The Hunted

December 10, 2004

Rated: R Runtime: 94 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Professional killing soldier goes a bit nuts, hides out in the woods and is tracked down by the guy who trained him. Sound a little bit too familiar? That’s what I was thinking for the first 20 minutes or so of The Hunted. I just kept waiting for Benicio to put a bandana around his forehead and start drooling.

The Hunted

Fortunately the movie takes a turn rather quickly and lets you know that you won’t be seeing First Blood rehashed for the next hour. Then again, you may start to think you’re seeing The Fugitive all over again in a few parts.

Benicio Del Toro is a military assassin who has lost track of reality just a wee bit and is now keeping himself amused by hunting deer hunters who he doesn’t think are giving a deer a fair chance. Tommy Lee Jones is the guy who trained him, who as a slight twist isn’t actually in the military and has never killed anyone. OK, stop, don’t think anymore or you’ll figure out the ending of this one…

The movie doesn’t take place exclusively in the woods, instead the footchase moves to a city which is much more interesting to watch. However, watching a “tracker” hunt for clues on a city street crowded with people starts to feel a little bit over the top. I just kept waiting for Tommy to put his nose in the air and start sniffing.

The movie started off with 2 stars due to the similarity to previous films, then worked up to 4 stars based on fights and gore. Near the end though there was one particular scene involving a couple of knives that dropped it back down to 3. I just couldn’t deal with that level of stupidity and give out four stars. You’ll know what I’m talking about when you see the movie, which I do actually recommend.

Posted by John | Filed Under 3 Stars, Action, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen, Jenna Boyd, Leslie Stefanson, R, Theatrical, Tommy Lee Jones