Hunter Killer

**Hunter Killer** is a 2018 film starring Gerard Butler, Gary Oldman, Common, Linda Cardellini and Toby Stephens, directed by Donovan Marsh, written by Arne Schmidt and Jamie Moss and produced by Neal H. Moritz, Toby Jaffe, Butler, Alan Siegel, Tucker Tooley, Mark Gill, John Thompson, Matthew O'Toole and Les Weldon.

The film was a financial failure as it generated a loss of $64 million.

## Plot

The U.S. Los Angeles class submarine USS *Tampa Bay* vanishes while shadowing the Russian Akula-class submarine *Konek* in the Arctic. Rear Admiral John Fisk sends the *Virginia*-class submarine USS *Arkansas*, under the command of newly promoted and unorthodox Commander Joe Glass to investigate.

At the same time, a Navy SEAL team under the command of Lieutenant Bill Beaman is sent in to discreetly observe the Russian naval base in Polyarny, Murmansk Oblast, but their mission is swiftly complicated when Martinelli, the team's new designated marksman recruit, is injured during the HALO drop. When they arrive at the naval base, they witness defense minister, Admiral of the Fleet Dmitriy Durov, conducting a coup d'état and taking Russian President Nikolai Zakarin prisoner, and swiftly realize that Durov intends to trigger a war. Their location is almost discovered by the Russians during a radio intercept check, but the SEALS manage to hide away undetected. Martinelli is shot in the leg by a Russian officer firing blindly into their hiding location, forcing the team to leave him behind.

Meanwhile, *Arkansas* discovers the destroyed *Tampa Bay*, and also finds the sunken Russian submarine *Konek* damaged in a manner that suggests internal sabotage rather than external attack. They are attacked by another Russian Akula submarine, *Volkov*, that has been hiding under an iceberg, but Glass is able to destroy the ambusher and rescue Russian survivors from *Konek*, including its commanding officer, Captain 2nd rank Sergei Andropov.

Back at base, the U.S. government learns about the coup. Admiral Charles Donnegan recommends preparing for war, while Fisk suggests that *Arkansas* be sent to rendezvous with Beaman's team after they have rescued Zakarin. Glass manages to convince the reluctant Andropov to help, and with Andropov's knowledge of the minefield around the base, Glass navigates *Arkansas* near the base undetected. Meanwhile, Beaman's team rescue Russian Presidential Security Service Agent Oleg, who was previously shot by Durov's men when he tried to stop Durov from holding Zakarin hostage. Together they infiltrate the base and succeed in retrieving President Zakarin, but lose Oleg, and two teammates, Devin Hall and Matt Johnstone, in the process. With Martinelli providing sniper cover fire, Beaman delivers the injured president to *Arkansas*'s deep-submergence rescue vehicle, then goes back alone for Martinelli, saving him just before he was about to be executed.

As U.S. and Russian fleets face off for battle, *Arkansas* sustains further damage when they are attacked by Andropov's old ship, RFS *Yevchenko*—a heavily armed destroyer now commanded by Captain Vlade Sutrev, a member of Durov's conspiracy—but Andropov is able to communicate a message affirming that President Zakarin is aboard the submarine. When Durov orders his forces at the base to fire missiles at the surfaced *Arkansas*, Glass refuses to take action, recognizing that firing back at the Russians could start the war he is trying to stop. In the last seconds, Andropov's old crewmates defy orders and destroy the incoming missiles with the close-in weapon system before they can strike *Arkansas*, and subsequently destroy Durov's naval base headquarters with their missiles. With the war averted, Glass docks *Arkansas* to the Russian naval base to return Zakarin and Andropov's surviving crew to their country. *Arkansas* picks up Beaman and Martinelli, and travels back to the U.S. with a Russian Navy escort.