The Hunted (2003)
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30% of critics liked it
(144 reviews) -
49% of users liked it
(40,512 ratings)
A rogue special-forces soldier is tracked down by his former mentor in this action thriller from director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist). In his first role since winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2001, Benicio del Toro stars as Aaron Hallam, one of the U.S.… More A rogue special-forces soldier is tracked down by his former mentor in this action thriller from director William Friedkin (The French Connection, The Exorcist). In his first role since winning a Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 2001, Benicio del Toro stars as Aaron Hallam, one of the U.S. military's most skilled hand-to-hand combat operatives. In the years following his successful assassination of a Serbian warlord in late-'90s Kosovo, Hallam finds himself plagued by traumatic flashbacks of death and destruction, so much so that when he finally returns home, he regresses into a feral, survivalist state in the woods of the Pacific Northwest. There, he deliberately and elaborately hunts and kills poachers who happen to cross his path. When the FBI investigates the murders, they call in the man who taught Hallam everything he knows: retiree L.T. Bonham (Tommy Lee Jones). As the instructor pursues his unhinged former pupil, Bonham begins to learn about key events in Hallam's life that pushed him over the edge. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi
- Directed By
- William Friedkin
- Written By
- David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths, Art Monterastelli
- Genres
- Mystery & Suspense, Action & Adventure
- In Theaters
- Mar 14, 2003 Wide
- Studio
- Paramount Pictures
Critic Reviews
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Rex Reed, New York Observer
Ludicrous, plotless, ho-hum tale of lurid confrontation.
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Richard Roeper, Ebert & Roeper
There's too much talent on-screen and behind the camera for The Hunted to be dull, but it is predictable and disappointing, and we seem to be missing about a half-hour's worth of scenes that would have brought some depths to these characters.
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Michael Atkinson, Village Voice
Essentially a reheating of 1982's First Blood ... but the fallout this time is simultaneously more ruthless, less emotional, and duller.
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Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter
By stripping an action thriller this close to the bone, director William Friedkin has removed too much meat.
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James Berardinelli, ReelViews
This is schlock -- by-the-numbers action that ignores character development to the point where we find it hard to care whether L.T. catches Hallam or whether they end up running after each other until the world ends.
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)
Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)
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Cast
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Tommy Lee Jones
as L.T. Bonham
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Benicio Del Toro
as Aaron Hallam
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Connie Nielsen
as Abby Durrell
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Leslie Stefanson
as Irene
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Jenna Boyd
as Loretta
