The Hunted (2003)

Bare Bone Action

The Hunted is one of William Friedkin most underated pictures.The Director who defined Film as an art with classics like French Connection or The Exorcist brings us the story of a burnt out soldier who starts a killing mission.His instructor is the one who is chosen to hunt him down.The film is a well structured action cracker full of violent knife- duels and very tight action pieces.It doesn't use wire-tricks or CGI.The DVD itself has a very informative commentary by Friedkin and short making of featurettes.Highly Recommended. May 27, 2008

WHO IS THE HUNTED, WHO IS THE PREY?

Director William Freidkin, know for his terrifying THE EXORCIST and non stop action ride THE FRENCH CONNECTION, has made more films than most remember. The problem is that anything he makes must always be measured beside these two. But, if you take that away from the equation, you find that there are a number of other films he's made that are equally as impressive in their own right.

That being said his latest, THE HUNTED, is a non stop action film that holds you from beginning to end. Proof? As I was watching it, I hit the display button on my DVD player to discover that the film only had 7 minutes left to go. And it felt as if it had only just started!

The movie tells the tale of Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro), a special ops agent working for the government in Kosovo. On a mission to take out a violent official, he witnesses so much death and carnage that he snaps. He accomplishes his mission but it takes its toll on him.

Change of local and time and we find Del Toro now hiding in the woods of Oregon. When two hunters with high powered scopes attempt to take out a deer, Hallam takes them out instead, first toying with them and then delivering the final blow. Blending back into the woods, he leaves behind a bloody legacy.

Moving forward we are taken to Canada where L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee
Jones) is tracking a wounded animal. Bonham is the type of person who could track any animal in any environment. Taking care of the animal, and the man who harmed it, he is approached by a US official who escorts him back to Oregon to help in the investigation of the murders.

It seems that Bonham was the man who trained Hallam and the only man with a chance of finding him. Bonham is the only man with the expertise in killing and survival tactics to discover his location and to bring him in. Using theses skills (and having a tracer placed on him by the FBI) Hallam is captured and taken into custody.

Hallam tries to get Bonham to talk to him, has been trying to get his attention for some time now, or so he claims. As he begins to blurt out information about covert operations, Bonham stops him with the warning that he could be killed if he does so.

While Hallam awaits charges, a trio of government agents arrives to escort him to who knows where. Along the route the choose to take, Hallam escapes, killing all three. Now the hunt begins anew as Bonham starts once again to track down the renegade ops agent in an effort to put an end to the tragedy he began years ago.

Action aplenty is the name of the game here, but not at the cost of story. A tension lies beneath the surface of the relationship between Bonham and Hallam, an unspoken series of words that says there is more going on here than meets the eye. The relationship between the two seems more like father and son than instructor and student. The use of Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" with the story of Abraham's order to kill his son is put to good use in helping explain. For Hallam is Bonham's son, if not in the physical sense than in the spiritual one.

There is no waste of time or film in this movie, as every scene, every shot carries you to the next level. It holds you tight, sometimes allowing you insights into the real person behind each character, sometimes setting you up in predictable sequences where you know the outcome and ending with a twist that might seem minor but tells more once you think about it.

The DVD comes with extras such as documentaries on the production, stills and more.

All in all, this is one good movie that stuns you when you realize how long it's been since it started. The acting is nothing less than would be expected of the leads, first rate and professional. And the directing. Let's just say that Freidkin has not lost his touch. And let's hope that in seeing this film, viewers wander back to check out all of the other films he's done over the years. They won't be disappointed.


March 15, 2008

WILLIAM FRIEDKIN, OPUS 17

**** 2003. Directed by William Friedkin. Four years before Bug (Special Edition), his last film to date, Friedkin, in THE HUNTED, already took an interest in the case of a soldier suffering from a mental disorder. But when one knows that it was his teacher/father who had the duty to stop him, the movie acquires a very interesting dimension. Recommended. February 21, 2008

An Old Story but Very Well Told.....

Yes, we have seen this plotline before, but that didn't stop me from thoroughly enjoying the movie. Tommy Lee is at his laconic best and Benicio definitely has the eyes of a cold blooded killer. The tracking and knife fighting scenes were as authentic as it gets, and the setting provided a beautiful backdrop to the cat and mouse hunt that takes up most of the movie. The action is relentless and exciting. I strongly recommend this movie to anyone who enjoyed Rambo when it first came out. The highly skilled loner evading both a mob of law enforcement officers and a highly skilled tracker makes for a good viewing experience, especially in the hands of a world-class director like William Friedkin. September 1, 2007

Could'a Should'a Would'a

This movie should have been great. I don't know what happened in the editing process. Friedken just blew it and it is obvious in so many parts. You can see his hands all over it, in a good way but then it looks like it is just thrown together and there are some big old plot holes. Another problem I have with it is Benicio Del Toro cast as a redneck backwoods guy from West Virginia. I think he does a good job but he is totally miscast. If you are going to have a hispanic guy play the part then change the characters back story and make him from somewhere else. He didn't fit the character at all... but he did a good job and he is a good actor. Tommy Lee Jones is just great in everything he does and was really good in this as was Connie Neilson.

All in all I liked the movie and wanted to like it more but it had some big flaws for a movie that has so much talent top to bottom. August 18, 2007

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