Hunt for the Wilderpeople

2016 • 101 minutes

About this movie

Raised on hip-hop and foster care, defiant city kid Ricky gets a fresh start in the New Zealand countryside. He quickly finds himself at home with his new foster family: the loving Aunt Bella, the cantankerous Uncle Hec, and dog Tupac. When a tragedy strikes that threatens to ship Ricky to another home, both he and Hec go on the run in the bush. As a national manhunt ensues, the newly branded outlaws must face their options: go out in a blaze of glory or overcome their differences and survive as a family. Equal parts road comedy and rousing adventure story, director Taika Waititi (WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS, upcoming THOR: RAGNORAK) masterfully weaves lively humor with emotionally honest performances by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison.

Ratings and reviews

New Zealand is a very interesting place; majestic landscapes that are beautiful to look at, there's exotic wildlife, hog hunting for notorious invasive boars with dogs, there's people like Peter Jackson, Sam Neil, and Graeme Tuckett, and there's "Natural History New Zealand" (it's a New Zealand television production creating original content for global broadcasting). This comedy drama is truly a New Zealand movie. Taika Waititi is the producer, director, writer of this film, and he did a great job on his work here; the combination of the exquisite timing, the well-utilized tone, and the brainy dialogue for the comedy is a genius combo. As a result, the comedy is clever, offbeat, and sharp. The editing was structured very well to create some sharp effect. The movie was definitely filmed in all of New Zealand and the areas here were perfect for each and every scene to give us some captivating set-pieces. The scenes with wild boar are impressive and dramatic as it reflects the events of hog hunting with dogs which is engrossing to watch. Although the CGI effect of the wild boar is not photo-realistic. The climax involving fast vehicles alongside the car chases is quite entertaining. The characters are very enjoyable; Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) is the main character and he is an utterly rebellious teenage boy, but surprisingly enough, he has a totally different side that makes him a charming likable protagonist; like how he interacts with his family members and talking to them, he is surprisingly loyal to his dog (most of the time), and he is also pretty smart as he uses a strategy and he learns about animals sometimes. But the problem is that there are a two times where he is out of character like saying bad things about huia bird and he is not always nice to his dog (one time he was not nice to his dog). Hector Faulkner (Sam Neil) is a grumpy grizzled old man who is a hog hunter and he is also out of character when he knows what type of bird he sees (Ricky is supposed to be the smart character who knows a lot about animals). The interaction between Ricky and Hector is very engaging as they flesh out their information and talking to each other most likely. Even though they are harsh to each other sometimes, they both stick together like glue and they care for each other which shows that this movie has quite a lot of heart to it, and as the story progresses, they are developing a straight relationship. Psycho Sam (Rhys Darby) is a wacky bushman who is a likable and amusing supporting character. Kahu (Tioreore Ngatai Melbourne) is one heck of an oddball for a young lady, but she is a good-natured laid-back musician who plays guitar and has an odd father (Troy Kingi). Paula Hall (Rachel House) is child welfare worker and she is the main antagonist of the film as she tracks down both Ricky and Hector to capture them and put into prison. The thing that makes these characters so fun to watch, is that they all have a variety of whimsical personalities to their own characterizations to give this movie a quirky feel (kind of like "Nacho Libre"). The hypnotizing electronic music score is composed by an rock band called the Phoenix foundation, and it is an elevating asset for the film. In conclusion: This is a likable and quirky comedy drama that provides clever engaging amusement. Highly Recommended.

An engaging movie whether you are a soap opera addict or car chase Aficionado -- something for everybody. Humorous, though not a comedy... though not a drama either... is there a genre poignant?

I wanted to watch something out of the box and this was surely it! It's like nothing I've ever seen before. I enjoyed it quite much. FYI there are some gruesome scenes, but that's survival.