I love this film, i remember i watch it as a kid , as a teen and as an adult and it still holds up.Its an action film with martial arts in it,"The Hunted," a slightly better than adequate B thriller,Within limits, though, the film delivers. It has one standout action sequence, an extended samurai-ninja battle aboard a bullet train, and a good match up in its two warriors.Christopher Lambert¨Highlander¨gives a good performance as the protagonist as Paul Racine a good guy trapped in a war he bumped by accident Mr. Harada, a handsome-ugly actor in the Charles Bronson mold, projects the tragic aura of a man who knows he must wade through an ocean of blood to avenge ancient wrongs. John Lone, known for his androgynous roles in "The Last Emperor" and "M. Butterfly," makes a convincingly sleek killing machine as Kinjo.This movie is a good example of the 90s well paced, fake blood not cgi, the actors can pass as ninjas and samurais , not pretty boys trying to look there best, i say give it a good and see what you think of it for yourself.
... View MoreThis is not an intellectual movie, it is not a love story, and it certainly is not Rambo. This is possibly one of the worst films ever made. To be fair, I did not have high expectations of the film, and it definitely lived up to those. The action sequences are extremely unrealistic (but great!), the whole premise of the story is fairly ludicrous and I think it highly doubtful that Lambert will ever be asked to play the lead character in a Shakespeare play. Nevertheless, it is flashy, fast and furious - and therefore highly enjoyable. Dysfunctional families live in decaying shacks, without money or food. Violent dogs are barking everywhere. Disagreements are settled by fistfights or, in some cases, by bullets.
... View MoreChristopher 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)
... View MorePaul Racine is an American executive on a business trip in Tokyo. One evening he meets a woman in a bar and after a one night stand she is murdered by a legendary ninja cult. Paul sees the ninja leader's face and they try to kill him, but he manages to somehow survive and finds himself a man marked for death. He soon meets a mysterious martial arts teacher and his wife who fill him in on what is really going on... an ancient and bloody feud.The pretty dull story idea could have been forgivable due to the fight scenes, however for such a martial arts/ninja centered action movie they are actually as dull as the story. Choppily edited, often with obvious jump-cuts, the action scenes just end up being slew of ruthless carnage that manages to knock off all non-significant characters in addition to the bad-guys. The two-dimensional acting and character development don't help out either.The only thing that stands out in a good way is the limited comic relief of a drunken sword-maker and the use of Japanese music and not a pounding rock soundtrack - it manages to place the film in its actual setting, but in the end, the film is just a poorly made bloody mess. 3/10Rated R for brutal violence
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