PREMIERE.COM REVIEW (posted 3/24/03)

With his bloodhound-baggy eyes Tommy Lee Jones seems tired, like he's been here before. And he has — for the last decade Jones has made a career out of playing this part, the weathered warden-like character who finds himself one step behind an escaped convict or a wrongly accused victim. In The Hunted Jones stars as L.T. Bonham, an ex-Army Special Unit trainer, who must track down a former student of his through the wilds of the Pacific Northwest. This time the pursued is Benicio Del Toro, in John Rambo mode, as a battle-scarred Kosovo vet who retreats from sanity and into the woods of Oregon, where he promptly begins filleting hunters. What unfolds is an unusually thrilling and extremely bloody game of cat and mouse between student and teacher.

Director Friedkin, never one to shy away from a chase or descend into a Bruckheimer editing frenzy, manages to fit several thrilling, well-paced sequences into the film's hour and a half running time, including a virtuoso scene on the streets of Portland. The dialogue may be sparse and the supporting character development nil, but The Hunted succeeds due to its economic storytelling and the natural presence of its two leads. The other star of the picture is veteran cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Right Stuff), who paints a gorgeous evergreen canvas to contrast the onscreen bloodletting.

No doubt, The Hunted will not find tremendous success at the box office; its hipness factor is zero, and it is extremely liberal with the violence. But for those who like their action straight, Freidkin's film pulls no punches. While not quite the caliber of The French Connection or To Live and Die in LA, Friedkin's latest effort will find its niche among followers who prefer a smaller story to the epic scope of most thrillers.

— Addison MacDonald

In the latest from director William Friedkin (The Exorcist), an FBI tracker (Tommy Lee Jones) must stop an assassin on a killing spree (Benicio Del Toro) with help from a tough agent (Connie Nielsen).

The Bottom Line: Sometimes, typecasting's a good thing: We love seeing Jones chasing someone. (Paramount)