''The Hunter's Prayer'' is a 2017 action crime film directed by

Jonathan Mostow Jonathan Mostow (born November 28, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed films such as ''Breakdown (1997 film), Breakdown'', ''U-571 (film), U-571'', ''Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines'', and ''Surroga ...

, based on the 2004 novel ''For the Dogs'' by Kevin Wignall. The film tells about a conflicted hitman helping a young woman to avenge the death of her family. The film stars

Sam Worthington Samuel Henry John Worthington (born 2 August 1976) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playing Jake Sully in ''Avatar'' and its sequel, ''Avatar: The Way of Water''; Marcus Wright in ''Terminator Salvation'', and Perseus in '' Clash o ...

Odeya Rush Odeya Rushinek ( he, אודיה רושינק; born ), known professionally as Odeya Rush (), is an Israeli actress.Allen Leech Allen Leech (born 18 May 1981) is an Irish actor best known for his role as Tom Branson on the historical drama series ''Downton Abbey'' and as Paul Prenter in the 2018 biopic ''Bohemian Rhapsody''. He made his professional acting debut with a s ...

, and

Amy Landecker Amy Lauren Landecker (born September 30, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Sarah Pfefferman on the Amazon comedy-drama series ''Transparent'' (2014–2019), as well as her supporting roles in films ''Dan in Real Life'' (2 ...

. Filming began on August 12, 2014 in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. The film had its theatrical release on June 9, 2017 in the United States by

Saban Films Saban Capital Group LLC is an American investment firm based in Los Angeles, California focused on media, entertainment, and communications investments. Formed in 2010 by Haim Saban, Saban Capital Group owns Saban Films, part of Univision Commun ...

Plot

Lucas (

), a drug-addicted former soldier, is in a club looking for Ella Hatto (

) illegal operations and also stole 25 million dollars from him. Her father and step-mother have been murdered by a hired killer. Addison's gunmen try to kill Ella at the nightclub, but Lucas kills one and helps her escape. He receives a text threatening to kill his family if he doesn't kill Ella. He takes her across the French border. Lucas calls Addison and he threatens to kill his estranged wife and daughter. Lucas tells Ella that her father was killed. At a grocery store, they are attacked by Addison's gunmen and Lucas gets shot in the leg. The two get on a train, where they meet Dani (

Verónica Echegui Verónica Fernández Echegaray (born 16 June 1983), known professionally as Verónica Echegui, is a Spanish actress. Since making her feature film debut as the title character of the 2006 drama '' My Name Is Juani'' she has featured in films s ...

), another contract killer. After treating Lucas's wounds, Dani makes Ella leave Lucas. Ella gets off the train, but Metzger (

Martin Compston Martin Compston (born 8 May 1984) is a Scottish actor and former Association Football, professional footballer. He played Anti-Corruption Unit Detective Inspector Steve Arnott in the BBC drama ''Line of Duty'', Liam in Ken Loach, Ken Loach's '' ...

), an assassin who had killed Ella's father, tries to kill her. Lucas protects Ella. Dani, eager for the bounty, tries to kill Lucas, but she is killed by him. Lucas and Ella head to England. While Lucas recovers from drug addiction, Ella takes his gun and goes to Addison's office building, but she gets arrested by the police. Banks (

), an FBI agent working for Addison, takes Ella to Addison's house. At that time, Lucas is attacked by Dani and her colleague killer. He kills them and goes to Addison's house. In a final shootout, Lucas kills Banks and Addison shoots Metzger. As Addison is about to shoot Lucas, he is shot dead by Ella. Ella receives a phone call from Lucas. Ella tells Lucas that she is now living with her aunt and cousins. The two say farewell to each other. Lucas visits a house, where his wife and daughter are waiting to welcome him.

Cast

as Stephen Lucas *

as Richard Addison *

as Gina Banks *

as Metzger *

as Dani * Gabrielle Mostow as Jillian * Shayne Drummond as Teresa

Production

On January 30, 2013, it was announced that

would star lead as a hitman who helps a young girl to avenge the murder of her parents and brother, the film ''For the Dogs'', based on Kevin Wignall's novel of same name, scripted by

Paul Leyden Paul Augustine Leyden (born 16 December 1972) is an Australian actor, producer, screenwriter and director. He is best known for playing the role of Simon Frasier on the daytime soap opera ''As the World Turns''. He played Simon in the 2009 mini ...

and

Oren Moverman Oren Moverman ( he, אורן מוברמן; born July 4, 1966) is an Israeli-American Academy Award-nominated screenwriter, film director, and Emmy Award-winning film producer. He has directed the films ''The Messenger (2009 film), The Messenger ...

was re-writing the script at that time.

Phillip Noyce Phillip Noyce (born 29 April 1950) is an Australian filmmaker. Since 1977, he has directed over 19 feature films in various genres, including historical drama (''Newsfront'', ''Rabbit-Proof Fence'', ''The Quiet American''); thrillers (''Dead Cal ...

was set to direct the film, which Anthony Rhulen and Navid McIlhargey would produce through FilmEngine Entertainment, along with Worthington, John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz through their Full Clip Productions, with Leyden. On May 13,

Hailee Steinfeld Hailee Steinfeld (born December 11, 1996) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hailee Steinfeld, various accolades, including a Peabody Award, and nominations for an Academy Award ...

was added to the cast to play the young girl whose parents and brother are murdered. On November 8, the ensemble cast was announced which includes

and

. Sierra/Affinity announced that they had sold the film to twenty international buyers.

Filming

Filming began in early November 2014 in

(

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

Harrogate Harrogate ( ) is a spa town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Harrogate in North Yorkshire, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the West Riding of Yorkshire, the town is a tourist destination and its visitor at ...

Helmsley Helmsley is a market town and civil parish in the Ryedale district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the town is located at the point where Ryedale leaves the moorland and joins the flat Vale of Pi ...

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

and

Saltaire Saltaire is a Victorian era, Victorian model village in Shipley, West Yorkshire, Shipley, part of the City of Bradford Metropolitan District, in West Yorkshire, England. The Victorian era Salt's Mill and associated residential district locate ...

). It would also be shot in

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, U.S. (

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) and

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

Release

In September 2016,

acquired distribution rights to the film. The film was released in the United States on June 9, 2017.

Reception

''The Hunter's Prayer'' received poor reviews from critics. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 33% based on 21 reviews, and an

average rating In ordinary language, an average is a single number taken as representative of a list of numbers, usually the sum of the numbers divided by how many numbers are in the list (the arithmetic mean). For example, the average of the numbers 2, 3, 4, 7 ...

of 4.9/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating, the film has a score 35 out of 100, based on 5 critics, indicating "unfavorable reviews". Derek Smith of ''

Slant Magazine ''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New York ...

'' gave the film 2.5 stars out of 4, writing, "''The Hunter's Prayer'' is steadfastly concise and efficient, foregrounding action above expositional groundwork." Joe Leydon of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote, "Director Jonathan Mostow (''Terminator 3'') provides enough hairbreadth escapes, extended shootouts, crash-and-dash auto chases, and hand-to-hand combat sequences to make the movie modestly diverting for undemanding audiences." Justin Lowe of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' said, "The action falters a bit when attention shifts to the rocky relationship between Lucas and Ella, but cinematographer Jose David Montero and editor Ken Blackwell succeed in getting things back on track with a consistent succession of energetic chase and fight scenes."

References

External links

*
Interview with author Kevin Wignall
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunter's Prayer, The 2017 films 2017 action thriller films American action thriller films German action thriller films Spanish action thriller films English-language German films English-language Spanish films Films about assassinations Films about drugs Films set in Westchester County, New York Films set in Switzerland Films set in France Films set in Leeds Scarborough, North Yorkshire Films shot in England Films shot in Switzerland Films shot in New York City Films shot in North Yorkshire Films shot in Germany Films shot in Hungary Films shot in Spain Films directed by Jonathan Mostow Films scored by Federico Jusid Films with screenplays by Oren Moverman 2010s English-language films 2010s American films 2010s German films