The Hunted (1995)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

J.F. Lawton

Writer (WGA):

J.F. Lawton (written by)

Release Date:

24 February 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action

Tagline:

He's trapped in a world where killing is an art and revenge is an obsession

Plot:

Paul is on one of his many business trips to Tokyo, as a computer-chip executive from New York, when he meets a beautiful and mysterious woman...

Plot Keywords:

Martial Arts | Shinkansen | Bare Butt | Japan | Massacre

Cast

Christopher Lambert	...	Paul Racine
John Lone	...	Kinjo
Joan Chen	...	Kirina
Yoshio Harada	...	Takeda Sensei
Yôko Shimada	...	Mieko Takeda
Mari Natsuki	...	Junko
Tak Kubota	...	Oshima
Masumi Okada	...	Lt. Wadakura
Tatsuya Irie	...	Hiryu
Michael Warren	...	Chase
Bart Anderson	...	John
James Saito	...	Nemura
Seth Sakai	...	Dr. Otozo Yamura
Toshirô Obata	...	Ryuma
Ken Kensei	...	Sujin

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody ninja violence and some sexuality.

Runtime:

106 min | USA:111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Sweden:15 | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Finland:K-18 | Germany:18 | Ireland:18 | Norway:15 | Singapore:M18 | UK:18 (video premiere) | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Japan

Company:

Bregman/Baer Productions

Trivia:

Exterior shots of the train were filmed on location on Japan, however, the interior shots were filmed on a set at Bridge Studios in Vancouver, B.C. The scenery rushing by outside the windows was simulated using large rotating drums with "blurred" scenery painted on it.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the Opening scene where Racine is walking with his business partners talking about "selling ice to Eskimos", Racine enters the taxi-cab with his trench coat on. When he arrives at the hotel, he gets out of the cab without the trench coat.

Quotes:

Kinjo: How much blood do I have to bath in, to get clean?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Your Studio and You (1995)

For a B-flick, better than you'd think

Most of Christopher Lambert's filmography reads like a guide to B-movie hell. I got conned into watching this by a friend years ago, and will be forever grateful. The story is solid, Lambert turns in an almost-acceptable performance, and most of the rest of the cast does well. My favorite thing about the movie is the (by martial arts flick standards) realism. The gaijin does not miraculously learn to swing a sword like a samurai in a matter of weeks, months, or ever. The action sequences are exciting and fairly well-executed (by 1990's b-movie standards, at least), particularly a ninjas vs samuri scene on a Japanese bullet train. Some of the characters have a bit of complexity, there are a few little plot twists, and the character interaction is often believable. They also answer that age-old question "who'd win a fight between a middle-aged ex-athlete with a few months of kendo training and a ninja who's just lost an arm and leg"? (Lamberts's character is a former fencer turned businessman, but that bit's cut out of the home video/DVD version, as is the monologue by Kinjo the ninja, which helps to serve---in part, at least, as an explanation as to why this movie, set in Japan, has almost an entirely Chinese cast). If you're in the mood for an fun, entertaining, semi-intelligent B-action flick, I whole-heartedly recommend this one.

Oddly enough, the writer of "Pretty Woman" wrote and directed this flick, which may explain why my wife liked it, too. Of course, the same guy did a flick called "Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death".