Pretty Good

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

Christopher Lambert is typically amusing as Paul Racine, an American executive in the computer-chip business in Nagoya, Japan on business. He has a romantic night with a stranger named Kirina (the alluring Joan Chen), only to end up witnessing her assassination later that night. Dodging a few subsequent attempts on his life thanks to dumb luck and good timing, he hooks up with a samurai (Yoshio Harada) and his wife (Yoko Shimada), who vow to protect him. They must all do battle with Kinjo (John Lone), the lethal leader of a ninja cult, and his minions.Marking the second directorial effort for screenwriter J.F. Lawton ("Pretty Woman", "Under Siege"), "The Hunted" is often silly and laughable, but it becomes clear that it's not meant to be taken all that seriously all the time. It leaves most of the heroic duties to Harada, with Lambert mostly just along for the ride until the finish. He does eventually desire to receive some sort of training, but commendably does NOT become a master swordsman by the story's end."The Hunted" will never join the ranks of classic martial arts action movies, but it's actually a decent enough viewing provided one is not too demanding. It's got TONS of bloodshed and a high body count; many innocents as well as active participants in the feud get cut up. It's a rather long movie at an hour and 50 minutes, but is never truly boring, at the very least.Lambert will not likely ever be mistaken for a master thespian, but as previously mentioned, he's usually good for some amused chuckles. It's up to people like Lone, Harada, and Shimada to do the true heavy lifting. Chen tries to make the most out of her brief, ill-fated role.An irresistible, percussion-based music score (composed by Leonard Eto and Motofumi Yamaguchi) helps a lot, as well as some excellent location shooting in Japan.Six out of 10.

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.

When viewing "The Hunted" you wonder who this movie is meant for. It could not be action fans since the action scenes are horrible. Sure there is a lot of blood. But none of the fighters showed any extraordinary skill. Here you have this so called ninja who has to kill this woman (Joan Chen) and in stead of just doing so he takes his time and asks her how she wants to be killed. Not only that he even shows his face to her.(Which of course is always a big no no for an assassin.) You might think that he is a decent ninja. When she answers him to die slowly with a lot of pain he says he is under orders to do it quickly so he can't fulfill her request. And all this portrayed by the same man who played the last Emperor of China. Good god,and this is only in the first ten minutes. Christopher Lambert is a witness to this killing and has seen John Lone's face. These super skilled ninja's failed to kill him off and they chase him. Lambert gets help from a samurai but only to use him as bait. Now the most ridiculous thing is that everything is taken so seriously. But how could you. It is basically one silly scene to another. Lambert fans will be disappointed since he has more of a supporting role and only comes into action a couple of times.Do yourself a favor and forget about this movie!

Samurai flicks may be considered a guilty pleasure, but this one is well worth watching.It is not a Toshiro Mifune classic, but it features plenty of Samurai action and lots of blood is spilled.Christopher Lambert (Highlander I, II, and III; Mortal Kombat) plays an American businessman who picks up an extremely lovely Joan Chen (Lust, Caution; Xiu Xiu: The Sent-Down Girl) in a bar and they have a pleasurable time before ninjas arrive to kill her for a transgression. The leader, John Lone (The Last Emperor, Year of the Dragon) is identified and the hunt begins.The businessman enlists the help of super Japanese actor Yoshio Harada and Yôko Shimada (Shogun and "Shogun"). What he doesn't realize ifs the Samurai isn't really interested in helping, he just wants to do battle with the Ninja.It's fast paced and exciting with enough exploitation to make it special.