Hunt review: Poor script fails Sudheer Babu’s challenging hunt for success

Sudheer Babu’s suspense action thriller Hunt is in theatres on Thursday, 26 January. The film also features Tamil actor Bharat and senior hero Srikanth in key roles.

In the pre-release events, Sudheer Babu claimed no one had made a film like it in Telugu to date. Let’s find out if this was just hype or whether this hunt actually packs a punch.

Young police officers Arjun Prasad (Sudheer Babu) and Aryan Dev (Bharat) are close friends. But their friendship gets cut short when Aryan Dev — an ACP — is shot dead.

A deeply hurt Arjun now takes it upon himself to find the killer.

When Arjun is all set to nab Aryan’s killers, fate strikes in the form of an accident. As a result, he suffers from memory loss.

Arjun nabbing his friend’s killers despite his seriously debilitating memory loss condition is what Hunt is all about.

Meanwhile, there is also another angle to the story, but the director fails to handle it well. It is better if the audience gets to know about it while watching the movie.

How intense is Hunt?

When it comes to the story, Hunt takes a path similar to many suspense and cop action flicks.

The movie also religiously follows the tricks and twists of police action flicks. But one novel aspect is the memory loss twist.

How Arjun tackles memory loss and recreates the whole scene in his hunt for criminals, gives scope to offer a new kind of cop action thriller for the audience.

But director Mahesh Surapaneni only partly exploits the potential in the story.

A slow first half and shortcomings in screenplay play spoilsport. As a result, Hunt turns into just another suspense thriller.

The performances

Either in terms of looks or acting, Sudheer Babu has done his job well. Roles like these are a perfect fit for him.

Most of the movie revolves around his character, and he manages to keep the audience engaged.

He needs to be praised for trying a challenging and risky role. More support from the script would have made this a hit flick.

Tamil actor Bharat is familiar to the Telugu audience, too. Though he gets limited screen space, he gets a do a crucial role.

It is good to see Bharat — a talented actor — in a Telugu film after a long time.

Senior hero Srikanth, who is slowly shifting to character roles, plays a senior police officer with ease.

Mounika Reddy also gets a decent role to play, and she is in fine form.

An unforgettable experience for me and I hope it is for all of you! All set for the HUNT? 👊🏻

See you at the cinemas & Happy Republic Day!! 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/8k7VF5yAE2

— SudheerBabu – #HuntFrom26Jan (@isudheerbabu) January 26, 2023

Technical crafts

There is just one song in the movie, and that too is passable. However, Ghibran has done a decent job in terms of the background score.

Arul’s cinematography is in tune with the cop suspense thriller genre.

The makers of Hunt proudly claimed that Hollywood stunt choreographer Renaud Favero worked on the action sequences.

But we don’t understand what value addition he has done to the movie.

One big letdown is editing. A gripping narration is indispensable for cop flicks like these.

Hunt seems to be lacking in many other aspects.

Editor Pravin Pudi should have made the necessary changes to keep the movie shorter and more engaging.

Final take

Hunt is a decently made movie that has both shortcomings and impressive moments. But, in these days of content explosion, it has turned out to be just another cop-action thriller.