Hunter Reviews

Have you ever wondered what the worst part of being human is? This film seems to define it in one word - emotion. The ability to feel and enjoy or destroy the world around you.

The film opens with an obvious fictional future, but one that is quite possible (given if you pay much attention to the headlines). Thus was created The Grammaton Cleric. Masters of the "Gun Kata”, a form of martial arts that statically makes the user of said art an unstoppable combatant, and slaves to the in story drug called "Prozium" meant to kill those pesky emotions that drive us. "Their sole purpose is to eradicate the source of Man's inhumanity to Man, his ability to feel."

John Preston (Bale) a Cleric of the highest order and his at the time partner Partridge (Sean Bean) doing what they do best hunting and killing "sense offenders" who've stockpiled various forms of art, music, literature, (all things that my fellow Corpses hold dear) and after they are all killed by these clerics, these pieces of various art are burned Farenheight 451 style.

Afterward Preston and partner head back to Librium, Partridge with a piece of contraband literature saying that he'll make sure to get it logged and destroyed. He doesn't (of course) which leads Preston to doubt his partner and eventually kill him. Afterward in what is portrayed as a pure mistake, Preston misses his morning shot of Prozium. Thus it begins...his descent into being human.

Enter Brandt (Diggs), Preston’s replacement partner who also is "intuitive" like Preston. Able to sense what others are feeling before they realize it. Their first venture into the outside world introduces Mary O’Brien (Watson) who like Preston's wife is "Sense Offender" and taken into custody by Preston, after (Diggs) nearly kills her.

As the film continues, Preston falls further into the curse of humanity, anger, greed, love, hope. All things that up till now he was unawares to. Soon a plan is devised to enter and stop the Underground resistance, where Preston is asked to assassinate Father (the leader of Librium). To do so he must gain an audience with Father. In the process tensions between Preston and Brandt escalate and Brandt is seen as an outcast, being taken away screaming “He’s feeling! A cleric is feeling!”

Preston uses this to “out” the Underground and gains his audience with Father only to find that it was their plan as well and now that Preston has exposed the resistance, he is no longer useful. This doesn’t sit well with Preston. On an emotional level, he flat-lines into a cold calculating machine, then in a brilliant display of combat kills everyone in his way to Father.

The film ends with the planned revolution of Librium and the destruction of the Prozium factories around the city, allowing mankind to once again re-discover what it means to be human.

nWoD References:
Obviously there isn’t much in the way of supernatural beings in this film; however it’s still chalk full inspiration.
First being Tetra Grammaton, and its clerics, a storyteller could easily use this as a hunter cell with the focus of eradicating supernatural creatures. The concept of designing a hunter character that utilizes the “Gun Kata” makes me tingle with wonder and excitement.

Second, the drug Prozium. Maybe it’s a catalyst for certain mage orders like Guardian of the Veil, or Adamantine Arrow. Where they use this drug to become more focused at their tasks. Or even perhaps the opposite, in which this drug hits the streets and turning regular mortals into living, breathing shells.

Third and possibly the most important of them. Remember this film is all about what it means to be human. Our emotion. Without them what are we, other than machines.

With that in mind. I hope that you watch this movie not just for the killer action scenes but also to ask yourself “Am I human?”