The Hunted

[Strider]

The Hunted (2003)

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/thehunted-poster-lg.jpg

Director - William Friedkin

Writers - David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, Art Monterastelli

Starring:
Tommy Lee Jones as L.T. Bonham
Benicio Del Toro as Aaron Hallam
Connie Nielsen as Abby Durrell


Synopsis: "L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) is an F.B.I. deep-woods tracker who has recently captured Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro), an assasin who makes a sport of killing people. When Hallam escapes in the city, Bonham must team up with another agent, Abby Durrell (Connie Nielsen) to hunt down Hallam before he starts to hunt them."

Distributor: Paramount Pictures

MPAA: Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence and Some Language

Release Date: March 14th, 2003 (opening wide)

Genre: Action

Now, besides last month's "Daredevil", "The Hunted" is another 2003 film I can say I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing. This flick looks like a bloody good time! I've been waiting for a really good R-rated action flick, and I hope "The Hunted" is that film.

Anyway, even if this film wasn't rated R, I would still end up seeing it. Tommy Lee Jones is one of my favorite actors, and I'll check out anything he comes out in. I really like Benicio Del Toro as an actor too, it'll be nice to finally see him in a film after a 2-year hiatus. His last film was 2001's "The Pledge".

The only thing that bothers me about this film, is that it looks somewhat like a clone of "The Fugitive". Hopefully, "The Hunted" will be much different, or at least a little.

It's your time to speak out, schmoes. Please use this thread to post your thoughts and reviews for the film, "The Hunted".

Strider

[Moviefan1234]

I'm looking forward to it too. My concern is that the knife fighting could get old in a hurry.

[dh1989]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/TH-9492.jpg

"The Hunted" looks excellent. The trailers are exciting, and the cast is superb, not to mention the great William Friedkin is lensing it! Overall, I may have a few nitpicks(mainly the one STRIDER mentioned), but I am still going to be first in line to see Jones and Del Toro kick ass.

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/TH-C1096-26A.jpg

[blankpage]

This film doesn't look great at all. It looks like it can't hold as a film. The plot is kinda weak, not to mention done before. It doesn't look great, at all. I will most likely not see this film.

[darkface]

http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/the_hunted/_group_photos/benicio_del_toro1.jpg

This movie looks like fun. Yes, it may sound a bit like The Fugitive, but hey, this is benicio del toro, he'll bring something new to the table. I also have a few people i know in the film, considering (i must say this everytime :) ) it was made in my city. I'm totally physced cause there's only been a few movies made in Portland, Oregon. "Elephant, Men of Honor" and some i can't remember. But hopefully this movie will do good Box Office wise, and will bring more movies to Portland!

EVERYONE GO SEE IT!

There's even some online clips @ the official site Huntedmovie.com

http://us.ent4.yimg.com/movies.yahoo.com/images/hv/photo/movie_pix/paramount_pictures/the_hunted/benicio_del_toro/hunted3.jpg

[Pootie]

should be a great popcorn flick.

[Strider]

Originally posted by Pootie
should be a great popcorn flick.

I sure hope so, this is all I'm asking for.

Strider

[Tom Samborski]

Looks pretty good IMO, and I don't think it looks like a rehash of The Fugitive.

[ilovemovies]

The Hunted looks great! Looks like a cool combo of The Fugitive mixed with First Blood. And Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro and Connie Nielsen are great! This is the first movie for me to see this weekend for sure.

[movies35]

God I hope this movie burns in Hell;)

[DieHardBruceFan]

This flick looks great! Harry over at Aintitcool loved it (not that that really means it is a must see)
but if you look at the reason for the "R" rating, it says "strong, bloody violence." Sounds good to me!

[SonicDeathMonkey]

This will be a great comedy. I thought studios didn't have a sense of humor anymore but then they release a comedic masterpiece like this. I mean Del Toro in a knife fight with Lee Jones is golden. Benicio is about 35 or 36 and Tommy is about 178 or 179. It should be hilarious. I guess no one else sees the humor in how ridiculous this movie looks. That's just my opinion though...

[ColinM]

Looks like The Fugitive starring Tommy Lee Jones: Part One Zillion. Looks unoriginal and stupid.

[darkface]

The Hunted has been spamming the airwaves, commercials left and right. Hopefully it's caught people attention to go see it, cause i know i'll be seein it opening night!

[Jim H]

This doesn't sound like the Fugitive. It sounds like First Blood, only closer to the book where Rambo kills lots of essentially innocent people.

That said, I am looking forward to it.

[XCoRyX]

hmm,its something im interested in,but not enough to see in theaters,i will rent it though.

[Mike]

I never saw the trailer, but from the many TV spots I've seen, THE HUNTED looks pretty lame and un-original. I don't plan on seeing it. I can't see it doing great at the Box Office either and am predicting an opening of 12.1 Million, which is mainly due to Tommy Lee Jones, who should attract some adult couples. It should probably end its run with around 35 Million.

[MickeyKnox]

William Friedkin mixed with Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro
I AM THERE!
The Hunted is gonna be a fuckin kick ass ride!

[PorcheRacer]

I might be seeing this tonight, it looks like a fun action thriller.

[Jim H]

It should probably end its run with around 35 Million.

It's pretty much a given it will make more then that, with two oscar winners at the helm. Plus a huge ad campaign. Quite a few girls dig Benicio too.

I'm seeing it tonight.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Jim H
It's pretty much a given it will make more then that, with two oscar winners at the helm. Plus a huge ad campaign. Quite a few girls dig Benicio too.

I'm seeing it tonight.


Well, I still doubt it will make more than that. And I don't think girls will line up around the block to see Benicio. Personally, I think he's freakin' ugly and I'm thankful I don't look like him. This movie will not be big. I find it kind of hard to believe that some people think it will actually have a big opening.

[Jim H]

It WILL have a big opening. The HUGE ad campaign almost guarantees it, plus we haven't had this kind of action movie in a while. Tommy Lee Jones definetly pulls people in.

It could taper off extremely quickly though, as this is the kind of movie word of mouth will make or kill after the first weekend.

Slight update.. Ebert gave it 3.5/4 stars. On rottentomatoes it has 24% positive. I'm still seeing it though.

/me likes knives.

[The Arrow]

What would happen if Trautman would've actively chased John Rambo in First Blood? The Hunted would happen.

I dug the action, enjoyed the acting and the flashy directing but the film hardly had a story. You want to see an hour and a half chase with low character development, so-so to awful dialogue but with kool GORY knife fighting scenes, check it out.

6/10

cause it was still a fun, if not forgettable ride.

[Jim H]

Saw it today. Pretty good, but not fantastic. A couple stupid scenes though - the log thing from the trailers is just as dumb in the movie. Excellent fighting and chase scenes make up a large chunk of the movie, the parts outside of that are just kind of bad. It evens out to fun and entertaining. Would make an excellent rental flick IMO.

7/10

***spoilers***





I thought the knife Del Toro makes was pushing it - that metal looked like steel. Can you really forge steel with a camp fire?

[sharkstank]

movies35,i hope by burns you mean rock,and by in hell you mean "da house":D

[darkface]

I'm seeing it here soon, but watching it on the news and reading it in the paper, it's funny how movies can play with your mind in locations. Like the Kosovo scene, and how he lands in the water ending up in washington, lol this movie definatly isn't locationally accurate. There's so much more, hopefully knowing this and seeing it won't ruin the effect.
It's just so cool to think i'll be seeing my city on the bigscreen and many other people will see it too! hope you all enjoy it cause it's been a hella-of-a long time since they made it. They started principal photography on it over 2 years ago ! wow...

[dh1989]

Didn't they have to halt filming due to Benicio Del Toro breaking his wrist while filming one of the knife fights? Maybe that's why it the principal photography occured so long ago.

[Jim H]

His wrist delayed it 4 months. I can definetly see how he broke it, tons of scenes of them slamming their arms together.

[Puck Bond]

The Hunted looks like a good solid action thriller, kinda like First Blood. Always been a fan of Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro looks good too in this. Add the bonus of Connie Nielsen and director Friedkin I'm so there to see this film. Just my cup of tea. I plan to see it early next week.

[darkface]

Definatly my cup of TEA! I thought the movie was really cool. Nothing great, but the type of movie i love to watch. One reason why i liked it was, whenever i leave a movie, and feel like i wanna be that character, then i automatically like it. I left feeling like i wanted to know how to knife fight, and track someone down :).
It was great seeing my city in the background, didn't effect me too much thankfully.
There were some nice thrilling scenes in it, and it was nice to see some gory knife fights. Both actors did a great job, and Connie looked VERY cute in it.
So i was overall Happy with the outcome of the portland movie, and give it a solid

7/10

p.s. I remember when the movie was being made, and (behind the scenes) Tommy Jones was known for eating A LOT. He got bigger as the shoot went on lol. The crew called him nicknames as being fat all the time.
And Benicio was known for smokin' 'da chiba (wacky tobabcee) (smokin some bud) (doin some MJ) with some of my sisters friends in portland clubs all the time. And he even went to some strip clubs. lol i don't blame him though! Rock on!

[Eliar Swiftfire]

Er... saw it two days ago.

I almost dozed off.

3/10

Seriously, the film is very slow-paced. The plot wasn't that original to begin with, but the characters themselves don't really have anything to keep me interested. It's really a bad sign when the parts I almost dozed off at were the ones leading towards the final confrontation.

[Gregorious8]

4/10

The film I saw in the trailers look pretty different. I expected a quick pace with some good action, but I got none of that.

[Jim H]

Suprised you negative reviews didn't like the fight scenes.. Even the critics who hated it usually gave it some slight props for that. Ah well, action scenes are definetly hit or miss.

I left feeling like i wanted to know how to knife fight, and track someone down

The movie reminded me of something I had intended to try several months ago - make a knife out of a rock. It's actually not really THAT hard if you can find the right kinds of rock. Still a useful skill to know - ya never know when it might come in handy. Tracking/survival skills is something I've also intended to learn - it was something my dad had taught me a bit of, and probably would of taught me more eventually. Learning to track though, a lot of is practice and experience, so it takes a long time to get really good at it.

This movie also made me want to see Death Hunt. That is based on a true story, about a guy being chased by mounties north of the arctic circle for 48 days. One of the most amazing cases of survivalism actually - the guy couldn't even light a fire since they would see it, he had almost no supplies, and managed to climb a mountain bare handed that the Inuits wouldn't even touch since it was a death trap.

***maybe movie spoilers, don't know if they end the same way***

....too bad he got gunned down in the end, but the real guy was a bit psychotic anyways (he shot a cop through a door, when all the guy wanted to do was talk to him on suspicions of stealing from hunters traps, and he later killed a cop as well), he would of probably gotten away but a plane flew over the mountain and so they found him and killed him.

[darkface]

Spoilers *** Don't read until you've seen the movie or don't give a shit

i'll give you guys a few behind the scenes stuff to read about now that you've watched the movie.

there's a scene that involves Kosovo, and it was filmed up in North Portland, and they were filming, setting off explosions and gunfire etc, it's like a massive war zone... and they didn't let our military base know about it which is down river a lil' bit further, so they heard the explosions and gunfire and launched a few F-15's up in the air to take cover to see what was up...lol it was all over the news... it was funny you can probably hear them in the background if you listen closely.

And all of the shots that were *supposidly filmed in the British Columbia, were shot on Mt. Hood which is not too far away from Portland.

The Train that's on the bridge, which we like to call *M.A.X.* actually does not run on that bridge. It was weird seeing a bridge that i use all the time with the MAX on it lol. They had to prop it up on there with wheels.


They started to make this movie and then benicio had broke his arm, so Tommy Jones had enough time to stop filming Hunted, Film MIB2, and then come back to finish this one. So it's definatly been a long time considering MIB2 came out a while ago, and it had to go through a LOT more post production that this!

there's more stuff, but can't remember all of it since it was filmed so long ago.

[Invincible]

I'm seeing The Hunted tonite, I can't wait to see that scene with F-15's checkin what the fuck's happenin with the explosions (lol, darkface good story!)

[bskutle]

Here's the big problem with director William Friedkin's feature films of late ("Jade," "Rules of Engagement"), and why they just don't hold up next to his early-'70s classics "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist"- they lack authenticity. They lack the authenticity and realism of those masterpieces, and they lack intelligence and complexity. They're more akin to modern-day blockbusters than the more go-for-broke expressions that defined the pre-"Jaws" '70s. "The Hunted" is no different. The story- about a military-trained assassin (Benicio Del Toro) who cracks under the pressures of war and starts after civilians, and the government agent (Tommy Lee Jones) who trained him who gets on his trail- is ripe for a director of Friedkin's talents (on display in "Exorcist" and "Connection," if not in recent efforts) and iconclastic desire for believability. But the script he's given- by David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, and Art Monterastelli- and the characters Jones and Del Toro are written (though Jones comes off admirably), they just don't really fit the mold, simplifying Del Toro's mental state to easy, no-explanation-necessary psychoanalysis reasonings than anything more complex (though it toys with the idea). A shame; this could've been a good one...and a return to form for a fine director.

[Invincible]

Okay..I just came back from viewing this little movie and boy was it great! this was actually a good film, no matter what the critics say. Benicio Del Toro plays very well as Aaron. It really shows that the war affected him so much, he bacame a killer. Tommy Lee Jones plays a good role in this one also. A little bit different from what he usually plays. Kind of queit in this one. What I really liked about The Hunted was that it's been shot in Portland, Oregon...FINALLY! a movie that does not have "NYC" and "LA" written all over it. There's been so many films set in NY and LA that it's boring to watch. We want something new!!! and William Friedkin gave us that wish. A movie shot on a different Location. Now in, "The Hunted" I got to see many new things, like how many forests Oregon has and the downtown Portland...I'm glad I got to see a movie being shot at where my pal darkface is at. lol, Yeah and I heard those F-15's flying by too in the opening sequence! heh, well darkface at least it shows that they 'care'..

What I really liked was the chase through downtown and the train. That was pretty cool. The knife fight was very neat, lotsa gore! and lotsa nice moves. That shit makes me want to go out there and start learning how to knife-fight! LOL! :D

I thought The Hunted was a pretty decent film, it had a good cast too. Tommy Lee and Benicio Del Toro were both great.

Overall 7/10

You should check it out...:cool:

[MickeyKnox]

The Hunted-8/10
Great action. good acting by Benicio Del Toro, didn't much care for Jones as he is playing Sam Gerrard from "The Fugitive", but i have to mention the knife fights! By far the knife fights are some of the greatest put on film they are graphic and gory as hell! If you are looking for mindless action fun then see "The Hunted"

[Strider]

The Hunted (2003)

Rated R for Strong Bloody Violence and Some Language

Director: William Friedkin

Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, and Connie Nielsen.

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/TH-9492.jpg

Plot Info: "An F.B.I. deep-woods tracker, L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) captures Aaron Hallam (Benicio Del Toro), a professional killer he trained years ago. When Hallam escapes from going to prison, it's Bonham's job along with many other F.B.I. agents to hunt him down before he starts hunting them."

"The Hunted" is the latest action/thriller film to hit theaters from veteran director, William Friedkin, who is well-known for his work in the horror classic, "The Excorist", and the Academy Award-winning film, "The French Connection". It's been awhile since Friedkin's last film, which was 2000's "Rules of Engagement", a courtroom thriller also starring Tommy Lee Jones.

Academy Award winners, Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro headline the film, and are the only big stars to be found in "The Hunted". Both actors are very talented, in my eyes, especially Jones. Jones is one of my favorite actors working in the film business today. As for the performances, their performances are solid, and they get the job done. Jones and Del Toro work well together, and I really enjoyed seeing them express their character's emotions. The characters they play have a personal vendetta with each other, a love/hate relationship, and somewhat of a father/son relationship. The way these feelings are presented by each actor is great, it's more through actions than words.

There have been many complaints about Jones' character resembling his memorable character in "The Fugitive". I agree and disagree with that complaint. In that film, Jones is hunting down a man because it's what he does best, nothing more or less. In "The Hunted", Jones is hunting down a man for the exact same reason, but it's also personal. If you watch both films, you will see the big difference between the characters.

Not all goes right in "The Hunted", it is plagued by several flaws. One of them being a lack of character development. Besides their relationship with each other, you don't know much else about the main characters, L.T. Bonham and Aaron Hallam. This is quite disappointing, these characters could have been very memorable, but they weren't. Another problem is the script by David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, and Art Monterastelli. Their script is incredibly thin, lacking lots of material, and has a few plot holes.

"The Hunted" is a film where the good outweighs the bad. There are several things to be appreciated here, which are two solid performances by the leads, some very realistic and brutal fighting scenes, and gorgeous cinematography.

If you're looking for a character study or an original story, I would suggest that you go elsewhere. The main priority of "The Hunted" is the action, everything else is second. If you can forgive the film's faults, then it's possible that you will find some good popcorn entertainment from this film.

In the end, "The Hunted" shares some similarities to "The Fugitive", but comes nowhere near the quality of that film. However, there's one thing that seperates both films apart, and that's the execution. In this film, we have a better and more experienced director. William Friedkin's direction is energetic and relentless, this is what turns his latest film into a fun ride. I shouldn't be so forgiving of this film, but "The Hunted" deliver enough goods to make it well-deserving of my mercy.

Running Time: 1 hour 34 minutes

Grade: 7/10 or *** 1/2 out of ***** stars

Strider

[Jim H]

Another thing I liked about this one: you really felt each and every time they got hurt, MUCH more then in most movies. The knife fighting in this felt much more real, and it felt like it could really happen - not like the fantasy fighting you usually see.

[johnny2blades]

Egads this flick was horrible! I mean, the tracking through the city? Are ya kidding me? And then they stop to make their own knives? And how the hell did Benicio have enough time to make predator traps? AAGHHH!!

[darkface]

Originally posted by johnny2blades
And how the hell did Benicio have enough time to make predator traps? AAGHHH!!

he didn't, those were made by "Indians" i also thought they should have made that more clear in the movie though.

[Jim H]

Indians? What indians?

[johnny2blades]

????

New indians or 200 old year indians? Hi, I'm Benicio. I talk about squirrels to little girls then I kill cops at random...

there had to have been some major editing here

[darkface]

there was some editing definitely, you can just tell from watching it. But in Oregon, we have some indian reservations, forbidden territory to people, and i think they tried to show you that when he first steps into that specific forest.

[The Prowler]

The Hunted was a very average movie, nothing that I would vent about afterward but I would not rush out to see it again. First and foremost I loved the scenery in the movie. Makes me want to go visit Oregon and British Columbia. But the characters were very thin and uninteresting. Looked like Del Toro was sleepwalking through this movie. I wish the movie focused more on Del Toro stalking hunters in the woods. The whole chase thing is cool but gets old after awhile. I was hoping for a movie like First Blood but it didn't quite meet that. This movie was just like Friedken's latest movie, Rules of Engagement. Chances to be a great film but left me bored and wanting more.

5/10

[movielover-9]

The Hunted

Ignoring the negative reviews I heard on IMDb.com, I went to go see "The Hunted". I found that it was pretty good film despite what the critics had said. The director William Friedkin (director of 70's classics The French Connection and The Exorcist) sets up the atmosphere for a somewhat taut cat and mouse game. The story follows Aaron Haleem (played by Benicio del Toro), a serial killer who was inadvertently trained by L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones) on how to kill effeciently and precisely. Aaron takes the lessons in and has a difficulty turning them off. Now L.T. must face off with the deadly man he created...


Tommy Lee Jones turns in a pretty good performance in the film. It was good but really wasn't as great as his co-star's, Benicio del Toro. Proving he's got acting chops, Benicio turns in his best performance since his Oscar winning turn in Traffic. Jones shows off a bit of affliction in the movie as well but del Toro overshadows him.


The film's writing was pretty suspenseful. The first half-hour, I have to admit, was pretty boring to me. Then it started to speed up as the movie progressed and conflict increased between Tommy and Benicio. The only thing I could've done without was that long chase scene. It took Tommy Lee Jones about 15 minutes it seemed to finally catch up with Benicio del Toro. After awhile, it seemed kind of overdrawn seeing him run after him over and over. I kept waiting for him to finally catch him.


Anyway, The Hunted is a pretty solid thriller. Although it's climax was kind of long, it's still was worth seeing (IMO).


Rating : 7/10

[sharkstank]

The Hunted 6/10 Good Chase Movie,No Substance
An exceptional cat and mouse movie that is fun,has endearing,albeit familiar,performances and no story or depth.Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro are good in there teacher and student gone mad roles and offer up entertaining and realistic battle scenes.The movie goes in a cycle of Del Toro gets caught or found,but he manges to escape and out run the FBI and Jones.LT Bonham(Jones)has been training soldiers to survive and kill his entire career.When four hunters are found mutilated in the wilderness,and the main suspect Aaron Hallum(Del Toro)is linked to Bonham,he is summoned to catch him.What follows is a lot of grass sniffing,quick getaways,and retelling of just about every other chase movie(it even ends up near a waterfall).This is a two character piece,and it works well like that.Connie Nielsen is here,but she is not given nearly enough to do(although she looked damn cute).We see hints of each characters dimensions,but they are not explored any further than vague one liners.Del Toro has no background other than being a killing machine(seems to hav family issues,loneliness,resentful,and what was up with the lady and her daughter?) and Jones is also a shallow character that could have been more interesting(also seemed lonely,bitter,desensitized).The knife fights and chases work and that's where the movie is supposed to succeed.Just don't look for any depth in this quasi action hide and seek.

[Puck Bond]

The Hunted is a disappointing chase thriller that does have some decent action and fight scenes but the story and charactres are underdeveloped. I was really looking forward to this film based on the subject matter, the strong cast and veteran and solid director William Friedkin. As a thriller about a tracker agent hunting down a former pupil, who is now a renegade assassin it is quite good. It is fast paced and has some decent action and fight scenes...but what is the point? Where is the explanation of who this man is and why he has become a killing machine without remorse. Anyway Benicio Del Toro plays Aaron Hallam, a special forces killing machine, who served in Kosovo (the opening scene of him taking down a ruthless commander is quite a good one) and becomes a decorated hero. Now we move to the present day where we find Hallam stalking and killing two deer hunters in the wilderness of Portland, Oregon. FBI leader of the case Abby Durrell played by Connie Nielsen brings in special back-woods tracker L.T. Bonham played by Tommy Lee Jones. L.T. as he is known throughout the film was a former contracter of the military who trained Hallam and men of his type to survive and to kill with his bare hands and with small knives made from scratch. He quickly catches up with Hallam and it eventually leads to his capture. Naturally he escapes again and the chase continues through Portland and its surroundings and thats about it. What bothered me about this film is the details about Hallam's life and who he is are sketchy at best...and there is no explanation why he has seemingly flown off the handle and resorted to killing people for no reason other than fun. If it is the fact that military service has hardend him to the point of no return...I just don't buy that. He seeks help in his former girlfriend, and their apparent kid. A man who has something to live for wouldn't risk all that unless he has legitimate reasons to do so. Also this film had a short running time at just 95 minutes...15-25 minutes could easily have been used to better serve the story and characters. Also, Connie Nielsen is sorely underused as the obligatory FBI agent who spends most of the time pointing a gun and screamig orders on a radio. This film is not for the faint of heart either...because the fight scenes and kill scenes are surprisingly very bloody and quite brutal. The final fight between Del Toro and Jones is effectively primal in its brutality and bloodiness. Overall, The Hunted is a slickly made chase thriller about a killing machine being hunted down by a fellow expert...The cast is good with both Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro and the fight scenes and bloodiness of the film is good, but ultimately I was disappointed with the lack o fa strong story and believable characters especially considering the talent involved.

[blankpage]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/TH-9411R.jpg

THE HUNTED

The Hunted is a film I wouldn't normally like. From the trailers, the film didn't look all that great. Weak story, and not able to hold together. But since I give all movies a chance, I thought I would check this film out. I am glad I did. I was very surprised by this awsome film. The characters aren't developed, there is basically no story what-so-ever, it is un-realistic, but it is just a superb time at the movies. I was able to let my brian set aside, and just let me enjoy the film. Which I did. I thought it wasn't too long for me to get bored. The action was great, and some good blood and gore, as well. A fun flick that I enjoyed a lot, maybe too much. But I don't care.

I found Tommy Lee Jones, and Del Toro to be very good in their roles. No brilliant acting, but good enough for me to believe them.

I never realized it until now, but, I think Tommy Lee Jones is one of the best actors to give great dialouge. Espically the one-liners. Just something I notied.

Anyway, that is basically all to say about The Hunted. A film I had a great time at. The best of 2003 so far.


8/10

[Ren Hoek]

http://i.imdb.com/Photos/Ss/0269347/TH-9492.jpg

Wow, this movie is the first real surprise of 2003. I went to see it with next-to-no expectations (after reading a lot of so-so reviews) and ended up having a great time watching this powerful flick. No MATRIX/EQUILIBRIUM/CRADLE2THEGRAVE/ROMEOMUSTDIEetc wire-fu and gun-kata bullshit (no offense to anyone who digs this stuff. It's just not my cup of tea) but an old-fashioned, gritty action thriller with an impressive score (+ two cool Johnny Cash songs) and very decent performances. Tommy Lee Jones and Benicio Del Toro chew their scenes to death and their grisly knife fights had me in awe. Sure, some things could be better: the editing in some of the more expository sequences is a bit choppy (I expect lots of deleted scenes on the DVD) and the dialogue is merely okay. Anyways, I consider this William Friedkin's (THE EXORCIST, THE FRENCH CONNECTION) best film since TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A.

8/10, definitily the most underappreciated movie of 2003 thus far.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Jim H
It's pretty much a given it will make more then that, with two oscar winners at the helm. Plus a huge ad campaign. Quite a few girls dig Benicio too.

Originally posted by Jim H
It WILL have a big opening. The HUGE ad campaign almost guarantees it, plus we haven't had this kind of action movie in a while. Tommy Lee Jones definetly pulls people in.

It could taper off extremely quickly though, as this is the kind of movie word of mouth will make or kill after the first weekend.

I can't help but find this funny now, since it opened with $13,482,638 and finished with $34,234,008. You said it was pretty much a given it would make more than my 35 Million prediction, but it didn't even make that.

[Jim H]

Yeah, I spoke too soon. Very poorly advertised (the ad campaign wasn't nearly the size I was thinking it was), and I should of taken into account the R rating which hurts the teen and pre-teen girl crowd from coming in for Del Toro.

[Mike]

Originally posted by Jim H
Yeah, I spoke too soon. Very poorly advertised (the ad campaign wasn't nearly the size I was thinking it was), and I should of taken into account the R rating which hurts the teen and pre-teen girl crowd from coming in for Del Toro.

Yeah, but it's alright, I've done the same thing before. When predicting the box office, you are bound to make mistakes.