The Hunter

Steve McQueen's last film features him as an aging modern day bounty hunter who drives a crumbling jalopy barely strung together. He is only just managing to make a living. The story is based on a real life bounty hunter, Ralph Thorson, who worked as technical adviser on the production, I believe.

This film has pretty much always been critically dismissed and, to be sure, it barely has a story line, just a series of incidents, some of them humorous, involved in Thorson's arrest of bail jumpers. There is a major chase sequence towards the end that is excitingly staged, involving a subway car passenger being taken captive, among other things. There's even a little bit of humour to be found here, as well, this prolonged chase sequence the highlight of the film.

I have to say that I found the film to be quite watchable as a time waster, despite its mediocre reputation. I liked the (presumably) on location shooting of some of the seedy areas in which the character had to work.

McQueen has a seasoned presence and is quite effective in his role, though he doesn't have much of a characterization to work with. There are also a few twists to be found here. One inside joke for McQueen fans is that in this film his character is a bad driver who can't seem to parallel park without mounting the curb several times and doing damage to the cars around him.

The supporting cast includes Eli Wallach, Kathryn Harrold as McQueen's pregnant girlfriend, and Ben Johnson as a good old boy town sheriff who pulls a gun on McQueen to emphasize the fact he wants him out of his town. McQueen gives him no argument. Frustrating that the film uses so little of Johnson. He has two reasonably effective small scenes and then he's gone for good. What the film has plenty of, though, is Tracey Walter as a vengeful psycho sworn to kill McQueen. Walter's character likes to indulge in cat-and-mouse games. There's nothing subtle in this actor's over-the-top performance.

I saw no sign of the cancer that would lead to McQueen's death in his appearance here. The actor found out about the asbestos-related mesothelioma shortly after filming on The Hunter was completed. (He died of a heart attack following a brutal operation to have tumors removed in Mexico).

McQueen's last film before his tragic and untimely death from cancer was this minor but enjoyable action comedy based on the exploits of real life bounty hunter Ralph "Papa" Thorson. The small scale, episodic structure and a few plot contrivances sometimes make it feel like a glorified made-for-TV movie (TV veteran Buzz Kulik directed), but Steve is terrific in the role and he's aided by a large and colorful supporting cast. Plenty of action, along with nice touches of warmth and humor make this more than passable entertainment, especially for fans of McQueen. ** 1/2 stars

"Tom Horn," Steve McQueen's second to last feature, would have been a more appropriate swan song for the legendary star than this rather ramshackle production, but this action picture is much better than it is usually given credit for. There is an almost TV look about it (the director, Buzz Kulik, has amassed more credits for the small screen than he has in theatrical films), but McQueen, looking for all the world like the picture of health (a year after the film was shot, he'd be dead), is terrific and he makes it all worthwhile. The supporting cast isn't too shabby either, especially Kathryn Harrold as McQueen's woman, and, of course, the always welcome Eli Wallach.

This, of course, was McQueen's last role. It is nothing grand, and for the most part there really is no plot, but it is still a rather good movie. This movie revolves around McQueen's character who is a bounty hunter. This movie shows him go after various people and also shows his home life...which is a bit unique too. He goes after super big rednecks, small time crooks, crazy guys who blow things up, and one rather dangerous individual. Someone who he captured in the past also stalks him. All in all it isn't the greatest movie, but it mixes action and humor well. Even though McQueen was feeling the effects of his illness during the shooting of this one, he still does a great job.

I first saw this in the late 80s on a vhs. Revisited it recently. As a die hard fan of McQueen, i enjoyed this film which many dubbed as the last n weakest of McQueen's films. The film is about a modern-day bounty hunter who captures criminals who have skipped on their bail to bring them back for a reward. His job doesn't allow him to spend time with his pregnant girlfriend n at the same time a psychopath is stalking them. The film has a good rooftop chase, a foot chase, a train sequence n a funny chase in a corn field with ample amount of dynamites. In this film McQueen came up with the idea of going against his famous car n bike racing abilities by portraying his character as a terrible driver. The film does have a very weak villain n the screenplay is a mishmash.