'If you want to be a screenwriter watch The Hunter'

The subject above is the title of one of the user reviews on this page and I couldn't disagree more (unless you interpret it as "watch this to learn what not to do").

Now, I know that most of the people who visit this page will be McQueen fans and defend this film to the hilt, but I'm not really attacking the film, just the idea that it has a good screenplay.

First up, don't you think it's a little episodic? (*Spoilers Ahoy*) For example:

* Picks up sheriff's nephew in southern state, warned by sheriff not to (storyline doesn't develop on from this);

* Also picks up Levar Burton (in opening scene!), whose only subsequent contribution to the film is he tries to repair a lot of things with generally poor results;

* Big chase scene with the Barnardo psycho, which comes fairly late into the story, and once once despatched, again has no significance;

* The Mason nutjob - the big villain of the piece, the only bad guy who threads throughout.... and yet he doesn't turn up until the 30 min mark, and then takes less time to dispose of than the random Barnardo kid!

* And what's the deal with the alcoholic friend who kills himself?? I mean, what would you do?? You visit a friend they're drunk, depressed, waving a gun around and threatening to kill the local drug dealer and then themselves. Naturally you open another bottle of whisky, get pissed and then leave. And when you hear the next day that your friend has topped himself you won't be surprised..... madness.

If this were good screenwriting (i.e. everything contributing to the overall narrative in a clean, lean manner with no flab) then perhaps.....

* The Southern sheriff would have sent some 'boys' up to Cali to sort out Poppa;
* Levar Burton's technical aptitude would have solved some problem in the final stages, with poppa using his skills to fight the bad guys;
* the big chase wouldn't have been with some random, only-for-this-scene generated character. Instead it would have been better as Mason (to give him some screen time).

The whole reluctant father thing might be sweet, (although only because it's McQueen playing it) but again, it doesn't really develop well or set up and pay-off.

Face it, this was a hack-job script, more suited for TV, perhaps one episode for each of the ideas in here (but more fleshed out). No disrespect to Stevie, but I had to respond to the idea that this is a good script. It ain't!