Is there anything more gruesomely satisfying than the bloody hand of justice? Aside from eating an entire pizza in one sitting while destroying a vanilla milkshake, I think not.
WWII has always been a fascinating subject to me, both for the drastic repercussions of being on the winning -or losing- side, and the violent reminder of what humanity is capable of when the wrong people gain power. It's a lesson that should never be forgotten. 74 years after it ended, it's still relevant. Hatred and bigotry have not gone away, and people are still terrible. Anyway, let's kill some Nazis.
It's 1977. Our story begins with a Nazi living as an American politician, and quite convincingly so. As we always want to believe, evil does not go undiscovered forever, and he is suddenly called out for the monster he is. The tone has now been set for Hunters.
Enter Jonah (Logan Lerman), a young adult who doesn't quite know how to navigate life. His grandmother is a holocaust survivor, a woman who has raised him his entire life. He knows little about her past. And then, one night, he is thrust into her secret world, while simultaneously losing her in one piercing shot of a gun. The loss is both confusing and devastating.
Enter Al Pacino, which is always a lovely thing. Al Pacino is so good that you forget you're watching Al Pacino; you're simply watching Meyer Offerman, another survivor of the holocaust, and the man who initiated a Nazi hunting movement. He doesn't want to involve Jonah in his dark life, but it quickly becomes unavoidable. Thus we have a full set of hunters.
There is both conflict and felicity when it comes to knocking off certain Nazis. It's an unpleasant reminder that humanity still exists in people who have done evil things. Well, sometimes. Let's not be too generous. Still, the violence in Hunters is intentionally fun and ridiculous at times, and my feelings ranged from, "I don't want to watch this scene," to, "Oh, that was a perfect way to kill a Nazi."
What irks me, however, is the moral high ground that certain characters take. They don't want Jonah to kill, to seek revenge, even when it seems like the only viable choice. They want him to somehow go back to being innocent, and even his dead grandmother is yelling at him to stop, don't do it, you'll lose yourself! I've never been a fan of "the moral of the story," which is probably why I hated shows like 7th Heaven that liked to preach at its audience and give them lessons in condescension. Luckily, this show isn't quite like that.
On the outskirts of the Nazi hunting life, Jonah has a small circle of friends who care about him. They serve as a reminder of the innocence in his previous life, and the friendships he is leaving behind in order to pursue a greater cause. At certain points, they seemed to have a bigger purpose than simply being Jonah's friends, but the first season only symbolizes what he's losing on top of everything else. Perhaps they'll reemerge in season 2 and join the cause? Who knows.
I don't want to spoil anything outright. No, that'll be after the cut, because I have some things to say. I. Have. Things. To. Say.
My Grade: B. It's not perfect, but it's worth watching if you can handle the subject matter. Nazi hunting is a real thing, and while we can easily assume that Nazis weren't being dispatched à la Hunters, we can still enjoy watching it.
Spoilers incoming!
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Okay, if you're here, I'm going to assume you've already seen it, therefore you don't really give a shit. So let's talk about the biggest twist of them all: Meyer Offerman. I won't say that I saw it coming from a mile away, but there were signs, right? They planted seeds of doubt as to who Meyer truly was, and things were not entirely adding up when they should have been. My boyfriend disagreed about there being hints along the way, but what we did agree on was that the major reveal fell...flat. In theory, it's an excellent twist, but it felt forced. I can imagine the round table where this was discussed, and most, if not all, of the people involved thinking it was brilliant. It should have been. So while I appreciate the intent, the execution was lacking.
And the last, silliest, yet so laughable it's appropriate twist: Hitler is alive! He really did flee to South America. Most shocking! I may have rolled my eyes, but I don't think this was meant to be jaw dropping news. It fits with the show's theme, and should make for an equally, possibly even more fun second season.
WWII has always been a fascinating subject to me, both for the drastic repercussions of being on the winning -or losing- side, and the violent reminder of what humanity is capable of when the wrong people gain power. It's a lesson that should never be forgotten. 74 years after it ended, it's still relevant. Hatred and bigotry have not gone away, and people are still terrible. Anyway, let's kill some Nazis.
Enter Jonah (Logan Lerman), a young adult who doesn't quite know how to navigate life. His grandmother is a holocaust survivor, a woman who has raised him his entire life. He knows little about her past. And then, one night, he is thrust into her secret world, while simultaneously losing her in one piercing shot of a gun. The loss is both confusing and devastating.
Enter Al Pacino, which is always a lovely thing. Al Pacino is so good that you forget you're watching Al Pacino; you're simply watching Meyer Offerman, another survivor of the holocaust, and the man who initiated a Nazi hunting movement. He doesn't want to involve Jonah in his dark life, but it quickly becomes unavoidable. Thus we have a full set of hunters.
There is both conflict and felicity when it comes to knocking off certain Nazis. It's an unpleasant reminder that humanity still exists in people who have done evil things. Well, sometimes. Let's not be too generous. Still, the violence in Hunters is intentionally fun and ridiculous at times, and my feelings ranged from, "I don't want to watch this scene," to, "Oh, that was a perfect way to kill a Nazi."
What irks me, however, is the moral high ground that certain characters take. They don't want Jonah to kill, to seek revenge, even when it seems like the only viable choice. They want him to somehow go back to being innocent, and even his dead grandmother is yelling at him to stop, don't do it, you'll lose yourself! I've never been a fan of "the moral of the story," which is probably why I hated shows like 7th Heaven that liked to preach at its audience and give them lessons in condescension. Luckily, this show isn't quite like that.
On the outskirts of the Nazi hunting life, Jonah has a small circle of friends who care about him. They serve as a reminder of the innocence in his previous life, and the friendships he is leaving behind in order to pursue a greater cause. At certain points, they seemed to have a bigger purpose than simply being Jonah's friends, but the first season only symbolizes what he's losing on top of everything else. Perhaps they'll reemerge in season 2 and join the cause? Who knows.
I don't want to spoil anything outright. No, that'll be after the cut, because I have some things to say. I. Have. Things. To. Say.
My Grade: B. It's not perfect, but it's worth watching if you can handle the subject matter. Nazi hunting is a real thing, and while we can easily assume that Nazis weren't being dispatched à la Hunters, we can still enjoy watching it.
Spoilers incoming!
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
Okay, if you're here, I'm going to assume you've already seen it, therefore you don't really give a shit. So let's talk about the biggest twist of them all: Meyer Offerman. I won't say that I saw it coming from a mile away, but there were signs, right? They planted seeds of doubt as to who Meyer truly was, and things were not entirely adding up when they should have been. My boyfriend disagreed about there being hints along the way, but what we did agree on was that the major reveal fell...flat. In theory, it's an excellent twist, but it felt forced. I can imagine the round table where this was discussed, and most, if not all, of the people involved thinking it was brilliant. It should have been. So while I appreciate the intent, the execution was lacking.
And the last, silliest, yet so laughable it's appropriate twist: Hitler is alive! He really did flee to South America. Most shocking! I may have rolled my eyes, but I don't think this was meant to be jaw dropping news. It fits with the show's theme, and should make for an equally, possibly even more fun second season.
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