Movie Review: Killing Season

The ultimate form of war is one on one.

You will never look at bows and arrows the same way after watching "Killing Season" starring John Travolta and Robert De Niro. It is mainly a post-war film that is fueled by revenge. Though John Travolta's accent is a bit odd, I still enjoyed both his and De Niro's short but powerful dialogues. The snippets from the past with horrible imagery was shuffled into the present time in a very effective dynamics. The numbness and pain of torture and psychological attack of the story line is felt by the audience of the press screening (I must admit I have shouted a few times). 

The visual component of the movie is wonderfully overwhelming. The film will have your eyes feast on lush and fantastic landscapes from time to time. It is like watching a special on National Geo or Discovery plus the blow by blow surprise action by the main cast. The idea of the hunt is intensified by these shots and perfect cinematography. 

I have always enjoyed watching action films with hand to hand combat and this one never failed to impress me.  (I think Travolta looks very good with that facial hair) De Niro never fail to amaze me with his acting skills. I just couldn't write about my favorite parts of the film just because I want you to be surprised by it, hehe. 

Killing Season (previously titled Shrapnel) is a 2013 action film written by Evan Daugherty and directed by Mark Steven Johnson for Millennium Films, as the first on-screen pairing of actors John Travolta and Robert De Niro. The film pertains to a personal fight between an American war veteran and a former Serbian soldier. Daugherty's script caught the attention of producers after winning the 2008 Script Pipeline Screenwriting Competition. 

After a brief flashback of the Bosnian War, the film forwards to current-day Belgrade, Serbia, where former Serbian soldier Emil Kovac (John Travolta) meets his informant to retrieve a file on American military veteran and former NATO operative Colonel Benjamin Ford (Robert De Niro). Ford has fled to a cabin retreat somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, to forget the war which he fought in. Now a recluse, he meets Kovac, posing off as a European tourist, during a hunting trip. The two men strike an unlikely acquaintanceship which disappears when Kovac reveals his true identity. Intent on revenge, he initiates a gory game of cat-and-mouse with Ford. What happened in between that game is best seen on the big screen (Oh barbeque and lemonade - lols).

It would be a great movie for those who like an unconventional action film. I'll definitely watch it again.

Here is a sneak peak of "Killing Season"

Killing Season

Initial release: 2013

Director: Mark Steven Johnson

Production companies: Millennium Films (presents), Corsan, Nu Image Films (as Nu Image), Promised Land Productions, Captive Cinema

Genres: Action, Thriller