The Hunted (1995)

Director: J.F. Lawton

Producer: John Davis, Yuriko Matsubara

Writer: J.F. Lawton

Cast: Christopher Lambert, John Lone, Joan Chen, Yoko Shimada, Mari Natsuki

Running Time: 111 min.

Plot: After being marked for death by a ruthless Japanese mob boss, an American businessman teams up with a samurai who's out to settle a score with his age-old enemy.

AMERICAN NINJA'S REVIEW: The Hunted is the kind of movie you watch at 3am. A critic quoted "A step up from badly dubbed kung fu flicks." Maybe so, but The Hunted isn't half bad by it's rock bottom standards. Lambert stars as a businessman who is "hunted" by a ninja clan led by John Lone after he witnesses a decapitation of a woman he beds. He then takes refuge with a samurai and his students - now, this might sound lame but it really isn't as bad as it sounds. Some of the action scenes are rather exciting but The Hunted runs out of steam in it's last 30 minutes becoming a passion play . One other disappointing thing about The Hunted is that the Lambert/Lone fight lacks a little edge because the viewer wants to see the Samurai (Harada) fight. Lambert gets a climax he doesn't deserve. A pity because The Hunted had more potential than just a mindless action flick. Bottomline:The Hunted is no great shakes for sure but M/A fans could do worse.

AMERICAN NINJA'S RATING: 6.5/10