Customer Reviews

The Hunted (Widescreen Edition)

5 star:		(30)
4 star:		(38)
3 star:		(32)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

From the first frames of this interesting and somewhat offbeat movie, I found myself fascinated by the setting in the snow-graced forests of the Pacific northwest, where retired government martial-arts and assassin training expert Tommy Lee Jones walks with both grace and purpose through the winter splendor of the chilly landscape. However unlikely the action as depicted in the scenes, it was a marvelous set of opening scenes, providing a key insight into the lead character's humanity and perspective. Little would I know that this was perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this taut suspense thriller. Lee is soon whisked away almost involuntarily to help solve a pair of horrific murders of seasoned and well-armed hunters in the area, only to discover the assailant was one of the expert assassins he helped train. From there the mystery begins to deepen, and Lee finds himself locked into a death struggle on a number of levels both with the assassin, played well by the charismatic Benico Del Toro.

Del Toro's character is haunted by memories of atrocities he witnessed in Kosovo, and his former government handlers are trying to convince Lee that Del Toro has simply gone renegade. Yet there are signs that there may be some truth to Del Toro's suspicions, as told to Lee indicating that he had been set up, that the hunters he executed in the forest were in fact government assassins come to terminate him. The viewer is taken on a whirlwind ride through forest, suburb, and through a variety of cityscapes, and a few of the chase scenes are entertaining, amusing, and quite ingenuous. The plot sometimes suffers from more bullet holes than any of Del Toro's victims, but if you can suspend your critical faculties enough to enjoy the fireworks, you will likely enjoy this potboiler effort at government intrigue gone horribly wrong. Enjoy!

The Hunted is not based on a very original idea, but it is executed in a unique manner. Some people might think it looks like the third "Fugitive" movie, and the idea is similar--Tommy Lee Jones has to chase down and catch Benicio Del Toro, but unlike Harrison Ford and Wesley Snipes, Del Toro is actually guilty of murder. Jones plays "LT," the man who trained Hallam (Del Toro) to kill for the government. This is why he is the one to track Hallam, because he taught him. This element makes Jones' role much more believable. This movie is full of violence, none of it overdone, but every act of violence is shown onscreen, and not much is left to the imagination. The hunt for Hallam is intense, and the skill with which Hallam continuously evades his hunters is intriguing. This movie is well worth watching, because both Jones and Del Toro offer terrific performances.

Other reviewers have already commented on action, plot, etc., so I would like to take this into realms psychological.

First of all, this film is a wonderful demonstration of a thesis basic to depth psychology: those mythic stories we fail to take account of when they address us get lived out unconsciously. "Mythic" in the sense of a primordial tale, not an archaic explanation. The primordial tale addressing these two men is that of Abraham and his son Isaac. The narrative voice at the start of the film lets us know that: "And God said, Abraham, kill me a son." This, then, is the given, the symbolic framework in which the older tracker/weapons master and the young soldier must operate.

Then comes the personal. L. T. (Tommy Lee Jones) learned how to track, hunt, survive, and kill from his own father. He taught those skills to Aaron, but they were not enough. Overloaded with the stresses of war's insanity, Aaron writes to L. T. for help, but the older man does not know what to do, how to help (perhaps because his own father did not).

There are many traditions and myths describing how the older men initiate the younger ones into adulthood. This film depicts a failed initiation: the dilemma of an elder who ought to be a mentor but, never having been mentored himself, cannot give the male blessing to the younger man who needs it so badly. Because of this, both have little choice but to live out the story of Abraham and Isaac in its most destructive implications.

If you're the type of person who doesn't like character development and plot cluttering up your movies, THE HUNTED is for you. It's cold, bleak, violent, and pretty much all action. Various synopses may lead you to believe it has a plot, and the film actually starts to build up to one, but essentially eschews it all in favor of Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio del Toro beating each other up for 90 minutes. The good thing is that this is a William Friedkin action film, so you know it's going to be graphic, gory, and very pulpy, with a good (although short-lived) car chase, and slightly arty direction. Honestly, though, I was very impressed how there was no music blaring away as Jones and del Toro stabbed the hell out of each other. Say what you will, I'm a big Friedkin fan, and I enjoyed this one.

This movie is contrived and implausible, and I don't know how it can be billed as a thriller with its total lack of suspense. Why these fine actors chose to act in such a film, I'll never know, but I don't know how either of them kept from rolling their eyes when both of them, during a police chase, found time to forge and create their own knives. Give me a break. The tiny side plots about Del Toro's love life and Jones' work for the wildlife service are there, I suppose, to make their characters seem more interesting. The only thing I can imagine making them more interesting is their refusing these roles.

I'm so glad I rented this movie before purchasing. Now I only have to lament the loss of four bucks.

Skip it.

Halfway through this I wondered if in fact I was watching a parody of the Fugitive.
How either of these actors agreed to be a part of this over the top, ultra cliched, poorly executed mess is anyone's guess. The plot and scripting don't get much worse although there are a few moments of decent action but you've really seen it all before. Pretty blah editing and direction to boot.
Watch out for a re-enactment of Predator in last 10 minutes before an overly bloody and tacky close.
One redeeming factor for The Hunted is that it was refreshing to watch a film that ended predictably without resorting to a trendy twist that a lot of films employ these days 'to set them apart'.

Three facts about this film help to make it highly-rated in my book: it's very entertaining, moves fast and lasts only 90 minutes.

So, if in the mood for a combination Fugitive/Rambo story with two very intense lead actors, this is a convenient diversion to play numerous times.

Tommy Lee Jones was the mentor who trained Benico Del Toro on the art of killing and now the ex-student has gone out of control and Jones must hunt him down, something the police can't seem to do. That's the story, simple as that. The only thing was a little implausible is that old man chasing down a kid for miles. Tommy Lee might be in shape, but he isn't young enough to do what he does here. However, both men are fun to watch and the action scenes are well done. You don't get bored watching this movie.

No, the film isn't high-grade mentality but it isn't totally stupid, either. It doesn't get carried and is pretty believable until the final chase scene. Along the way, we are treated the Portland cityscape and Northwest woods, both of which are nicely filmed and look great on this DVD.

I live right across the river from where this movie was shot and in that regard I enjoyed all the referrences to places I know and have been. But there are so many plot holes in this movie it was hard for me to recommend it highly. Both lead characters should have died long before the end of the movie. I suppose super soldiers have incredible endurance and twice as much blood as most people. Benicio Del Toro should have drowned when he jumped into the Columbia River. If the impact didn't kill him the current would have pulled him down. I know this river personally and the current is incredibly strong. Tommy Lee Jones character said Benicio could "swim like a fish" but I doubt he could breath like one. Also, Benicio is being chased by agents and cops so what does he do, he builds a fire and fashions a blade. Good idea. Tommy gets stabbed in the leg by a long, sharp stick which apparently only made him angry because he didn't bleed from that wound thereafter. Then he falls onto some rocks on his way down a large waterfall, then pulls himself out and shortly gets into a knife fight with Benicio. It is only near the end that the editing and plot take a back seat to reality. Am I supposed to believe that Benicio set an elaborate trap of two logs that come smashing together a la "Return of the Jedi"? I realize that he isn't your normal human soldier but hiding might have been a smarter plan. He is able to blend with the shadows, yes? Then there is the scene where Tommy is just dripping with water, and only moments later he is completely dry. Anyway...it wasn't a complete waste of time. In fact, the fight sequences were enjoyable, albeit bloody. And there were some other scenes that were fairly well done. It just didn't make much sense. Blood-loss usually causes people to feint or go into shock. I've even heard that some people die from it. It's true. I think I saw it on the Discovery Channel.

This would be a standard Tommy Lee chase picture except for all those scenes the other reviewers describe as "realistic". Tommy and Benny apprarently have no muscle, no tendons, no arteries. They just hack and hack and keep on hacking.

I like action and maybe I'm getting old but I am so damn tired of seeing over-the-top butchering of arms, legs, torsos. Enough already!

As for the story, its entirely cliches, start to finish. To make things even worse, we're supposed to feel sorry for Benny (war vet snaps cliche).

What a terrible waste of two fine actors.

I love it when two of my favorite actors are in a movie together. When one's off screen, you have the other to keep you entertained. And when they're on screen together, it's movie-making at its best. The plot itself leaves a bit to be desired. The film's production was stop-and-go for so long, I heard that the director changed direction before it was finished. My guess is that some of what was lost was what was missing from the movie, particularly in regards to understanding Benicio's character properly. Nonetheless, Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro shine throughout.
P.S. Being an animal lover, I love that two leads in a movie are pro-animal too.