The Hunted (2003)

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

Director:

William Friedkin

Writers:

David Griffiths, Peter Griffiths

Stars:

Tommy Lee Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Connie Nielsen

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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

Storyline

In the green woods of Silver Falls, Oregon, Aaron Hallam, a trained assassin AWOL from the Special Forces, keeps his own brand of wildlife vigil. After Hallam brutally slew four deer hunters in the area, FBI Special Agent Abby Durrell turns to L.T. Bonham-- the one man who may be able to stop him. At first L.T. resists the mission. Snug in retirement, he's closed off to his past, the years he spent in the Special Forces training soldiers to become skilled killers. But when he realizes that these recent slaying is the work of a man he trained, he feels obligated to stop him. Accepting the assignment under the condition that he works alone, L.T. enters the woods, unarmed--plagued by memories of his best student and riddled with guilt for not responding to Aaron's tortured letters to him as he began to slip over the edge of sanity. Furious as he is with his former mentor for ignoring his pleas for help, Aaron knows that he and L.T. share a tragic bond that is unbreakable. And, even as ...

---

Plot Keywords:

serial killer | psychopathic killer | body count | one man army | ex soldier | 

---

Taglines:

What happens when the hunter becomes the hunted?

---

Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Filmax [Spain] Official Site

Country:

USA

Language:

English Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

14 March 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Die Stunde des Jägers

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$55,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,482,638, 16 March 2003, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$34,238,611, 26 May 2003

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,782,486, 7 November 2003

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lakeshore Entertainment,Alphaville Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The martial art Bonham teaches Hallam, and which they employ against each other, is called Sayoc Kali. It is a variation of Eskrima, the Filipino martial arts system dedicated to weapons. Sayoc Kali deals exclusively with knives in extremely close-quarter combat.

---

Goofs

When Hallam quenches his new, red-hot knife in the stream, a jump cut is visible and the knife is no longer red-hot. Indeed, quenching steel in water takes considerably longer than the few seconds shown in the film (possibly why it was cut).

---

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."

---

Alternate Versions

In Germany the film was released on DVD in its uncut form (rated "Not under 18") and in an edited version which has a "Not under 16" rating and misses ca. 5 minutes.

---

Connections

References JFK (1991)

---

Soundtracks

The Man Comes Around
Written & Performed by Johnny Cash
Courtesy of American Recordings LLC, and The Island Def Jam Music Group
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Short, Intense, Fun To Watch

Three facts about this film help to make it highly-rated in my book: it's very entertaining, moves fast and lasts only 90 minutes. So, if in the mood for a combination Fugitive/Rambo story with two very intense lead actors, this is a convenient diversion to play numerous times.

Tommy Lee Jones was the mentor who trained Benico Del Toro on the art of killing and now the ex-student has gone out of control and Jones must hunt him down, something the police can't seem to do. That's the story, simple as that. The only thing was a little implausible is that old man chasing down a kid for miles. Tommy Lee might be in shape, but he isn't young enough to do what he does here. However, both men are fun to watch and the action scenes are well done. You don't get bored watching this movie.

No, the film isn't high-grade mentality but it isn't totally stupid, either. It doesn't get carried and is pretty believable until the final chase scene. Along the way, we are treated the Portland cityscape and Northwest woods, both of which are nicely filmed.