Review: The Bounty Hunter

Milo and Nicole are divorced and bitter. Their marriage never worked out because Milo was an immature, gambling addict, and Nicole was a career obsessed woman who never really gave in a chance. In The Bounty Hunter, Milo (Gerard Butler) and Nicole (Jennifer Aniston), find themselves in a twist of fate, and reunited, maybe for good. When Nicole skips bail to find out information for a story, Milo, who has been fired from the police force and is now working as an alcoholic bounty hunter, is sent out to find her and bring her to jail. A cat and mouse game ensues, as Nicole constantly tries to escape and Milo is constantly chasing her. In the middle of their own drama, those trying to cover up the murder Nicole is investigating, and loan sharks trying to get gambling debts repaid by Milo are looking for them, only causing them more chaos. In the process, Milo and Nicole may have found something in each other they missed the first time around.

If the story line sounds jam-packed and convoluted, and a lacking attempt at mixing action and comedy and romance, you would be right. There are some funny gags, but mostly the screenplay plays too much of the action, and misses golden opportunities for laughs. More importantly, the story is trite, overused, and kinda boring.

As for its stars its a 50/50 for me. I have never been a huge Gerard Butler fan, but he needs to stay far away from movies where he has an American accent, and movies where he has to be romantic, because he does neither well. As for Aniston, I may be in the minority, but I actually thought she did very well considering what she was given. I think she is one of those actresses that has a lot of talent but hasn't found her vehicle yet, although I do have high hopes for her new movie with Jason Bateman called The Switch.

Overall, off all the bad romantic comedies out there, The Bounty Hunter certaintly isn't the worst, and at moments, its star lady shines, and it redeems itself when it had no right to. To be honest if you go into the movie theater looking for a couple hours of mindless fun, then this is your movie, just don't expect too much.

Grade: C