Amazon Prime Video is home to a variety of content — such as its collection of video game adaptations we’re getting excited about — but some folks may not know that the platform’s library also includes Al Pacino pairing with 2017’s “Get Out” director Jordan Peele to tell their own version of history. While 2020’s “Hunters” TV-MA rating and historical reimagining means the show might not be for everybody, it can be a real thrill-ride for those who take interest.
Currently available on streaming, “Hunters” explores a controversial topic from one of the darkest periods in history — and it’s not a guarantee that the show always handles the topic with delicacy and sensitivity in mind. Nonetheless, the series maintains rather positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, so don’t say we didn’t warn you before diving into a show that sees its characters fighting Nazis in an alternate timeline.
Spanning two seasons, this drama-mystery-thriller will have you traveling through the streets of a metropolis in a high-stakes plot: One man seeks revenge, and one team attempts to save the world. While the series can be polarizing, it did earn Al Pacino a 2021 Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series – Drama.
Al Pacino goes to an alternate 1977 in Amazon Prime’s Hunters
Along with appearing twice on IMDb’s list of the five best movies of all time (for his role in “The Godfather” and its immediate sequel), Al Pacino is no stranger to appearing in a variety of media, and Amazon Prime’s “Hunters” takes him on a journey that many would likely consider controversial. With Jordan Peele — creator of one of our favorite sci-fi shows that only got one season — attached as an executive producer, the series isn’t afraid to address hot-button topics.
“Hunters” takes place in New York City circa 1977, and follows the story of Jonah Heidelbaum (Logan Lerman) — a young Jewish man from Brooklyn who joins an eclectic team of Nazi hunters led by Meyer Offerman (Al Pacino) to avenge the death of his grandmother (Jeannie Berlin). The team soon discovers an assortment of Nazi officials, and the team must stop them from bringing about the Fourth Reich. Along with Pacino and Lerman, “Hunters” also stars Jerrika Hinton, Josh Radnor, and Kate Mulvany.
Currently, the series holds a 69% Tomatometer score and a 64% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes. In a 2020 review covering the first season for The Guardian, critic Euan Ferguson states the series is, “Outrageously flawed by still immensely, thrillingly watchable.” If you’re familiar with the way Quentin Tarantino approaches history in 2009’s “Inglourious Basterds”, this may help you determine whether “Hunters” is a show for you. The series is currently streaming on Amazon Prime and Netflix.
