‘The Hunted’ is better off not found

“The Hunted,” which is rated “R” for violence and profanity, is

available now at movie theaters for your vicarious amusement.

Benicio del Toro plays Aaron Hallam, a former special OPS assassin

who has gone off the deep end. Living in the woods, Hallam freely

kills those who abuse animals, as well as hunters who remind him of

his former enemy.

Tommy Lee Jones plays L.T. Bonham, a survival expert who trained

Aaron and hundreds of other soldiers. In a rehash of many movie plots

including “The Bourne Identity,” “Frankenstein,” “Conspiracy Theory”

and even “Lilo and Stitch,” L.T. has to seek out and stop the monster

(Hallam) that he created.

During the movie, you will also be reminded of “Rambo” and “The

Fugitive” as the movie rolls along into some excellent action

sequences and fights featuring lots of textured cinematography.

However, one thing that most of the above mentioned films had was a

sympathetic monster being chased. This film shows you right off the

bat that Hallam is a loose cannon that needs to be stopped.

The script by Peter and David Griffiths and Art Monterastelli is

thin, and when the action gets going, some logic gets thrown out the

window as both characters make decisions that even an untrained

assassin would not make.

Since the movie was directed by William Friedkin (“The Exorcist,”

“The French Connection,” “To Live and Die In LA” and “12 Angry Men”),

one would expect a better film than this. One chase scene revolving

around an elevated train station contains reminders of “The French

Connection,” but other than a smattering of pulse pounding action,

“The Hunted” is flat.

Both del Toro and Jones mix well together. Despite the clunky

script, you will marvel at how well Jones appears to hold his own in

terms of physical movement. After his nearly geriatric role in “Space

Cowboys,” one might expect him to be moving a little slower, but at

only 56 years, he would still give any younger action star a run for

his money. Action over story is the focus of this movie. When del

Toro was rehearsing to lunge for a knife in a fight scene with Jones,

del Toro fell on his wrist, breaking a bone and dislocated several

others, shutting down production for several months.

The main problem with this film is that the acting talents of

Jones and del Toro are never really given a vehicle to shine.

Instead, they are turned into stunt men. Connie Nielsen, Leslie

Stefanson, John Finn, Jose Zuniga, Ron Canada, Mark Pellegrino and

Lonny Chapman are also featured and wasted in this film.

If you are seeking a diversion from TV news and high gas prices,

hiding in a theater to see “The Hunted” is not a bad way to spend

your time, but then again you could just take a nap.

* RAY BUFFER, 33, is a professional singer, actor and voice-over

artist.