Hunt for the Wilderpeople
Year: 2016
Rating: PG-13
Length: 101 minutes / 1.68 hours
After enjoying films like Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Jojo Rabbit (2019), I decided to watch some of director Taika Waititi’s previous films. First up is Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016), a humorous outdoor adventure that doesn’t hide many of its influences, which ends up being a good thing. The plot and style are somewhat reminiscent of Moonrise Kingdom (2012) but takes advantage of New Zealand’s wilderness to tell its own story. There is plenty of character development, and the two leads—played by Sam Neill and Julian Dennison—work well together to create a meaningful connection.
Anyone who has seen other New Zealand comedies are likely to enjoy the specific cultural brand of humor here that feels like an evolved version of the classic British humor of the 1960s. Hunt for the Wilderpeople uses its minor characters to deliver its humor, with Rhys Darby carrying an exceptionally funny sequence. It’s this irreverent humor that hints at what Waititi’s future works would become. There were plenty of instances where I could see how this film eventually influenced films like Jojo Rabbit. Sure, there are still some rough edges here, but it’s nice to see what Waititi could do with the raw elements at his disposal.
Some of the musical and directorial choices here feel like an homage to Wes Anderson’s style, which I certainly am not complaining about. There are still fantastic, uniquely Waititi bits, though, including a montage that seems to be shot in one continuous pan across the scenery. One can only wonder if this plot would have suffered were it not for Sam Neill and his best Harrison Ford impression, though. The vulnerability in this tough-guy façade made the adoptive father/son dynamic work well enough that it carried the whole film.
A fantastic earlier work by Taika Waititi, I give Hunt for the Wilderpeople 4.0 stars out of 5.
