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Hunters, season 2, review: Al Pacino hunts down Adolf Hitler in this absurd romp

The Hunters - Amazon Studios
The Hunters - Amazon Studios

It was not obvious from the first series of Hunters (Amazon Prime Video) that a second would be forthcoming. In fact it looked unlikely. The drama’s premise was diverting enough. In an alternate-reality America, a ragtag band of mostly Jewish assassins – led by the enigmatic businessman Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) – went around finding Nazis who had escaped after the end of the Second World War and murdering them in gruesome, abrupt fashion. The costumes and sets recreated 1970s New York in the kind of detail you expect, or at least hope for, when Amazon is picking up the tab. Yet the script was uneven and at times the action felt disjointed.

More than that, though, they bumped off their star. While there were decent performances in the ensemble – including an enjoyable debut from the British actor Greg Austin as a villain – Pacino was easily the biggest draw. In the final episode of the first series he was shot dead. Hunters barely got by with him; how would it manage without? They don’t, as it turns out. Pacino’s back, in flashback, for this second outing, which takes the Hunters on an even more outlandish conspiracy quest. Knowing how his story ends makes his presence confusing, but welcome nonetheless.

At the end of series one we learnt that the mysterious woman called “The Colonel”, running the continuity Nazis, was actually Eva Braun. Not only is Mrs Hitler alive, but the big man is, too. They are chilling their boots in Argentina, plotting their next Reich. The Hunters must bring them to justice. While they are presented as an ensemble, our way in is Jonah (Logan Lerman), the capable loner young man who was our route into the gang in the first series, while iffy actor Lonny Flash (Josh Radnor) provides most of the laughs.

Yes, it’s bonkers, but that isn’t Hunters’ weakness. If anything, it is at its best when it gives in to its cartoonish absurdity. As Tarantino proved with Inglourious Basterds, and Taika Waititi with Jojo Rabbit, it is possible to have stylised fun with the Nazis without glossing over the evil. The problem is that Hunters still, in its second and final series, doesn’t know whether to play things for kinetic thrills or to try to get deep and serious with its subject. It still looks the part, but the uneven character development and tonal inconsistencies that weakened the first series are still there.

The finale is a courtroom set piece, a bit of wish-fulfilment whose script falls sadly short of its ambition. This is a place where people can say things like “good work on bringing Hitler to justice,” quite unencumbered by irony. You will the curtains to be drawn. Too often these days, promising shows are cut down in their prime by cutthroat channels. Hunters has its moments. Most of them involve Pacino, seemingly incapable of being unwatchable, even when the dialogue he is given tries its best. In this case, Amazon has cut down a programme at just the right time.


Season 2 of The Hunters is on Amazon Prime Video from Friday 13 January