Must-see glossary before reading the review!
Samurai - A professional warrior belonging to the Japanese feudal military aristocracy.
Ninja - A member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenary agents who were trained in the martial arts and hired for covert operations such as assassination and sabotage.
shurikin - poison tipped star-shaped shooting weapon of a ninja. In high strength, it kills and in weaker doses, it gives you a glimpse into the world of spirits!
sake - a Japanese liquor made from fermented rice.
The Takedas - Both samurais, the husband, Takeda is a deadly swordsman and the wife, Meiko is an expert archer.
Makato - An evil, greedy cult of ninjas who are waging a relentless war against the samurais for over two centuries
Kinjo - the leader of the Makato cult
Paul Racine is a computer-chip executive who's on a business trip in Japan. He befriends a pretty, Jap lass Kirina at a bar. Their friendship does not last long as she's brutally slain by a few Ninjas led by Kinjo. Paul, witness to the murder, is badly wounded but survives when the police whisk him quickly to the hospital. Noticing the weapon used against Paul is a shurikin and well-aware of its origin, the hospital doctor informs his close friends, the Takedas of the incident. The Takedas immediately offer their protection to Paul but he refuses. As feared by the doctor, Kinjo's men come back to finish their job. A bloody bath of dead policemen and the doctor soon occur. Miraculously, Paul escapes death once again and flees the hospital. This time, he immediately calls the Takedas for help.
The century-old fatal feud resumes again between the Makato and the Samurais, with a helpless American foreigner caught in the middle.
The Hunted(1995) review
The Hunted starring Christopher Lambert in the lead character of Paul Racine is a full-voltage ninja action flick shot entirely in Japan, and not to be mistaken by another Hollywood movie of the same name released in 2003.
Taut screenplay
The plot is essentially ho-hum, the age-old theme of good vs. evil repeated in countless martial arts flicks. But it is treated a bit differently here because the usual foreigner(always shown caught accidentally in these feuds) is a helpless victim until the very end.
Anyway, the dialogues are without frills, the fight sequences are furious and the movie is fast-paced and gripping until the end of the famous train scene.
The train scene
The deadly encounter of Kinjo's best warriors against the Takedas in a moving bullet train is truly the only worthy viewing aspect of The Hunted. Paul escaped from Kinjo's men earlier at the hosptial by mingling into the crowd. So, this time, as the train continues to hurtle past, the ninjas start killing every of the innocent passengers from the front till they reach him. The Takedas & Paul hurry to the last compartment and on the way, they warn the remaining passengers to follow suit. Finally, the Takedas, attempting to shield Paul & the survivng passengers, wait for the inevitable onslaught with the ninjas who take no quarter and spare none.
After this thrilling encounter, the movie loosens up and does not manage to hold our attention any more. You may see yourself heading for the remote control to fast-forward to the next scene of'ninja sushi' only to be disappointed.
The much awaited Kinjo-Takeda clash is expectedly intense but nothing good enough to flutter our eyelashes about!
The pathetic Kinjo-Paul clash in the climax is the worst culprit, spoiling the good build-up of the whole movie and reducing it to an average fare ultimately. Kinjo, the Ninja of the Ninjas, who finally meets Paul one-on-one after a long hunt is, much to our surprise, tackling him half-heartedly or being a sitting duck to Paul's sword. Then, why for the sake of all that wasted blood of many lives, did he hunt for the American in the first place? I hope now you understood the uproar shared by my review title!
Fair performances
Christopher Lambert(Mortal Kombat) as Paul puts up a damp fight(can't blame him) but atleast he emotes well. Sometimes, he has this perpetually annoyed look on his face.
Joan Chen(The Last Emperor) as the pretty Kirina is well.err.pretty! She has no time to laugh, cry or smile much as she's slain within the first ten minutes of the story. I am discounting her appearances as a spirit in the latter half of the movie.
Yoko Shimada as Meiko is a sensitive actor. She's like a soothing balm amidst the full gore.
John Lone(Rush Hour 2, The Shadow) as Kinjo is very good. More than the quick swish of the decapitating sword, it's his expressive eyes that reflects the cruelty of Kinjo and as a warrior of absolutely no honour.
Finally comes the outstanding performance of The Hunted by Yoshio Hirada as Takeda. Especially, he shines in the train showdown and the final clash with Kinjo. The constantly grim expression rightly conveys the no-nonsense attitude of a samurai warrior and the ever-alert battle stance against his enemies. Yoshio's body language, which misleads us to think that the Takeda is an unbeatable swordsman, is proof enough of the actor he is.
To sum up, I am recommending The Hunted'cause it's worth watching -but- only in bits'n' pieces.
So, gulp some heady sake and watch the movie if you have absolutely nothing to do.
And don't forget to keep the handy remote ready to skip the disinteresting scenes. And/or throw it expertly like a shurikin at the TV if the movie slips below your garangutan expectations!
Director: J.F. Lawton
Genre: Action
Time: 106min
Rated: R for bloody strong ninja violence and some sexuality
