Rating: Summary: Underrated Review: Underrated thriller from William Friedkin, a taut, tense and even deep thriller about the human nature. Man is man's worst enemy.
Rating: Summary: Drive in movie for the noughties-boys and their ugly toys Review: A huge amount of talent has gone into a pretty thin chase movie which has none of the panache of say The Fugitive. Undoubtedly, Mr Jones and Mr Del Toro are watchable (and bankable) actors. Because it is R rated - lots of knives and descriptions of how to carve up a man - it's audience I guess is lonely young men who fantasise about violence, or who have a thoroughly unhappy view of humans and relate better to dogs and squirrels than they do to their neighbours. Interesting to see Mr Maltin gave this an above average review whilst considering the director's earlier masterpiece - To Live and Die in LA - an unworthy film.
Rating: Summary: Much more layered than one would expect Review: I only take a star away from this movie because the end of it is foreseeable very early. The rest is perfect. The acting is incredible, the plot is quite layered, and the fight scenes are in a league by themselves in terms of movie fights. Most fights in movies are standard standing-waiting-to-be-hit affairs, where the characters show no pain after taking blows that, in the real world, would have sent them crumbling to the ground. Granted, after taking a stake through the thigh Tommy Lee Jones' character would never have been able to stand and fight on it, but the scenes are impeccably choreographed and very real, with the martial arts angle adding further realism. It was an especially nice touch that Jones didn't hook up with the FBI agent at all during the movie; it was all about him and Del Toro, and their story together, which made it all the more realistic. At the end he goes back to being a lone wolf, and is perfectly satisfied, as is the audience. This film is definitely worth seeing, and if you like this kind of film worth buying. Be warned, though, the violence (especially the opening scene) is excessively graphic and bloody; in other words, real.
Rating: Summary: Too boring for me Review: I found this movie to be a cliché through and through. It was predictable and pretty boring. The cat and mouse was just tired and rehashed. Tommy Lee Jones is much older than Del Toro, so while he was believable as a teacher, it was beyond belief that he could hunt him down and fight him as if he was just a young athletic himself.There isn't much dialogue in the film, at least not much that matters much. There aren't any good twists or surprises. There are other cat and mouse movies, Cliffhanger and Shoot to Kill, two examples that are set in the woods, that are much more exciting and offer more plot twists and more developed characters. Not much of a recommendation here. Certainly one to rent if you need to see it, I can't imagine seeing this twice.
Rating: Summary: enjoyable Review: I enjoyed this movie primarily because of the survival skills underscoring the plot. Tommy Lee Jones, in my opinion, always makes his characters interesting. Del Toro, too, was engaging in this role - given the limited confines of the script. The extra features included on the DVD edition made the whole experience richer and even caused me to want to read the books of Thomas H Brown Jr. who was a consultant for the film and the real life basis for Jones' character.
Rating: Summary: Great TLJ performance, so so movie Review: Tommy Lee Jones can make any movie worth watching, even limp ones and this ones is so lame. Actually a waste of his powerhouse talents. Tommy Lee Jones is a trainer of assassins, and he trains Benicio Del Toro (The Usual Suspects) into the perfect killing machine. We have given reasons (VAGUE REASONS) why suddenly Del Toro cannot stomach being a killing machine any longer, so what does he do...goes rogue and kills. There is only one person who can catch him, Tommy Lee Jones, who is ageing. So starts a nice cat and mouse game - but who is the cat and mouse. Nice watch, but will soon fade. Doubt most people would want repeat views of this movie, is do, suggest getting a used copy. Tommy Lee is worth that. His performance is marvellous, just the rest of the film does not match his level.
Rating: Summary: Interesting Thriller Review: From the first frames of this interesting and somewhat offbeat movie, I found myself fascinated by the setting in the snow-graced forests of the Pacific northwest, where retired government martial-arts and assassin training expert Tommy Lee Jones walks with both grace and purpose through the winter splendor of the chilly landscape. However unlikely the action as depicted in the scenes, it was a marvelous set of opening scenes, providing a key insight into the lead character's humanity and perspective. Little would I know that this was perhaps the most satisfying aspect of this taut suspense thriller. Lee is soon whisked away almost involuntarily to help solve a pair of horrific murders of seasoned and well-armed hunters in the area, only to discover the assailant was one of the expert assassins he helped train. From there the mystery begins to deepen, and Lee finds himself locked into a death struggle on a number of levels both with the assassin, played well by the charismatic Benico Del Toro. Del Toro's character is haunted by memories of atrocities he witnessed in Kosovo, and his former government handlers are trying to convince Lee that Del Toro has simply gone renegade. Yet there are signs that there may be some truth to Del Toro's suspicions, as told to Lee indicating that he had been set up, that the hunters he executed in the forest were in fact government assassins come to terminate him. The viewer is taken on a whirlwind ride through forest, suburb, and through a variety of cityscapes, and a few of the chase scenes are entertaining, amusing, and quite ingenuous. The plot sometimes suffers from more bullet holes than any of Del Toro's victims, but if you can suspend your critical faculties enough to enjoy the fireworks, you will likely enjoy this potboiler effort at government intrigue gone horribly wrong. Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: A godd gut spilling action film. Review: This is a very good movie. If you like people with knives hiding and jumping out and stabbing eachother and running away this is the movie for you. The only flaw i thought was that is if tommy lee jones is a expert tracker how can he not see benicio del toro behind a trash can or whatever in the city. Although it is a very adventurious gory film made for the whole family.
Rating: Summary: A Remake of 'First Blood', but truer to the original novel Review: Sylvester Stallone made this same movie in the early 1980s, except with a more 'Hollywood' ending. This film is pretty much the same story, but truer to David Morell's original book. For copyright reasons they change names, but let's face facts, Benicio Del Toro is John Rambo, Tommy Lee Jones is Col. Trautman, and Connie Nielsen is the sherrif of Hicksville, Oregon. It's 'First Blood' for a 21st century audience - i.e. it's more realistic and more gory, but the original movie is still better in my book.
Rating: Summary: captivating Review: this movie is one of my all time favorite action movies.it was a little bloody but it fits the story and the characters.Benicio Del Toro is riveting as the black ops soldier who is being hunted by his own men.Tommy Lee Jones is equally powerful as the civilian survivalist trainer who is forced to track one of "his boys".the movie is action packed from beginning to end and the girl who plays Benicio's girlfriend(sorry i couldnt remember her name) did and excellent job,the mannerisms and the dialect for the region were right on the mark.
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