Most Dangerous Game: Waltz is excellent in bitesize TV thriller
If you were to write a must-have list for action thrillers, TV show Most Dangerous Game would tick many of the boxes. You have a desperate hero with nowhere to turn, a villain with scary levels of omnipotence, and a concept that is easy to buy into.
Liam Hemsworth is Dodge Tynes, an earnest hero with a ridiculous name and a lot of problems. A failed construction project means he is drowning in debt, with bills piling up for him and his pregnant wife (Sarah Gadon). Worse still, he learns that he has inoperable cancer after collapsing in the street. With time running out, he turns to Miles (Christoph Waltz), a charming businessman with a proposition.
Miles runs a high stakes game where bored rich people hunt a Runner over the course of 24 hours. If Dodge agrees, he will have from sunrise to sunrise to evade five Hunters without leaving the Detroit city limits or using a gun. He cannot tell the authorities or his family about the game. For every hour he survives, vast amounts of money are added to his account, solving his family’s financial issues. With nothing to lose, Dodge prepares to run for his life.
The compelling premise is perfect for this short-form series, originally airing on US service Quibi but coming to these shores for the first time via Roku. The first few episodes (which range from 7-9 minutes each), we learn about Dodge’s predicament and there is a hint of social commentary. Waltz and Hemsworth talk about the city and the decline of the American Dream, as well as the country’s money-led health system. “If I could wave a wand that could make you well I would” says Waltz, “but that wand doesn’t exist, and even if it did, you couldn’t afford it”.
So, are we in for a thoughtful examination of how poverty can lead ordinary people to do the unthinkable? Not really. Once the game starts it’s a cat and mouse chase, where Hemsworth narrowly avoids death through last minute ingenuity. Like most Hollywood thrillers, logic is stretched to its limit – one minute Dodge can barely walk due to injury, the next he’s battling Hunters while hanging from a boat.
The script doesn’t have time for subtlety, meaning the Hunters take the form of some iffy regional stereotypes such as Chris Webster’s stuffy British Hunter, or Billy Burke’s agonising Cajan (complete with cowboy hat and stories about ‘Gators). Hemsworth keeps things interesting with a committed performance, making you wonder if this might have been better served as one movie.
The real treasure is Waltz, who seems born to play someone who recruits humans to be hunted for sport. He gets a lot of screen time, but turns Miles into a compelling shade of grey. In his mind, he is offering a desperate man a chance to get rich, mixing concern with ruthlessness to the point where you’re not sure what he’s thinking. He’s flanked by Aaron Poole as his creepy subordinate who cleans up the mess.
With a bit more thought in the script, Most Dangerous Game might have been a dark commentary on the modern world with echoes of David Fincher’s The Game. In reality, it’s a solid chase thriller that has enough tense moments to make you commit to the next micro episode.
Most Dangerous Game is streaming now on The Roku Channel, available on Roku and NOW Streaming Devices, as well as Sky Q.