11th Jul2018

‘The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter’ Review (Netflix Original)

by Jak-Luke Sharp

Stars: Josh Brolin, Carrie Coon, Danny McBride, Scoot McNairy, Montana Jordan | Written by Jody Hill, Danny McBride, John Carcieri | Directed by Jody Hill

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Star of hunting videos, the great hunter Buck Ferguson (Josh Brolin) strives to bond with his 12-year-old son (Montana Jordan) on a wilderness trip with his trusted cameraman Don (Danny McBride). But  on this epic weekend adventure to reconnect with Buck’s young son, everyone learns that familial connections can’t be forced.

Jody Hill returns to the format of film with The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, his third feature after a nine-year absence while dominating the TV market; partnering with Danny McBride and David Gordon Green on the terrific Eastbound and Down, and the equally successful Vice Principals (which I highly reccomend)

Hill’s The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter, echoes threads and themes of his previous work, but fails to accommodate the skills of its actors and consciously convey a real sense of comradery and family that ultimately feels as if it has begun fleeting in the opening few minutes.

Josh Brolin will undoubtedly receive the main brunt of criticism, coming off his highly successful summer season with Avengers: Infinity War, Deadpool 2 and Sicario: Day of the Soldado, which will ultimately feel unjust. Brolin, who himself has spoken often about trials and trepidations of the difficulty approaching comedy, and its clear at first that he does feel slightly obtuse towards the genre, yet as the film develops he becomes more flexible and open but is still pulled back from what is a rather poor and scarce screenplay from Hill, McBride and John Carcieri.

The themes of family, or love and life are thick and strong, if not repetitive and slightly regurgitated in its eighty-three minute running time, and although in its final act begins to pick up some momentum and intrigue but unfortunately all too little too late and quite sadly so.

The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter is available on Netflix now.

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