Bullet Points: The Most Dangerous Game (2022)

One of the most influential movies in the history of the action genre was released 90 years ago. I am talking about 1932’s The Most Dangerous Game. In the nine decades that have followed many a movie have decided to play the most dangerous game… Hard Target, Surviving the Game and Turkey Shoot are just a few examples.

The latest example comes from Mill Creek Entertainment’s The Most Dangerous Game remake, now in select theaters and on VOD.

• Ship Outta Luck: Sanger Rainsford (Chris “C.T.” Tamburello) is a World War II veteran dealing with some PTSD issues, who finds himself traveling with his father Marcus (Judd Nelson, New Jack City) by ship for a hunting trip. The plan is to hunt Kodiak bear, but those plans change when their ship passes an island that has a bad reputation. The ship’s captain would prefer to go around the island, but that would add several days to the voyage and Marcus Rainsford insists they take the shorter route which will take them through a narrow channel between the island in question and it’s neighboring island… that time cutting decision would be a costly one. The boat mysteriously blows up while going through the channel (although we only hear about it, the movie does not depict it) and Sanger, his father and friend of the Rainsford family, Rex Alan (Randy Charach, The 2nd) wash up on the mysterious island.

• Hungry Like the Wolf: The sound of a gunshot leads the trio to a camp site, where they meet the hulking mute Ivan (Kevin Porter, Salvage Marines) and the owner of the island, Baron Von Wolf (Casper Van Dien, Starship Troopers)… Baron offers them a place to stay, some dinner and more importantly tells them that there will be a boat coming in 3 days that can take them off the island… but in the meantime, he suggests they spend their time on the island hunting because if one thing is made abundantly clear, Baron Von Wolf loves to hunt… but things take an unexpected turn when the Baron reveals he has graduated from hunting tigers and jaguars and is now into hunting the only animal that can reason… humans!
• Skull Island: At first Marcus and Rex can not believe what they are hearing (meanwhile a stoic Sanger listens intently) but then the Baron shows off his collection of human skulls and they quickly realize this madman is telling the truth, Marcus and Rex both refuse to participate in the Baron’s murder hunt… this leads to Baron Von Wolf shooting Marcus dead right in front of his son, while Ivan bludgeons Rex to death… Sanger is kept alive because he is going to be the HUNTED in Baron Von Wolf’s most dangerous game. Sanger will be provided with a hunting knife, supplies and most importantly a three hour head start.

• Exit the Quin, Enter the Ben: Sanger is paired up with two other poor souls who had their boats blown to smithereens taking the short cut, the brother and sister combo of Quin (Edward Finlay) and Mary (Elissa Dowling)… Sanger could have easily let the siblings fend for themselves, but he is a decent human being and teams up with them, using his military training to keep them alive… but it isn’t long before Quin gets himself killed when he freaks out and deviates from the plan that Sanger laid out to keep the three of them alive. Now both Sanger and Mary have lost a loved one which strengthens their bond. But Sanger and Mary aren’t alone in this hunt for long as they encounter another man on the island, Benjamin Colt (Tom Berenger, Sniper). Ben has managed to go undetected by Baron Von Wolf and has a hideout at one of the highest points of the island giving him a perfect view of anything coming his way… and this Most Dangerous Game just got a little more interesting.

The plot of The Most Dangerous Game is a proven winner, I knew that before I even hit play. The X factor was going to be the cast and crew who had to execute the most dangerous game plan… and execute it they did. I have seen Casper Van Dien play a villain before, but never with a German accent! The accent took some getting used to, but it wasn’t long before I stopped seeing Casper Van Dien doing a German accent on my screen and instead all I could see was Baron Von Wolf… a character that did not go too over the top, which I think made him more menacing… Baron Von Wolf was a thinking man’s villain for sure.

Of course the Baron did not need to be too over the top either opposing a lowkey hero like Sanger Rainsford. Sanger had a high level of skill and experience but wasn’t a larger than life character, basking in the glory of it all… he was a man of honor and principles and a man who was determined to survive and do everything he could to make sure Mary survived too. Tamburello brought a quiet strength to the Sanger Rainsford character and his rivalry with Baron Von Wolf was more akin to a game of human chess than it was the usual slam bang action showdown.

• Personal Best: Sanger Rainsford is one helluva marksman, in fact we find out his personal best is hitting a target from 1000 yards.
• Familiar Face: Bruce Dern (Harry Tracy and Diggstown) played Whitney Tyler, another friend of the Rainsford family, who seemed to specialize in ball busting in the short time he appears in the movie. Tyler along with the crew of the ship did not survive the explosion, an explosion we’d later find out was caused by Baron Von Wolf’s sea mines.
• Say the Name, Say the Name: Baron Von Wolf wins the award for being the character to say “The Most Dangerous Game” on multiple occasions. Characters saying the name of the movie is always a big hit at my house.