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Movie Review
The Hunted
By Lee Tistaert Published March 15, 2003
US Release: March 14, 2003
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones , Benicio Del Toro , Connie Nielsen
R
Running Time: 94 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $34,196,000
Directed by: William Friedkin
Starring: Tommy Lee Jones , Benicio Del Toro , Connie Nielsen
R
Running Time: 94 minutes
Domestic Box Office: $34,196,000
B-
41 of 132
While not incredibly fulfilling, it does the job in the ways of simple distractions
Despite running on a well-known formula, The Hunted is entertaining. Director William Friedkin has managed to grab a script that is more so average, and gives it oomph on the screen even if the experience will be soon gone from our minds.
The film, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro, is not original ? it revisits Rambo: First Blood, along with the basic foundation of The Fugitive. It is, however, much better than the crap that was U.S. Marshals, even if Hunted doesn?t get anywhere close to the status of the original Richard Kimble tale.
The Hunted works because the director understands the basic principles of pacing and knows the camera well enough to make our engagement consistently present. The film, which is only about 95 minutes, speeds by; and for a chase movie, what better description to be met by. The film doesn?t offer anything especially new to the genre itself, but supplies an adequate amount of entertainment to call it a night even if viewer satisfaction isn?t tremendous.
It?s a formula piece that is enjoyable in part due to the leads in front of our eyes, as well as the folks behind the screen skillfully showing us the familiar tale in a still-thrilling style. We know what is to come, but the cast members and director are making us care to some degree ? or if not totally sympathizing, a certain thrill level is in gear.
The Hunted follows a trained assassin, Aaron Hallam (Benecio Del Toro), on the run killing various soldiers throughout the woods who are out to put a stop to the madman?s murderous spree. Aaron was originally trained to kill by L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones), who decides its best to jump on the case despite his FBI duties being retired; Bonham knows what Hallam?s mind process in various situations and understands the procedure of combat.
What unravels next is purely Hollywood at its more predictable end, but rather than pulling the wrong moves in plot structure with human drama, the picture pays more attention to the man-on-the-run thrill and action angle of the story. We?re not expected to care too deeply about our characters, which can be a downside for some films but here the script makes the wise choice of avoiding the terrible human drama clich?s that screenplays can fall into, or simply the subplots that don?t matter whatsoever to the audience.
This film understands its rather fundamental premise and doesn?t waste our time on items within the story that are meaningless to us. It grabs attention from the start, hands over the goods over time, and has the viewer end the experience with the mood that was expected from the get-go. It doesn?t involve our minds in thought provoking moments, nor make us discover a new action/thriller technique we?ve never seen before, but The Hunted nevertheless manages to hand in a reasonably good time.
Tommy Lee Jones is in a role that is very fitting for the actor, but it?s nothing to the status of Samuel Gerard from The Fugitive. Jones has proven over time that he can continuously sustain an on-screen presence even when the script is lacking in meaty substance. While U.S. Marshals could?ve been more of an obligation for the senior actor, he?s had solid positions in Rules of Engagement, a reasonable presence in Double Jeopardy, and fine success with the original Men in Black. Here, it?s the Jones we like and therefore, even if the experience isn?t grand, it?s not a bad turn for the actor.
Benecio Del Toro has some fairly good moments, but most of the time hands in a solid entry. The performance is leagues below the powerful glare he brought to Traffic, but still quite endurable. Instead of playing the innocent bystander a la Kimble from Fugitive, Del Toro is the ruthless antagonist not allowing anything to get in the way of his route. Though the script doesn?t do a very solid character breakdown for his persona, I did not want to mess with this guy which meant that the payoff was certainly there.
Whether you find The Hunted enjoyable or thrilling to any level will rely on your thoughts on the action/thriller formulas. If you don?t ask for a whole lot besides about an hour and a half of diverting material, you might be in luck. The picture doesn?t attempt to be anything more than it is, which has saved this flick from being more of an average piece of work that it could have so easily been.
If the script devoted any additional screen time to an area of the story not so significant to our experience, then the ride may not have been as rewarding in the long run. While The Hunted as a whole is not incredibly fulfilling, it does the job in the ways of simple distractions and that?s about all I demanded.
DVD Features:
- Commentary by Director William Friedkin
- 4 Documentaries on the Making of The Hunted
-- Pursuing The Hunted
-- Filming The Hunted
-- Tracking The Hunted
-- The Cutting Edge
- 6 Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailer
- Widescreen
Audio Features:
- (English) 5.1 Surround
- (English) Dolby Surround
- (French) 5.1 Surround
- English Subtitles
The film, starring Tommy Lee Jones and Benecio Del Toro, is not original ? it revisits Rambo: First Blood, along with the basic foundation of The Fugitive. It is, however, much better than the crap that was U.S. Marshals, even if Hunted doesn?t get anywhere close to the status of the original Richard Kimble tale.
The Hunted works because the director understands the basic principles of pacing and knows the camera well enough to make our engagement consistently present. The film, which is only about 95 minutes, speeds by; and for a chase movie, what better description to be met by. The film doesn?t offer anything especially new to the genre itself, but supplies an adequate amount of entertainment to call it a night even if viewer satisfaction isn?t tremendous.
It?s a formula piece that is enjoyable in part due to the leads in front of our eyes, as well as the folks behind the screen skillfully showing us the familiar tale in a still-thrilling style. We know what is to come, but the cast members and director are making us care to some degree ? or if not totally sympathizing, a certain thrill level is in gear.
The Hunted follows a trained assassin, Aaron Hallam (Benecio Del Toro), on the run killing various soldiers throughout the woods who are out to put a stop to the madman?s murderous spree. Aaron was originally trained to kill by L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones), who decides its best to jump on the case despite his FBI duties being retired; Bonham knows what Hallam?s mind process in various situations and understands the procedure of combat.
What unravels next is purely Hollywood at its more predictable end, but rather than pulling the wrong moves in plot structure with human drama, the picture pays more attention to the man-on-the-run thrill and action angle of the story. We?re not expected to care too deeply about our characters, which can be a downside for some films but here the script makes the wise choice of avoiding the terrible human drama clich?s that screenplays can fall into, or simply the subplots that don?t matter whatsoever to the audience.
This film understands its rather fundamental premise and doesn?t waste our time on items within the story that are meaningless to us. It grabs attention from the start, hands over the goods over time, and has the viewer end the experience with the mood that was expected from the get-go. It doesn?t involve our minds in thought provoking moments, nor make us discover a new action/thriller technique we?ve never seen before, but The Hunted nevertheless manages to hand in a reasonably good time.
Tommy Lee Jones is in a role that is very fitting for the actor, but it?s nothing to the status of Samuel Gerard from The Fugitive. Jones has proven over time that he can continuously sustain an on-screen presence even when the script is lacking in meaty substance. While U.S. Marshals could?ve been more of an obligation for the senior actor, he?s had solid positions in Rules of Engagement, a reasonable presence in Double Jeopardy, and fine success with the original Men in Black. Here, it?s the Jones we like and therefore, even if the experience isn?t grand, it?s not a bad turn for the actor.
Benecio Del Toro has some fairly good moments, but most of the time hands in a solid entry. The performance is leagues below the powerful glare he brought to Traffic, but still quite endurable. Instead of playing the innocent bystander a la Kimble from Fugitive, Del Toro is the ruthless antagonist not allowing anything to get in the way of his route. Though the script doesn?t do a very solid character breakdown for his persona, I did not want to mess with this guy which meant that the payoff was certainly there.
Whether you find The Hunted enjoyable or thrilling to any level will rely on your thoughts on the action/thriller formulas. If you don?t ask for a whole lot besides about an hour and a half of diverting material, you might be in luck. The picture doesn?t attempt to be anything more than it is, which has saved this flick from being more of an average piece of work that it could have so easily been.
If the script devoted any additional screen time to an area of the story not so significant to our experience, then the ride may not have been as rewarding in the long run. While The Hunted as a whole is not incredibly fulfilling, it does the job in the ways of simple distractions and that?s about all I demanded.
DVD Features:
- Commentary by Director William Friedkin
- 4 Documentaries on the Making of The Hunted
-- Pursuing The Hunted
-- Filming The Hunted
-- Tracking The Hunted
-- The Cutting Edge
- 6 Deleted Scenes
- Theatrical Trailer
- Widescreen
Audio Features:
- (English) 5.1 Surround
- (English) Dolby Surround
- (French) 5.1 Surround
- English Subtitles
Lee's Grade: B-
Ranked #41 of 132 between Elephant (#40) and Camp (#42) for 2003 movies.
Ranked #41 of 132 between Elephant (#40) and Camp (#42) for 2003 movies.
Lee's Overall Grading: 3025 graded movies
| A | 0.4% | |
| B | 30.0% | |
| C | 61.7% | |
| D | 8.0% | |
| F | 0.0% |
