Gerard Butler’s ‘Hunter Killer’ banned in Russia

Russia blamed bureaucracy rather than censorship for a decision to halt the release of a Hollywood movie that tells the fictional story of US troops rescuing a Russian president from a Kremlin coup.

The thriller Hunter Killer was due to hit screens in Russia on November 1, but the release was pulled, prompting allegations from Kremlin critics that it was censored because its plot undermines President Vladimir Putin’s strongman image.

The Culture Ministry was quoted by Russian media as saying Hunter Killer had not received authorisation because a satisfactory copy of the film had not been submitted to Russia’s state film archive in time.

The film, starring Gerard Butler and Gary Oldman, features a plot in which Russia’s president is taken hostage by his own defence minister. It’s currently showing across the UAE. — Reuters