Milo (Gerard Butler) is a decidedly unsuccessful bounty hunter with substantial gambling debts and a broken heart after his divorce. He luck begins to turn when he takes his latest job- finding his wife Nicole (Jennifer Aniston), an investigative reporter who has skipped bail to chase a story about a suspicious suicide. Milo soon gets his woman, but with the evil Mahler (Peter Green) chasing Nicole, and a pair of clumsy goons on the tail of Milo, surviving each other may be the least of their problems.

The trailer outlines the story really- Butler chases Aniston, catches her, and the shenanigans ensue! A simple plot accompanied by an equally simple script- we have the stereotype ‘dirty cop’ chasing Nicole, the comedy loan sharks whom Milo owes a lot of money. The jokes are hit and miss (unless you are recently divorced yourself), and a lot of the film resembles a Benny Hill sketch, with characters chasing eachother left right and centre. A saving grace is the pace, which doesn’t waste time on building up to the main plot, rather throws you head first into the action (mainly meaning Butler beating people up or Aniston trying to slip out of handcuffs).

It’s an equally unsurprising showing from either of the stars. If you’ve seen any of her rom-coms you’ll know what’s coming from Aniston. It’s a shame her work in independent film (such as 08’s ‘Management’) is not as prolific as her studio output, as here she’s a feistier version of Rachel, just as she was in ‘Love Happens’ and ‘Marley & Me.’ Similarly, those who didn’t see the trailer may think Butler’s character from ‘The Ugly Truth’ has wandered into another film. His crass-but-charming routine wears thin here as it did then, but at least he’s not in a bath of jelly this time.

‘The Bounty Hunter’ has enough giggles to save it from disaster, but nothing to make you roll in the aisles, and a few gun shots in the predictable finale only barely accounts for the ‘action’ in this action-comedy. The two leads’ combined charisma has enough to keep it going, but if you want anything more than a light, forgettable film this may not be for you.