Hunter Killer Review: 3 Ups & 5 Downs

4. The Wildly Inconsistent Production Values

The budget for Hunter Killer hasn't been formally disclosed, but it's clear from the film's first few minutes alone that the movie wasn't made on the cheap.

With its stacked cast, abundance of elaborate, sweeping crane shots and occasional practical use of actual submersible vehicles, this thing evidently had a decent amount of cash poured into it.

Sadly the visual effects are the one giveaway that corners had to be cut in order to keep the budget down, because as sharp as the movie often looks, the CGI frequently feels like it belongs in the cut-scene of a PS3 game.

From hilariously awful green screen shots - where Gerard Butler has an ugly, blurry hue around his body - to embarrassingly low-rent digital explosions and the rather murky nature of the submarine action itself, the VFX are mostly a mess.

There are certainly moments where the CGI looks surprisingly solid, but these are outweighed heavily by those effects sequences that evoke a distinct straight-to-video vibe.