The Hunted (2003)

William Friedkin (The French Connection) is a director who has quite the impressive list of films that he has directed over the course of career like the aforementioned film next to his name and others like The Exorcist, Killer Joe, To Live And Die In LA, and so many more.  I was cruising through the Tubi app when I came across one of his films and I decided to check it out for today in 2003's The Hunted. The film stars Benicio Del Toro (Guardians Of The Galaxy) as Aaron Hallam, a soldier who was trained by the very best to be the best damn solider assassin that the US Government could have. The only problem is what happens when that trained weapon begins to take his mission a little too far and into everyday life? I guess that's when you hire the guy (Tommy Lee Jones) who made him who he is to hunt him down before he claims anymore lives. The film also stars Connie Nielsen (One Hour Photo) as Abby Durrell, Leslie Stefanson (As Good As It Gets) as Irene Kravitz, John Finn (Catch Me If You Can) as Ted Chenoweth, José Zúñiga (The Dark Tower) as Bobby Moret, Ron Canada (Wedding Crashers) as Harry Van Zandt, Mark Pellegrino (The Big Lebowski) as Dale Hewitt, and Jenna Boyd (The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants) as Loretta Kravitz.

I was honestly expecting a lot more from this film then what we actually got and I think what I mean is that I thought it would be a lot better and more action packed then it was. There is action in the film, but it's nothing exciting like Taken or Rambo. I honestly thought that with the caliber of films that Benicio has been in that he was going to be the star of the film, but it was actually Tommy Lee Jones who stole the show for me. Benicio looked like he was trying to figure out what kind of a super soldier he was like should I be the strong silent type, the wacky I am obviously mentally unstable type, etc. Meanwhile, Tommy Lee Jones is stealing the show and you are literally rooting for the master to defeat the student cause he's proven that he screwed up with Benicio's character and he has to put him down himself. The final fight scene between the two of them had this really long build up of a giant chase through the city scene and then it went into a Rocky like montage of them getting their weapons ready for the final showdown. Then you proceed to the final showdown and it actually doesn't disappoint you as much as I thought it would. Tommy Lee Jones whoops his ass and all is returned back to normal and he can now live his life with no regrets because he killed the worlds best assassin. Some of the dialogue and acting was just bad in this film at times, but it wasn't bad enough that you dreaded watching, it was just a couple of moments here and there. The cinematography could be the saving grace of this film, but not enough to escape it's C+ grade.

The French Connection (1971)

I decided that for today's film, despite the fact that it's Friday The 13TH, I am not going to review a horror film because I have seen every Friday The 13TH movie already. This is all about discovering new films that I have never watched before and for today with the fear of the Corona virus looming with shutdowns, I would check out another Sheldon's Choice which is 1971's The French Connection. The film stars Gene Hackman (The Poseidon Adventure) as Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle, a tough as nails NYPD Narcotics detective who just wants to clean up his city. One day, he stumbles onto a huge drug ring that could have very bad implications for the future of New York that is being led by a French Connection. The film also stars Roy Scheider (Jaws) as Buddy Russo, Tony Lo Bianco (Blood Ties) as Sal Boca, Fernando Rey (The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie) as Alain Charnier, Marcel Bozzuffi (Z) as Pierre Nicoli, Bill Hickman (Bullitt) as Mulderig, Arlene Farber (I Drink Your Blood) as Angie Boca, Frédéric de Pasquale (Swords Of Blood) as Devereaux, Harold Gary (Man Against Crime) as Weinstock, Patrick McDermott (Joe) as The Chemist, Eddie Egan (The New Mike Hammer) as Simonson, and the film was directed by William Friedkin (To Live And Die In LA).

I went into this film with high expectations since it did win the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Gene Hackman), Best Editing, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Remember, they beat out A Clockwork Orange in two categories that year so I had to know just how good this film was and I thought it was just OK. I thought Gene Hackman definitely deserved the award he received for his performance because he was just relentless in this film. I think the thing that bothered me the most about the film was the ending and how it all came together because the build up was amazing. It's like they are teasing you constantly that they are close and then all of a sudden the proverbial sh** hits the can and it's over. I hated the fact that they actually ended the movie with the intention of having a sequel because it was more than obvious. The one man he wants to get this whole entire film is the one that gets away is just way too convenient. I feel like as soon as I decided to sit down and watch the second one that I am going to treat like I did Godfather 1 and 2 and that is that they are one film. I thought Roy was really good in the film, but they made the right choice in not giving him best supporting actor because he wasn't a huge factor like Hackman was. The film is gritty and there is going to be a language barrier because of some of the terminology used in the film, but remember that this was the 1970's. Therefore I am going to give the film an B+ for a final grade because I am harsh on the ending.