A new Samuel L. Jackson movie is a big event, with the American actor a beloved star, but here's a movie that you probably haven't seen: Big Game came out in 2015 and judging by the box office you hadn't seen it... until it found its way onto Netflix UK's most-watched movies list.
Big Game was added to Netflix UK's library on Saturday, June 1; over a week later, it's snuck its way onto the streamer's top 10 daily movies list at spot #8, breaking up a list that's been dominated by Netflix Originals as well as an Oscar-winning addition.
A Finnish movie from director Jamari Helander (who you may know from cult hit Sisu), Big Game is about a young boy who's hunting a deer in Lapland to prove that he's a man. His expedition changes course somewhat when Air Force One is shot down in the woods, and the boy has to help the president fend off terrorists while surviving in the wild.
Jackson plays said president in a cast that's a mix of local talent and British and American stars; Ray Stevenson, Jim Broadbent, Ted Levine, Victor Garber and Felicity Huffman also appear.
You'd be forgiven for having missed this Jackson action movie, because it's not one of his blockbusters, and according to Box Office Mojo it had a relatively minor release in the UK with only 350 theaters showing it (for context, the big blockbusters of 2015 opened in roughly double that).
It didn't quite make back its budget, despite pretty positive reviews. On Rotten Tomatoes the movie sits at a 76% Tomatometer score, with critics generally positive towards it.
However audiences apparently weren't as enthralled, as the audience score shows. At just 35% it's less than half of the critic score, but reading the reviews you can tell why: both the positive and negative remarks call it goofy, corny and silly. Given that some love action movies with those traits and others don't, you can see why the movie would be so divisive.
There's something of note in the fact that Big Game took over a week to show up on Netflix's most-watched movies list. Usually new additions jump straight onto the list as everyone checks out the film, and then they drop off when new ones are added. These are often for additions that Netflix markets a lot too.
The fact that Big Game took a while longer suggests something else: word of mouth. It's likely that people are slowly finding it on the platform and enjoying it more than reviews suggested, and passing on the suggestion. This is hard to verify though as Summer Games Fest is currently going on, which is a several-day-long video games event announcing big new games, so searches on social media for Big Game show up big new video games instead.
So will you love or hate Big Game? Some are comparing it to The Goonies, which is a solid recommendation, but it's probably more enjoyable for people who like silly action movies over serious ones. If you're a Samuel L. Jackson fan, think The Hitman's Bodyguard or Snakes on a Plane over Reasonable Doubt or Glass.
