Even with its talented cast, including Oscar winner Gary Oldman, Hunter Killer isn’t that great of watch even for having some standout moments.

The film follows multiple perspectives as a looming threat begins to unfold that could end up causing global war if it’s not stopped. Since the film is basically full of tropes that you’ve definitely seen before and none of their names are memorable, I feel like the only appropriate way to describe their impact to the story is by only describing their trope.

First, we have the arrogant and kind of disliked submarine captain (Gerard Butler), who has a bit of troubled past and is constantly told he is wrong by everyone else, but obviously ends up being right. Second, is the set of military soldier filled with a rookie (Zane Holtz), who is constantly being berated by his angry captain (Toby Stephans), and is joined by two other soliders, who are given the “these guys are unimportant and who cares” treatment. The last group, is basically the government group with a likable soldier (Common), an unlikable higher-up (Oldman), and an NSA agent (Linda Cardellini), whose personality must be classified since their isn’t much to get out of her.

Now, none of this isn’t to say that these tropes aren’t enjoyable to watch. Butler’s character has some fun moments and his character probably wouldn’t be as entertaining with his decent performance. However, everyone else feels like just filler and if this didn’t have big-name actors like Common and Oldman, they wouldn’t probable be bearable.

Hunter Killer constantly feels like it doesn’t know which plot is important and audiences are constantly flipped between different characters and viewers are left with feeling lost at times. It’s unfortunate too as the concept of saving the Russian president and stopping a world-ending conflict could’ve probably been more entertaining with better characters.

The film does have some solid underwater moments, though, and I really enjoyed seeing some of the slow moving and somewhat calculated action sequences with Butler and crew. Although, when the film does go above water, it just turns into a film without a pulse and it actually becomes just plain boring to watch.

Hunter Killer is definitely one of the more boring and unoriginal action movies of the year. When audiences aren’t stuck watching political drama, they are subjected to some uninteresting action sequences that not even dialogue from well-regarded actors could save. It’s a clear cash grab that doesn’t have much going for it, so it’s probably best to steer clear.

Watch the Trailer Here: