Hunted
Cinemax, Fridays 10/9 Central
Oct 19, 2012
Issue #42 - The Protest Issue
The espionage thriller is an archetypal and sometimes dog-tired genre. Double-crosses, sex, and explosions can only go so far, so modern audiences demand more personal and grounded spies. The Jason Bourne and Daniel Craig-era James Bond movies scratch that itch, but most televised spy dramas are shallow in the character development department. Cinemax’s second original primetime series Hunted aims to buck that trend. The X-Files producer/writer Frank Spotnitz delivers a gripping eight-episode first season that follows the exploits of a clandestine private-eye firm called Byzantium. Golden Globe nominee Melissa George (HBO’s In Treatment) delivers a soul-stirring performance as the betrayed operative Sam Hunter. She employs the Keysi fighting method, which was previously showcased in The Bourne Supremacy. The storyline is bifurcated throughout: Hunter tries to find out who tried to kill her while on assignment, and Byzantium’s day-to-day operations are fleshed out. The portrayal of a private spy agency lends this material a sense of uniqueness, and the largely British supporting cast helps the cogs of the plot machine stay greased. There are times, in the middle of this first season, when the plot can become a tad jumbled. The emotional story of Walker’s tutoring relationship with the son of the man her organization is trying to spy on remains captivating even when the actual surveillance becomes forced or is dully choreographed. (www.cinemax.com/hunted)
Author rating: 6.5/10
Average reader rating: 7/10
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Comments
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October 25th 2012
4:11am
I watched the premier of Hunted at DISH Online while I was riding the bus home and when I saw her fighting I immediately thought of the Borne movies. The Keysi fighting style is very unique and it takes a really good actress to pull it off the way George did. And I cannot wait to see more of the private spy company’s inner workings. It is by far the most intriguing part of the show and I know that next week is going to be awesome. I am setting my DVR to record the next episode as soon as I leave my office at DISH.
December 20th 2018
1:03pm
” The emotional story of Walker’s tutoring relationship with the son of the man her organization is trying to spy on…..”
Who the heck is Walker?