The Hunted

Starring: Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Yoshio Harada
Written by: J.F. Lawton 
Director: J.F.Lawton
Year: 1995

Rating: * * 1/2   Stars       +       (Fan Bonus 1/2 )  Total: * * *

Long after the ninja craze of the 80's had settled, this film casts the black clad warriors in a more dramatic thriller context than a straight up action flick.

Christopher Lambert plays Paul Racine, an American business man abroad in Japan. He falls for a mysterious woman Kirina (Joan Chen), and after a romantic evening returns to her hotel only to witness her murder at the hands of a ninja named Kinjo (John Lone). Kinjo and his cronies attack Paul, but the sounds of approaching police cause them to beat a hasty retreat.

To everyone's surprise, Paul survives the attack, and having seen Kinjo's face, he remains the only eye witness. Kinjo is the lord of a secret ninja cult, and feels his "power" is diminished as Paul has seen his face and survived. So he sends his ninjas out to finish the job. In the hospital Paul is met by Takeda (Yoshio Harada) and his wife Mieko (Yoko Shimada). Takeda is a martial arts instructor and descendant of a long line of samurai. He offers to protect Paul from retaliation. What he doesn't tell Paul is that he is more interested in using Paul as bait, in order to draw Kinjo out. Takeda is obsessed with ending a centuries old blood-feud between the samurai and Kinjo's ninja clan. 

Yoshio Harada plays Takeda as a straight up hard-ass. No nonsense old school samurai who quests to test his skill against Kinjo, his personal white whale. John Lone is brilliant as Kinjo. He comes off as intimidating and dangerous. Like Takeda, he too becomes consumed with obsession. As Takeda and Kinjo's obsessions grow, those around them die in their consumption until finally Kinjo and Takeda clash.

The only one that seems out of place is Christopher Lambert playing Paul. His stiff acting and bad delivery detract from what is essentially a terrific ninja-themed thriller. His lines, be it comical or dramatic, seem to fall short. In fact, there is little to distinguish the Paul Racine character from his Connor MacLeod character from Highlander,  except Paul can't sword-fight.

Still, despite the down curve of the lead actor, The Hunted is a fun and exciting ride with plenty of modern day ninja on samurai action. 

SEE THE TRAILER: The Hunted