A new suspenseful Netflix film Heart of the Hunter, directed by Mandla Walter Dube, and released on March 29th, 2024, is about the unknown retirement of a once feared assassin in South Africa who is bothered by his past he thought he fully let go. His old friend/mentor, Johnny Klein (Peter Butler), a politician that the government started to consider a terrorist, shows up and demands the assassin to go across South Africa to find information about the government. Through many fights and long days, the ex-assassin finishes what Johnny asked for and returns to the normal life he wished for with no more worries of the corrupt government that was trying to take him down.
The main character is Zuko Khumalo (Bonko Cosmo Khoza), a former assassin who works at a motorcycle shop. Zuko turned into a family man after meeting his girlfriend Malime Mambi (Masasa Mbangeni). Molebogeng Kwena (Connie Ferguson), director of the presidential agency, is a corrupt agent who follows orders from the Hart known as Mtima. She oversaw making sure Zuko was captured to protect them from being exposed. Tiger de Klerk (Tim Theron) is a tactical agent who works for Mo and does the search for Zuko. He was one of the only ones to be able to face Zuko in a fight due to his determination to catch him but quickly realized he wouldn’t be able to.
This movie holds the theme of redemption and corruption. Although it contains a lot of action, the film covers the fight against a corrupt government. It also shows that even though Zuko had a dark past, he was able to overcome it and become willing to care and love for his new family, showing an example that it is never too late to change your ways and sometimes no matter how hard you try to escape your past, it will come back eventually. The main conflict of the retired assassin in South Africa is his past comes back to him as he is forced to solve and end a conspiracy about the South African government. As Zuko fights his way to get back to his family he becomes a corrupt politician’s main target. As every man has a weakness, they keep his Girlfriend and son captive to try and capture him.
Due to Zuko’s determination to end this war between them, Zuko runs from the FBI that is chasing him, achieving many escapes from very close calls of being captured. He finds what Johnny wanted him to find and puts an end to it. He finds Hart who has been the one commanding Mo to hunt him down. He then faces Mo and Tiger back-to-back, leading with them all being eliminated, leaving his enemies taken care of. Zuko then reunites with his son and returns to his normal life but without his girlfriend who unfortunately passed away trying to escape the hands of Mo.
If action and suspense interest you, this film is recommended at a 5 out of 5-star rating. It not only catches your attention from the plot of an assassin but educates you on how corrupt the government can be and how no one can ever run from their past. It is always best to face struggles as soon as you can so it doesn’t come back to you when you least expect it. It is not a perfect film by any means, but director Mandla Dube and his team did really well making the action compelling and believable.