On this end it's not just an action film, but a film to provoke serious thought and discussion. The Hunter is also admirable for bringing up these issues, but not providing definite, curt answers. The film asks who is really responsible for the later behavior of these persons. Friedkin's choice of Johnny Cash songs for the opening and closing of the film was also inspired, as were the beautiful locations.Of course, there's also a more political subtext here-namely that we officially train persons to be fearless killers without a conscience and stick them into the middle of crazy situations, often for extended periods of time, then later expect them to be able to "turn it off" and meld back into society with all of its more mundane norms and mores. The Hunted is also effective for retaining more realism than is the norm for contemporary action films-not that I ever subtract points for a lack of realism, but the realism is novel here and in context, works perfectly. Friedkin never falls back on fast cuts, blurry shots or speed control tricks to mask these scenes. It's always perfectly clear what one location's relationship is to the next location, what and why characters are doing what they're doing, and just what is occurring in the fight scenes-who is injuring who and how. Del Toro and Jones seem to have done more stunt work than is the norm, with Del Toro actually breaking his wrist at one point and halting the production of the film until it healed.Friedkin and editor Augie Hess deserve a lot of credit, as action scenes like these can frequently become muddled. But as much as Del Toro and Jones, the stars of the film are the staging of the chases, the staging of the fights, and the spectacular stunt work. If you're a fan of action and fighting films, this may be right up your alley, although there is more to be gained than the surface qualities.Director William Friedkin and the cast are able to create fairly complex characters in Hallam and Bonham through subtle means while the action material is occurring, through well-placed flashbacks, and through two significant, slower scenes that give us a momentary breather. On the surface, at least, the plot is an excuse for the chase and encounter scenes between Hallam and Bonham. Thematically, it is much closer to First Blood aka Rambo 1982, but it doesn't have the firepower of that film to its benefit, the emphasis here is on brutal hand-to-hand combat. Hunted is an action/chase film in the tradition of The Fugitive 1993.
0 kommentar(er)
