The Hunted (2003)

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers (WGA):

David Griffiths (written by) &
Peter Griffiths (written by) ...

Release Date:

14 March 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Some men should not be found.

Plot:

An FBI deep-woods tracker captures a trained assassin who has made a sport of hunting humans.

Plot Keywords:

FBI | Combat | Oregon | Hunting | Ex Soldier

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	L.T. Bonham
Benicio Del Toro	...	Aaron Hallam
Connie Nielsen	...	Abby Durrell
Leslie Stefanson	...	Irene Kravitz
John Finn	...	Ted Chenoweth
José Zúñiga	...	Bobby Moret (as Jose Zuniga)
Ron Canada	...	Harry Van Zandt
Mark Pellegrino	...	Dale Hewitt
Jenna Boyd	...	Loretta Kravitz
Aaron DeCone	...	Stokes (as Aaron Brounstein)
Carrick O'Quinn	...	Kohler
Lonny Chapman	...	Zander
Rex Linn	...	Powell
Eddie Velez	...	Richards
Alexander MacKenzie	...	Sheriff

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence and some language.

Runtime:

94 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #39271) | Iceland:16 | Malaysia:18SG | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | South Korea:18 | Philippines:R-18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | Denmark:15 | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:16 | Finland:K-15 | France:-12 | Germany:18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:R16 | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Singapore:NC-16 (original rating) | Singapore:PG (edited for re-rating) | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Blue Heron Paper Company - 419 Main Street, Oregon City, Oregon, USA

Company:

Lakeshore Entertainment

Trivia:

When Hallam tells Bonham the men he killed weren't hunters, "they were sweepers", he means he thinks they were sent to kill ("sweep") him. William Friedkin says on the DVD audio commentary that it's left ambiguous whether that is true.

Goofs:

Continuity: Abby Durrell's hair-do changes throughout the movie (from dark-blond curly to brown straight and sometimes curly) though the actual plot only covers a couple of days.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Narrator: [voiceover] God said to Abraham, "Kill me a son." Abe says, "Man, you must be puttin' me on." God say, "no"; Abe say, "what?" God say, "You can do what you want, Abe, but the next time you see me comin', you better run." Abe says, "Where do you want this killin' done?" God says, "Out on Highway 61."

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Sopranos: Johnny Cakes (#6.8)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

The Man Comes Around

Hollow actioner with no real depth

In terms of action, this film is competently made with enough good action (particularly the chase at the end and the fighting between Del Toro and Jones) to almost make you forgive the other problems. Friedkin has proven his worth with action before, but what he had to work with here could have been better developed.

In the writer's opinion, there are no characters in this film, only the basic sketches of people are there. One guy good, other guy bad. Bad guy goes killing people (for a reason that was presented but still obscure), good guy hired to get bad guy. Del Toro was really cheesy here, doing a lot of ponderous sky staring and stumbling over his lines and Tommy Lee Jones was...well, Tommy Lee Jones.

Overall, if you're looking for a throwaway actioner then this is for you. Don't expect it to be massively engaging though. Listen out for Johnny Cash at the start and end of the film.