |access-date=7 January 2023 |website=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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* {{Rotten Tomatoes|big_game_2015|Big Game}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|big_game_2015|Big Game}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Big Game}}
* {{Metacritic film|title=Big Game}}

{{Jalmari Helander}}


{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Game}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Big Game}}
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[[Category:2010s British films]]
[[Category:2010s British films]]
[[Category:2010s German films]]
[[Category:2010s German films]]
[[Category:English-language action adventure films]]
[[Category:2010s Finnish films]]

Latest revision as of 22:06, 24 December 2024

Big Game
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJalmari Helander
Written by
  • Jalmari Helander
  • Petri Jokiranta
Produced by
  • Petri Jokiranta
  • Will Clarke
  • Andy Mayson
  • Jens Meurer
Starring
CinematographyMika Orasmaa
Edited byIikka Hesse
Music by
  • Juri Seppä
  • Miska Seppä
Production
companies
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 5 September 2014 (2014-09-05) (TIFF)
  • 19 March 2015 (2015-03-19) (Finland)
  • 26 June 2015 (2015-06-26) (North America)
Running time
90 minutes[3]
Countries
  • Finland
  • United States
  • United Kingdom
  • Germany
Languages
  • English
  • Finnish
Budget€8.5 million[4]
($10 million)
Box office$7.5 million[5]

Big Game is a 2014 action-adventure film directed by Jalmari Helander and written by Helander and Petri Jokiranta. It stars Samuel L. Jackson, Onni Tommila, Ray Stevenson, Victor Garber, Mehmet Kurtulus, Ted Levine, Felicity Huffman, and Jim Broadbent. The film follows a 13-year-old boy named Oskari (Tommila) in his efforts to protect the President of the United States William Alan Moore (Jackson) from terrorists who shot down Air Force One. Big Game is one of the most expensive Finnish films ever made.

Premiering at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, the film was generally well received, with IGN calling it "a throwback to '80s and '90s adventure movie with a dash of comic book violence thrown in for good measure."[6][7][8]

Plot

[edit]

Air Force One is shot down by terrorists, leaving William Alan Moore, the President of the United States, stranded in the wilderness of Finland. In the forest on a hunting mission to prove his maturity to his kinsfolk, a 13-year-old boy named Oskari plans to track down a deer, only to discover an escape pod that holds Moore. The pair must team up to escape the terrorists, who are closing in to capture their own "Big Game" prize. Pentagon officials including the vice president, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director, and a former CIA field operative Herbert, who has been brought in as a consultant, monitor the events through satellite broadcast.

Already feeling at a disadvantage as a hunter due to the reputation of his father, who had hunted and defeated a bear on his own hunt, Oskari's faith is further shattered when he follows a map his father left him, eventually finding a portable refrigeration unit with a pre-killed deer head in it. Moore boosts Oskari's confidence by reminding him of his goal. They are subsequently confronted by a corrupt United States Secret Service agent Morris, who orchestrated the attack from aboard Air Force One after sustaining a bullet wound that left a fragment of shrapnel near his heart, and a mercenary named Hazar. Although Hazar puts Moore into the refrigeration unit and takes him home to be killed, Oskari regains his confidence by leaping onto it before the helicopter can carry it away. Oskari drops the unit into a river.

Discovering that the river leads to the lake where Air Force One crashed, Moore and Oskari swim inside the plane to wait for rescue. Hazar attacks them, sets a time bomb, and receives orders to kill the President rather than torture him for later execution. Moore kills Hazar before he and Oskari escape Air Force One using the ejector seats. Oskari shoots Morris with an arrow as the former bodyguard leans out of a helicopter to kill them. The arrow fails to penetrate the protective padding on Morris's chest, but the impact still kills Morris by driving the shrapnel into his heart. As Morris plummets, Air Force One itself explodes, destroying his helicopter, and sending Moore and Oskari flying all the way back to the camp where a Navy SEAL team simultaneously arrives to search for Moore. For his actions as Oskari's "prize", Moore assures Oskari's father, Tapio, that his son is the bravest man he has ever met. Oskari receives the Medal of Honor for saving Moore's life.

During a private discussion in the bathroom at the Pentagon between the Vice President and Herbert, they learn that Hazar was originally a CIA operative. Their plan would have had the President killed to inspire a new war on terror, but with his survival, Moore becomes a hero instead, and the Vice President loses his attempt to become President. To ensure nothing can be traced back to them, Herbert kills the Vice President.

Cast

[edit]

Production

[edit]

The film's budget was €8.5 million (equivalent to US$10 million at the time), making it the most expensive film ever produced in Finland to that day.[4] Although the wilderness adventures are portrayed to take place in Finnish Lapland, the outdoor footage in the film was filmed in the Alps and the rest were filmed in Germany.[9]

Reception

[edit]

Box office

[edit]

Big Game opened in Finland on 19 March 2015 at number 4, taking in $324,321 from 113 screens.[10] The following week it dropped 38% to finish the weekend at number 2, with $199,996 from 103 screens.[10] The film had made $1,420,000 (€1,271,847) as of 26 June 2015.

As of 17 May 2015, the film had a worldwide total of $7,455,218.[5]

Critical response

[edit]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has a 78% approval rating, based on reviews from 88 critics, with critics consensus stating "Big Game's enthusiastic throwback vibe will appeal to fans of low-budget '80s action movies, but co-writer/director Jalmari Helander adds a level of smarts and skill that make it more than just an homage."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on reviews from 18 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[12]

The Hollywood Reporter called it "A Presidential rescue tale that's ludicrous, in a good way."[6][7] IGN called it "Goonies with guns".[8]

Accolades

[edit]

Big Game received a nomination for Best DVD or Blu-ray Release at the 42nd Saturn Awards.[13][14]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Big Game (2014)". BBFC. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  2. ^ "Film #56889: Big Game". Lumiere. Retrieved 3 April 2021.
  3. ^ "BIG GAME (12A)". British Board of Film Classification. 10 April 2015. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Big-budget Finnish film earns positive early reviews". Yle Uutiset. 13 September 2014. Retrieved 4 February 2015.
  5. ^ a b "Big Game". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  6. ^ a b "'Big Game': Toronto Review". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  7. ^ a b Jason Gorber (4 September 2014). "Toronto 2014 Review: BIG GAME, Big Fun That Feels Totally Fresh". Twitch Film. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  8. ^ a b Matt Patches (11 September 2014). "Goonies with Machine Guns". IGN. Retrieved 12 September 2014.
  9. ^ "Big Game (2014) Filming Locations". IMDB. Retrieved 17 December 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Big Game (2015) - International Box Office Results (Finland)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 4 May 2015.
  11. ^ "Big Game". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  12. ^ "Big Game". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  13. ^ Nakamura, Reid (24 February 2016). "Star Wars: The Force Awakens Leads Saturn Awards Nominees". TheWrap. Archived from the original on 21 March 2022. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  14. ^ Cohen, David S. (23 June 2016). "The Force Awakens Rings Up Eight Saturn Awards". Variety. Archived from the original on 28 December 2016. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
[edit]
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