User reviews

I watched it on Netflix and it's my first time watching an African production-based movie.

It's not bad, this movie is decent by all standards.

The terrible issue lies with the story and the execution The pacing feels very drawn out and messy to the point I found myself getting bored of the movie.

I won't dive into the specifics, but there are bland loopholes that sort of ruin the whole setup here. Like I want to get involved and emotionally invested in the movie. The potential is great, the transition between languages is an edge over most. Action wise it's up to par and no issues about that.

If I had one suggestion, the story should have had more polishing and enforcing.

I think this is more like an action adventure movie.. the way is goes it is not so professional but the story is ok. Not 100% perfect but it is what it is. So it is ok to watch

I strongly suggest to watch and review this because this movie has potential. I am more like a tv series person but sometimes I watch movies too. This one I guess is one of them.

I always admire the camera directing visual effects and soundtracks of a movie, This has them about 6 out of 10 level. So it is so interesting

The shooting scenes are more realistic and fighting and other are the same.

Color grading is also in a good condition it is a good movie to watch at home. And with a big screen I think it would be much better . But I watch at home in a small computer monitor which is good.

I have seen many movies like this and I could say this has 6 out of 10 rating as my opinion.

I watched this movie because I've read most of Deon Meyer's books. I'm glad I didn't pay to see it in cinema.

The movie is dark and has a lot of action, and the photography is alright. It tries to have a complicated plot about corruption.

Unfortunately in the movie the plot is mostly an excuse for a series of stunts, punch-ups and shoot-outs. The usual fare where henchmen take one or two punches but the main bad guy can take a hundred punches and keeps coming back.

Then I read the book. It shares the title, some characters and the main corruption theme but that's where it ends. All the nuance from the book is lost in the film in favour of quick and easy solutions. I won't go into spoilers but book and movie have different story arcs and a very different ending.

So if you're not interested in much of a plot but just want to see guys beating each other up, by all means, watch the movie.

If you want a more nuanced story with interesting characters and more realistic fights, read the book.

Oh my - that was really bad!

This was the most pointless excuse of a movie I have ever seen. I want my time back. It started off very promising and just went all the way down under the hill from there. Acting was terrible maybe because the script was so poor. So sad. I'm so angry I can't give it less than a star. The only thing worse than sitting through it to see if it would by some chance redeem itself, was the ending. Such a waste of my time, energy and electricity. Wish I had read the reviews before watching this mess. My goodness the rubbish that passes for entertainment these days is astounding. Find something else to watch!

Netflix have done it again, yes they have made another movie that's a stinker.

In truth I have lost count of how many Netflix films are produced by them and they end up being awful.

Let me tell you this, don't believe the reviews that are giving this movie over five stars because it's a lie.

The story is one that's been done a million times before and much better, the pacing of the movie is not good, slow at times and you find yourself checking the time, which is a bad sign.

The fight scenes, Netflix says this movie is like John Wick, it's not the fight scenes are very amateurish at best, the old you go I go fight scenes, we have move Don from those type of scenes years ago.

I wanted to like this and fell for the reps of false advertising by Netflix, I won't fall it again.

The acting was superior and the story well written. As a Canadian I found the names initially confusing and needed to rewind and reference IMDB to get them all sorted but It didn't take away from my enjoyment of this movie. What did were the hand to hand combat sequences as either the actors errors or the directors shooting angles were off just enough to have punches and strikes obviously fake and this started in the first fights and continued throughout the movie. For that I downrated this movie two stars. Overall I enjoyed it very much and learned of some new to me very good actors. Give it a try.

Dear movie watchers, Don't follow the good comments of this movie ! It's such a lie. Who believes in the acting of the woman who is part of the "intelligence office"? She is acting like in a soap opera instead of a "thriller and action movie". I completely agree what it has been written in other comments here. There is lack of everything: no consistent dialogues, poor script ...what resumes in Bad acting. Unfortunately this is a horrible copy of other productions not made by Netflix. What is Netflix thinking about this charade? How in the world can it be compared to the movies "John Wick" ? Better go to sleep bro.

Yooooo Botha, SA stepped up the game with this one man! So proud of them. I really enjoyed watching this. The cinematography was on point. The special effects was decent for an African production. But the acting was spot on from majority of the cast. I also loved the story, not many times do you get such mature and interesting crime story. I also enjoyed the Cape Town scenery. And no they didn't show table mountain.

The only drawback for me was the weak ending. That was a complete miss. The story could have done with a better ending honestly. It was cheap, it was very predictable and even though they were trying to pull that great spin off, it just didn't work and made the whole movie feel under developed.

If I had one advice for you, it would be skip the ending....cuz it will ruin the whole vibe.

Zuko Khumalo is part of the rebel group, an ace assassin and one such job of his ends up with him feeling guilty. He quits and starts a new life, finding the love of his life and her son. He is now leading a simple life as a mechanic and soon his past finds him. This makes him the new target of PIA whose chief is in cohorts with the corrupt presidential candidate who is all about cutting the loose ends and silencing his dissenters. As the conspiracy gets too much to bear, costing him dearly, how Zuko exacts his revenge and save his loved one, forms rest of the story.

This South African action film has it's moments and when the focus is on the action alone, it works. It is the conspiracy angle that gets bit too worked up and rather less convincing with the writing getting all too convenient. It's a film with serious tone and it doesn't deviate much from the main plot. It may not boast big action sequences but the hand to hand combat followed by the one with spears and machete, Heart of the Hunter remains partly entertaining. The contrived screenplay needed better treatment and though routine, it would've felt better if the focus was on one villain, for the hero to triumph.

Heart of the Hunter: South African Political Corruption/Conspiracy Thriller in which turned government intelligence agencies make use of all of the myriad surveillance assets at their disposal. Refreshingly the main villain isn't white, in fact you have to teach the third tier of the conspiracy to find a white leader though many of the field agents are a lighter shade of pale. Some savage hand to hand fighting, car chases and generally the sort of thrills and spills you'd expect from this genre. The conspiracy is a bit more sophisticated though even if the main crook is a tad in OTT in his portrayal. There is also an interesting secret group of assassins. Certainly worth watching. Directed by Mandla Dube, Written by Deon Meyer and Willem Grobler. On Netflix. 6.5/10.

Poor characters, including the stereotypical bad rich boss and tough mercenary guy. A confusing net of allegiances and relationships all around.

Too many "filler" scenes, it looks like the editor was required to extend the movie.

On the positive sie, the action scenes are decent and the landscapes are terrific.

Something called my attention: the main character says he grew up by the Cata river (heart of Eastern Cape province) but then belongs to a secret brotherhood from Lesotho? Also, why dues he keep speaking Zulu throughout the move? Eastern Cape speaks mostly Xhosa, Lesotho speaks Sotho...

Set in the unforgiving wilderness of the Pacific Northwest, the film follows a group of thrill-seekers who embark on a hunting trip gone awry. At its core, the premise has potential-a reflection on mankind's primal instincts versus the serene beauty of nature. Yet, the execution is about as nuanced as a 2x4. Does anyone truly care about the protagonists by the time they are dodging predators? Spoiler alert: not really. Instead of thoughtful contemplation on the hunter-versus-hunted dynamic, we are served up a plate of predictable tropes like a tired chef reheating last week's leftovers.

The performances are a mixed bag, but unfortunately, "mixed" leans toward the undercooked end. You could argue that the actors were left floundering by a sagging script that offers no real depth. Is it fair to blame the cast for their lackluster portrayals when they're handed one-dimensional characters straight out of a bargain bin? The "stoic leader," the "nervous newcomer," the "brash thrill-seeker"-they're all present and accounted for, yet shockingly devoid of personality or growth. It begs the question: when will filmmakers realize that character arcs don't require a manual?

As if trying to erase the colors of life, the film falls into a dull color palette that might just put anyone susceptible to yawning into a deep sleep. The direction, at times, feels as if it's phoning in a performance worthy of its own tragic backstory. Fancy shots of lush forests and wild animals are wasted on a choppy narrative that lacks any semblance of a coherent vision. Does beautiful cinematography even matter if you're constantly trying to wake yourself up from the monotony of it all?

Pacing issues are rampant throughout the movie, with some scenes dragging interminably, while others leap forward like a caffeinated rabbit. Ever found yourself checking your watch, wondering whether it might be more invigorating to watch paint dry? Maybe that's a little harsh, but the editing feels disjointed, leaving viewers wondering if some vital scenes ended up on the cutting room floor. Was there truly a cohesive story being told, or did they just give up midway through?

And let's not forget the dialogue. One feature of particularly horrendous dialogue is that it can be either cringeworthy or simply forgettable. "Heart of the Hunter" manages to do both. Lines that could have been profound are reduced to laughably flat "survivalist speak." Isn't it sad when characters lack the depth to offer you anything more than recycled banter?

Pretty good movie, I read some of these reviews and thought wow... some have an underlying tone... but nevertheless it was a great watch with my family and very easy to understand. The actors were so good I could feel their emotions radiating off of them. In moments yes, it could be a little straight faced, but it went with the scenes at the time, but i'm still docking a star.

I really could understand the portrayal of the governmental corruption. I understand why for some, it may be a little confusing and hard to understand why, but to me this resembled how modern day corruption could work. I really think that Netflix should have promoted this more to have this reach its full potential, but good watch.

Absolutely Fantastic. The storyline, the cinematography, and the actors. The diversity in the show is incredible. What a well-made movie. The director did so well. We need more movies like this in South Africa. It was a refreshing change from the usual drugs, taxi/micro violence and SEX-based movies we've been getting. What a film. I would recommend it to anyone who's into action films. The great thing is that the action is South African based, too, on the weapons used. It's truly a South African film in every possible way. I could go on and on. Well done to the entire team involved. No flaws exist.

This film is about a retired spy called Zuko (Bonko khoza) who gets asked to do one last job to protect his family. And I know that storyline doesn't sound original at all, but I really enjoyed this film. It's not quite as good as some of Netflix's top action films such as The Interceptor or Extraction but I would still recommend it and if it gets taken off Netflix and given a physical release I would definitely buy it.

I enjoyed the action in this film because there was a good mixture of fist and gory knife fights and there was also some good shooting action as well. But some of the shooting was a bit unrealistic because even the highly trained bad guys couldn't seem to shoot Zuko from a couple of feet away.

It was also a nice surprise when one of the bad guys turned out to be a double agent and she showed that she's not just a damsel in distress, but I would have liked to have seen her do a bit more fighting and/or killing.

Brilliant acting, great story line and a great tale of deception and politics. Deon Meyer does a fantastic job of introducing characters, while still leaving you in suspense. The movie starts off with Zuko and Johnny Klein being associates and it takes time before you realise how they know each other. It incorporates empathy, romance and a whole lot of action. The stunts are impeccable not just for South African standards but in general. I would definitely recommend this movie to anyone looking for an authentic South African tale about crime, politics and mystery. I would equate it to a South African Jason Bourne in terms of self-discovery.