The Hunted (2003)

Simply A Masterpiece

i must have seen a different film!!

Fresh and Exciting

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

An FBI deep-woods tracker captures a trained assassin who has made a sport of hunting humans. The Hunted is one of the many underrated films that Tommy Lee Jones has starred in but also a great and realistic action film that refuses to use a gun and shows how cool it is to have only a knife. Benicio Del Toro in this movie did an excellent job and perfectly showcases this dangerous and insane assassin plus the fight scenes are very realistic and simple to see. The supporting cast also did a pretty good job especially Connie Nielsen (Gladiator) and trust me this isn't your typical action movie where there's one guy against many it's more to that and both leading men gave 2 excellent performances and if you like this kind of films that take their time but also try to showcase more into trying to built a bit thriller and suspense tone to it you won't be disappointed.

It's 1999 in Kosovo. Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro) is awarded the Silver Star for killing a Serb commander who has been massacring civilians. He is haunted by the war. L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) is in British Columbia protecting wildlife. It's 2003 and Hallam has been hunting people in the forest in the American northwest. Bonham who turns out to be his teacher is called in to track him down. FBI agent Abby Durrell (Connie Nielsen) is in charge and they are able to capture him. Government agents take him away since his work as an assassin cannot be brought out in public. He crashes the truck and escapes.Basically, Tommy Lee Jones is doing another Fugitive except the story isn't as compelling and Benicio Del Toro is really quiet. William Friedkin is still a good straight action director. The action isn't too slick. It's partly good although it's too obvious to have the final fight at the edge of the rushing river. Don't ask me why both men have to make their own weapons for that fight. Maybe if the entire movie is one big chase in the woods, that would be more appropriate. This feels like a lesser replica of a better movie.

What happens when you combine these films: Predator, First Blood, and the Fugitive? Well, you get this thriller: The Hunted. Now while the Hunted may seem derivative (it pretty much is), it still is a good time and it's a reasonably entertaining, straightforward thriller which is like a cat and mouse game. This film is not short on the action as we witness some great knife battles, a climatic ending, and lots of graphic violence.William Friedkin's film is about a former ops named Aaron Hallam who has gone rogue after witnessing events in Kosovo. Hallam is wanted for the vicious murders of two businessmen as he tries to avoid being captured. But the FBI calls in his former assassins trainer, L.T Bonham to help them track Hallam down.Tommy Lee Jones is a great actor, but he wasn't convincing here as he should have been. This was just a ripoff of his Fugitive performance, and I'm still deciding whether that is good or not. He still has his charisma and grace though. Benicio Del Toro did do a great job as the vicious Hallam whose best friend is his stealth. Finally, Connie Nielsen was okay as the FBI agent, but I'm not sure if I could buy her performance.Overall, The Hunted is an entertaining, "cat and mouse" thriller that is highlighted by some excellent knife scenes. While the film is not short on action or gore, it does lack an excellent screenplay, which perhaps hindered the acting. But this film does have a good technical side as it has great editing and great cinematography. In other words, this film made it feel I was in the Pacific Northwest as well. I rate this film 8/10.

This movie must of been written by 12 year boys for 12 year old boys. That's the only audience that could possibly believe this crock. One ridiculous scene after another. The wolf scene in the beginning of the movie was ignorant at best. This is the kind of irresponsible filmmaking that gets people in trouble in nature. The knife making scenes were unbelievable. Huge plot holes in the story and very predictable. Poor continuity during many of the scenes throughout the film. I just had to go out of my way to post a review on this movie so people won't waste their money. I can't believe Tommy Lee Jones stooped so low. What a Ho!