SunnyHello Nice effects though.

SoftInloveRox Horrible, fascist and poorly acted

ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

movieman_kev Businessman Paul Racine (Christopher Lambert of Highlander fame) meets the lovely enigmatic Kirina (Twin Peak's Joan Chan) and has a one-night stand, however it's not all sunshine and lollipops as later that same night he inadvertently witnesses her execution and the perpetrators that did it send him to the hospital. The thing is that he's the only living person who has seen the ninja assassin's face and has lived, so now he's in mortal danger. He has to go on the run in a vain attempt to survive the inevitable onslaught upon him.I liked the fact that the movie stayed true to its characters and didn't let a businessman go all action hero on numerous highly trained ninjas, that would've rung out as false and a cop out. The film is also well acted and kept my rapt attention throughout, which is a big feat in and of itself.Eye Candy: Joan Chan gets topless; an unknown extra gets fully nudeMy Grade: BWhere I saw it: Encore Action

chrichtonsworld 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!

lost-in-limbo 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.

elshikh4 "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 !