The Bounty Hunter (2010 film)

The Bounty Hunter
Theatrical teaser poster
Directed by	Andy Tennant
Written by	Sarah Thorp
Produced by	Neal H. Moritz
Starring	Jennifer Aniston Gerard Butler
Cinematography	Oliver Bokelberg
Music by	George Fenton
Production companies	Relativity Media Original Film
Distributed by	Columbia Pictures (Sony Pictures Entertainment)
Release date	March 19, 2010 (2010-03-19)
Running time	111 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$40 million
Box office	$136,303,277

The Bounty Hunter is an action-romantic comedy film directed by Andy Tennant, starring Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The story centers on a bounty hunter (Butler) hired to retrieve his ex-wife (Aniston), who has skipped bail. The film was released in the United Kingdom and United States on March 19, 2010.

Plot

The film starts halfway through the plot, Milo is seated in his car when smoke starts pouring from the trunk. He calls for Nichole who does not respond. He pulls over and gets out to open the trunk. Nichole tosses a road flare to the side and punches Milo before running off, Milo gives chase and the pair fall into the grass some distance away.

Twenty-four hours earlier; Milo Boyd (Gerard Butler) is a down-on-his-luck former police officer turned bounty hunter after he "quit" and was terminated some months prior. Hot on the trail of his latest bounty; a criminal he chases from a Fourth of July parade, whom he catches, but is arrested by the police as well. Bobby (Dorian Missick) a friend of his and a mutual friend of his ex-wife's bails him out and tells him that he needs to get on with his life and forget about her, being reminded on the fact that he himself walked her down the aisle of their wedding. Meanwhile Nichole Hurley (Jennifer Aniston) is an investigative reporter looking through the story of a supposed suicide, scheduled to appear at a court hearing due to being charged with assaulting a police officer (which she later clarifies was slightly knocking into an old police horse while trying to drive around traffic). The morning of her trial, however she gets a big lead on her story and leaves before attending her hearing, receiving a court order and removal of her bail rights resulting in a warrant for her arrest. Nichole goes to meet her informant Jimmy (Adam Rose]]) but just prior to her arrival, he is forcibly removed from his car and kidnapped.

Milo hears about Nichole skipping bail, and the promise of receiving $5,000 as his share for capturing her, he believes the whole situation to be a dream come true. He learns from his investigations that Nichole went to visit her mother Kitty (Christine Baranski) in Atlantic City and comes across her at a race track, using his memories and knowledge of her to capture her. After a failed escape attempt, Nichole uses money and her knowledge of Milo's gambling habits to make a wager; if he wins $10,000 at the craps table, he will let her go. He is successful to $8,000 but a subsequent argument causes him to lose everything. After securing Nichole in a hotel room, he proceeds to also lose his paycheck in gambling. The next day, Nichole uses a tazer on Milo and makes another escape attempt, only to be foiled again when Milo catches up with her. Nichole's leads inadvertently finger Bobby in connection to a man (Peter Greene) following the two of them whose intent is to kill her. Milo and Nichole run from the man and the ensuing car chase causes the man to overturn his SUV and abandon it. They get the name 'Earl' from the car and point them toward a local country club. While undercover, they learn that Earl is employed at a tattoo parlor called Blue Ink, and start making their way there. Bobby contacts them and warns the pair to stay off the road. They stop at Cupid's Cabin, the bed and breakfast in which the couple had celebrated their honeymoon. Each realizes the other has feelings for each other, but overhearing a conversation with his employer, Milo seems to imply he's only wanting to sleep with Nichole, turning her cold shoulder on again. She eventually handcuffs him to the bed and escapes again; This time going to the Blue Ink. She finds Jimmy and frees him before she is captured by another pair, who are looking for Milo in order to pay off an $11,000 gambling debt. Milo comes to rescue her, and they find out the connection that Bobby and Earl were once friends, both police officers, and a recent move of stored evidence would give the pair of them access to confiscated narcotics.

Bobby arrives and meets with Earl, but Bobby plans to turn Earl in, and there is a shootout, leaving Bobby injured. Milo goes after Earl but is briefly at a disadvantage when he is ambushed by the man. Nichole approaches with a shotgun, forcing Earl to surrender. As Bobby is being loaded into an ambulance, the pair tell him that they implicated him in connection, briefly offending Bobby. Milo and Nichole, while appearing to have reconciled admit that they each need to put their jobs first; a step that Milo takes to turn Nichole into the police. Milo then punches a police officer on his way out, and is also arrested, being placed into a cell adjacent to Nichole. Through the bars they admit their love to each other, and kiss.

Cast

• Jennifer Aniston as Nicole Hurley, a Daily News reporter and one of the protagonists of the film. After having been supposedly convicted of an unknown crime, she skips out on bail to investigate a suicide. Throughout the film, she and Milo are playing cat-and-mouse with each other, but later rediscover their feelings for one another. At the end of the movie, she ends up in jail with him, and they kiss.
• Gerard Butler as Milo Boyd, a bounty hunter and the other protagonist of the film. It is revealed that he used to be a police officer, but was fired for negligence. He gets paid to bring Nicole into custody and does everything in his power to do so, but she escapes him every time. Due to the danger she ends up in, Milo ends up helping her solve the unresolved suicide.
• Christine Baranski as Kitty Hurley, Nicole's caring, wise, but somewhat perverted mother. She still holds a grudge against Milo for destroying his marriage to Nicole, but eventually (indirectly) helps them reconcile. She is also a singer at a fancy nightclub.
• Jason Sudeikis as Stewart, Nicole's co-worker who has unrequited feelings for her. He and Nicole made out at a Christmas party after getting drunk, which caused him to develop a crush on her.
• Jeff Garlin as Sid, Milo's friend and semi-employer.
• Coral Anderson as Ethal
• Peter Greene as Earl Mahler, a tattoo shop owner and one of the main antagonists of the film. After kidnapping Jimmy and finding out Nicole's whereabouts, he resolves to eliminate her and Milo.
• Dorian Missick as Bobby Jenkins, a police detective who is a friend of Milo and Nicole (in truth, he gave Nicole away to Milo at their wedding).
• Cathy Moriarty as Irene, a gift shop owner and the main antagonist, along with Earl. She is tracking down Milo due to a gambling debt that he owes her, and sends her two minions, Ray and Dwight (who Milo attacked earlier in the film), to find him and make him pay up.
• Ritchie Coster as Ray, one of Irene's minions.

Release

Critical reception

The film has received overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. The film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 8% of critics have given the film a positive review, based on 114 reviews. The consensus given is "Gerard Butler and Jennifer Aniston remain as attractive as ever, but The Bounty Hunter's formula script doesn't know what to do with them – or the audience's attention." It also holds a "generally unfavorable" score of 22 out of 100 at Metacritic.

Roger Ebert gave the film a star and a half out of four, commenting that "neither [Aniston nor Butler] is allowed to speak more than efficient sentences to advance the plot" and that it is rife with "exhausted action clichés." Kerry Lengel of The Arizona Republic gave the film three and a half stars out of five: "As formula films go, The Bounty Hunter is more enjoyable than most, even if it packs in as many clichés as any." She also praises Aniston's and Butler's performances, but is critical of the "improbable" plot.

Box office

The Bounty Hunter opened at number three, behind Alice in Wonderland and Diary of a Wimpy Kid. It grossed $20.7 million in its opening weekend. Despite negative reviews, the film held well in the weeks following its release. As of July 5, 2010 it has grossed $67,061,228 domestically and $69,031,265 internationally for a worldwide total of $136,092,493.

Home media

The Bounty Hunter was released on DVD & Blu-ray on July 13, 2010. The only extra material is 3 featurettes ("Making The Bounty Hunter", "Rules for Outwitting a Bounty Hunter", "Stops Along The Road: Hunting Locations").

External links

• Official website
• The Bounty Hunter at IMDb
• ‹The template AllMovie title is being considered for deletion.› The Bounty Hunter at AllMovie
• The Bounty Hunter at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Bounty Hunter at Box Office Mojo