The Hunted (1995)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Let's be realistic.

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

Fanciful, disturbing, and wildly original, it announces the arrival of a fresh, bold voice in American cinema.

Thouh not a movie of captivating interest but has some good scenes. Especially train scene is marvelous.Suspense is arose after every important incident. Film has some flaws but these can be easily ignored. The performance of man with long hair and shining sword is impressive. Film can be watched but you must not compare it with classics like T2, Pulp Action. It is entirely different movie. I will give it at least six out of ten. You cannot be bored while watching it. It is the only movie in which I was able to tolerate Christopher. It is a bit more real in theme as compare to some idiot science fictions. I think if you want to see some good movie, it is a must see but I repeat again, do not expect much from the film. If you do not expect a standard of T2, Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings then it will do fairly well.

Christopher Lambert… Japan… ninja cult. Oh yeah! Ninja action with gratuitous sword combat with constant blood spray fills this trashy, but still very decent under the radar b-grade actioner.Paul Racine is an American businessman in Tokyo who one night encounters a mysterious Japanese lady in a bar where they would spend the night together, but accidentally he witnesses her death by some ninja assassins. Surviving the ordeal he finds himself on the run, as he has seen the face on the ninja leader which means he's a target.The (surprisingly) well-rounded story does seem to casually move from one fight after another (leaving some questionable and risible developments), but these moments do lack the flair and energy in the choreography to truly standout. It's more about the blistering grit… which might not be a bad thing. One passage on a bullet train midway through is a real highlight though, showcasing a brutal and grisly onslaught of pure ferocity and excitement. Director J.F. Lawton polished handling is mechanically terse, by perfectly framing the strikingly lush and poignant Japanese backdrop with its fast pacing linking together a collection of tautly slick set-pieces as the chase is on. A sensually intoxicating eastern score really does match the scenes/vibe in a spiritual sense or complementing the imagery/or action. A husky sounding Lambert at first feels out of place in what starts off as a phoned-in performance, but eventually he grows in the role to leave behind his vulnerable state with a new act of courageousness (with the odd one or two smart arse quip) to face his inescapable fate. John Lone is great as the tenaciously relentless leader of the ninja assassins and Yoshio Harada's dry, but boldly commanding performance is the best of the lot as a samurai that takes in Lambert's character. Yôko Shimada, Masumi Okada and the beautiful Joan Chen are quite sound too.Entertaining slice of no-nonsense ninja fun.

"Quotes From The Movie As Messages" (You must except your fate with courage) : It's for this movie's viewer ! (I'll wait you in hell) : To all the makers of the movie ! (Now he'll rest easier) : About anyone preferred not to watch such a movie ! "Innocent Questions"Why the evil ninja fighter killed the girl at the start ?! I didn't quite get that ! How could a peaceful American businessman manage to runaway from a trained bunch of assassins ? And twice ?! What their point of view in slaughtering all the train's passengers ? Why the big ninja fighter didn't go to that massacre.. He might've had some real fun ! What about his conscience's sudden waking ? That was totally unexplained ?? How the idiot rookie (Lambert) could kill one of the greatest ninja warriors by himself ??, and what is (Lambert) doing in this movie anyway ? And honestly How I could stand all of that in the first place ?!!!"Try To Be Reasonable.. Unlike Them !"I think it's all a Japanese story, production and stars but they needed a name to sell the movie internationally good, so they added the character of (Christopher Lambert) yet they never made it in accord with the rest of the elements so you'll sense all the time that he's an alien who's out of the picture, or a character which has never been made correctly ! As he's not the guest star, the sidekick, the smart student.. etc. They involved him, the character so its actor, and in too hasty way also !"So What's Good in Here ?!!"Despite the impressive performance of the veteran (Yoshio Harada) as (Takeda) the stiff avenger and the mighty hero.. It was utterly poor production, a TV's kind of work and it seemed as one of the poorest TV's work ever ! The direction was a genius but at destroying any good moments especially the fights' scenes which were too dull to continue watching them (and those were the best things you may expect from a movie like this !!). I've only liked 2 seconds : when (Lambert) decides to leave the ring after the Japanese instructor refused to train him, and the image of the whole battlefield when the evil ninja stands alone in the dark among the corpses waiting for the instructor, both of them looked visually strong but still just 2 seconds in 106 minutes !!"Some Comments"The Razzie's award is not that impartial ! Otherwise why to forget a powerful candidate like this one ? Maybe they're giving the awards to the same kind of movies but when it had been produced in millions of dollars ! How merciful they are, and How underrated (The Hunted) is ! It could've been great for the (Worst Screen Couple)'s award ! After I finished the movie (or the movie finished me !) I found myself say : "OH How many movies for Marilyn Monroe I've got to watch just to forget the effect of THIS ?!!". Did you notice that I've said "to forget the effect" not the movie itself as it's assured to be forgettable by itself ! The beautiful thing about (Christopher Lambert) is that he's not (Steven Seagal) ! Thank God that they didn't bring Mr. Seagal for such a role, the Japanese girl could've butchered herself already just because of meeting him !

Christopher Lambert stars as a businessman who witnesses the slaying of a woman (Joan Chen) who he had just slept with, when the ninja (John Lone) is spotted face and all, the ninja stops at nothing to kill Lambert and it's only a rival ninja clan which teaches Lambert how to defend himself and win in a sword fight, Sean Connery of course is nowhere to be found this time. Lambert has a weird charisma about him, he really isn't that strong of an actor but for some reason he is able to get us to watch him and his screen presence almost always makes his hero generally more interesting than a musclebound action star who projects little sympathy. Lambert comes off rather vulnerable and the villains he's up against are no slouches either. They are ruthless SOBs, for instance they actually slaughter a train of innocent by standers all because they don't want any witnesses. This includes old people, children, mothers you name it they bit the big one. In theaters this was an experience which shocked a lot of us and the crowd I was with, were prepared for brutal action. The Hunted works as a Ninja actioner and is generally better polished than almost anything made in the 80's. It's slick, brutal and overall a fast paced actioner which in the end, is all we ask for.* * * out of 4-(Good)