MovieChat Forums > The Hunted (2003) Discussion > Sweepers or hunters?

Sweepers or hunters?

posted 18 years ago by ksjazzguitar
22 replies | jump to latest

Well, which were they?

Aaron seems to think they were hunters. Maybe they were rich guys with fancy scopes?

But they seemed to be tracking an elk. Was Aaron testing them by talking about hunting deer? They seemed oblivious to the difference. I'm sure Aaron would have known the difference.

And the "hunters" seemed awful keen to match wits with this crazy guy in the woods. You would think that they would have high-tailed it out of there.

But if they were sweepers, wouldn't they have been armed a little more appropriately. Maybe they need the bolt action rifles and orange camo for the hunter disguise, but you think they would have at least had a uzi under the jacket.

But then again, L.T. finds out that they have no car, camp, or hunting blind within 5 miles (if I remember correctly.)

The script seems very ambiguous on this point.

[–] rocked-by-rape 18 years ago

They're supposed to be sweepers. One of the guys who played the Sweepers states in an interview he's a Delta Force operator sent to kill Aaron. Aaron mutilated them aftewards to send a message across to the government that he will do whatever it takes to be left alone. Aaron was mentally disturbed from the battle stress but he's not as crazy as we're lead to believe.

[–] ksjazzguitar 18 years ago

OK, I'll by that, but I still say that they should have been packing more heat and that they should have had backup.

[–] doodleboy 18 years ago

definitely sweepers. hunters don't keep hunting when a hidden man reveals himself to be in the area. they put their guns down so they don't accidently hit him.

they wouldn't keep hunting while smack-talking the new guy. they didn't even flinch when it's revealed there was more than just elk in the forest.

[–] badassmrf 18 years ago

i dont know about this , i realy dont.
this is america, and come on guys americans aren't always very smart, and american characters in movies are even less smart, but if the two guys were these supposed "sweepers" , i doubt that they would go into the woods makin all that noise and wearing bright orange vissy vests!!!!.
its realy absurd that they would send a couple of hillbilly idiots with big guns after a highly trained veteran, its quite conflicting realy i mean when aaron made his presence known they were straight on the offensive.
dont get me wrong i liked this movie, but it's pretty flawed in that respect, these 2 guys would let anyone within 1/2 a mile know where they were and i would have thought that if you were going into the woods to catch or kill a deranged mentally unstable killing machine with a big knife, you would be a little more conspicuous, deft and adept at what they were doing, i mean id'e much rather get shot than stabbed, you get my point.

[–] edge2420 18 years ago

Regardless of what they were sent in to do, wearing a vest like that is just intelligent in a deep forest that might be tracked by big game hunters; granted, you usually wouldnt see a deer dressed in camo, but hunters often look for motion as well and it wouldnt be a stretch to imagine a quick shot towards motion in the forest during an exciting moment; adrenaline can play with your senses.

And believe me, Im sure it wouldnt have been the first time an untagged hunter has been bagged by fellow hunters.

So bottom line It just makes sense that they are wearing those vests. I will however not debate the merits of sending 2 guys in after a highly trained/skilled operator who specializes in high value targets; This kind of thing would not occur in the US, but even if it had, I would not imagine the military sending less than a full team of specialists to capture/bring in a man like this. In reality, federal agencies/local police would be sent in with advisors from the military to help track and capture such a suspect.

The bottom line is, however, that the whole movie, as realistic as it tries to be, is still very unrealistic. Dont get me wrong, it was enjoyable to watch and had entertaining parts, but reality it is not. Even the most die hard antiterrorism teams that most countries possess do not typically fall to hand to hand combat unless *beep* has really hit the fan; they are taught to use firearms because firearms are the most efficient way to neutralize a threat; a knife is a far distant second, and if it has to come out the general trend is that the guy using it is in more deep *beep* than his opponent.

That aside, I think its pretty clear these guys are meant to be "sweepers" and not hunters, hunters would not pursue Hallum like they did, but in reality I highly doubt men in their position would behave as they did: they would not pursue through the forest side by side, they would match out and attack from different angles (or wide open forest canopies, valleys) to maximize the advantage of high powered rifles. They would either flank him or flush him through like a hunt, but the stakes would rise given that he is equally trained to their level.

So they were sweepers, but if we take the movies perspective, they were the dumbest "highly trained" professionals I think anyone could imagine. But movies like this cater to the public which is hitherto ignorant of many of these nuances.

[–] Viser 17 years ago

That was one of the most ridiculous things I've ever read on this forum. Congratulations on making yourself look like a fool with your poorly written generalizations.

[–] tha1trupriest 17 years ago

they were absolutely NOT SWEEPERS. Aaron was F U C K ING INSANE. Did you also believe it later when he said "They were robots"? For once it was like the gov't said, his "battle stress has become so deep it's a part of his personality." I love this movie, my only complaint is that they didn't enter a little deeper into Aaron's head to discuss WHY he thought the things he thought, but at the same time this was one of the things that made this movie great.....it's just that some of his delusions were so damn INTERESTING.

[–] rocked-by-rape 17 years ago

Its stated in the actual script that they're sweeepers. Plus why would civilian hunters just shoot some random guy in the woods? Also what about the sniper in the chopper taht was flying by when Aaron was on top of the bridge and about to jump off. That wasn't a SWAT sniper, that was a government assasin. When Aaron's former squadmate takes out the nose inhaler that's supposed to kill is supposed to show that the government wanted him dead for a while now. What's wrong with Aaron is that he's completely detached from the reality of killing. To him he's gotten so good at it that to actually kill someone requires little effort on his part.

[–] billy_bob_stapel 16 years ago

if they were sweepers, which was never really pointed out in the whole movie,it was kind of obvious to dress kind as normal hunters, they didnt want to make anyone suspicous, of course i agree the movie is unrealistic but maybe there are those handy close combat killing machines lurking around us, who knows.

[–] Sniper_762 16 years ago

NO(!!!) hunter in the world used an $11,000 Night Vision/Ifrared riflescope to hunt deer. Period. Especially mounted to a $500 Remington rifle. Hunters do sometimes carry pistols to perform a "coup de grace", but not generally a Military style 9mm Beretta. Their target had 2 legs, not 4.

[–] clankinweights 16 years ago

People are sooo dumb, they said no camp ground or tree stand was found and they were on foot. They were sweepers you dumb *beep* they also saw the elk and never tried to shoot it.

[–] indotexan 15 years ago

I believe one of them said at one point something like: "I saw him, he's here!"

"I stick my neck out for nobody."- Rick Blaine, Casablanca

[–] nutsberryfarm 13 years ago

intense hunters, maybe.

sake happens

[–] hunterraven99 15 years ago

Given the hardware theyre carrying, it would initially seem obvious that they arent just hunters.
The fact that they come alone would seem foolish, but given their quarry it is likely the best tactic - look what happens when the FBI tries to corner him with large numbers of agents.

The vests they are wearing would likely simply be camouflage - not in the 'blending into the environment' sense, as much as 'blending into a civilian population' sense - as would their rifles; which, while quite hardcore for hunting, COULD theoretically be something a hunter would use (hence why, worst case scenario, agents in question wouldnt have to break cover).
Keep in mind, this is a national forest - if a warden or another hunter wanders upon them and requests information (or even just sees them), its much easier (and more strategically sound from the PoV of the agency) to claim to be an especially well armed hunter than it is to reveal youre a government assassin hunting ANOTHER assassin on public land. For that same reason, wandering around a national park with a high-powered assault rifle wouldnt likely be feasible.

Their reaction to the idea of a psycho in the woods COULD be acceptable as just the behavior of some red-neck showoffs; but it seems unlikely given the other information. The addition of the scene in the truck makes it seem even less likely.

As for the robots remark, I think this expresses something of Aaron's ideals. While he likely has been trained in firearms combat, he PREFERS to use stealth and hand-to-hand manuevers; whereas he views those that use machines (guns) to kill without respect/regard for the act become machines themselves.
Note: Aaron is good at killing, and can do it without hesitation; but it seems like he still respects the concept of the natural world and the life therein. Life is easy to lose though; and if you fail to respect that fact, you may not live very long.
As someone said above, I would have liked to have seen more of what mental processes lead to Aaron's current state of mind.

[–] ApolloCreed215 13 years ago

The FBI Chick states that one of the two "hunters" had a 9mm pistol tucked inside his jacket. I think this is the film's subtle method of giving away the fact that they're sweepers.

I've read a dozen of these "Hunter or Sweeper" topics so far, and NO ONE brought it up. But yeah, to me that says more clearly than anything else that those guys were sweepers, not hunters. Who hunts deer with a 9mm handgun...?

[–] 13 years ago

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[–] 13 years ago

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[–] ipacac22 12 years ago

They were sweepers. Hunters don't carry 9mm pistols along with their regular rifles.

Utah! Get me two.

[–] BobH12370 12 years ago

If those guys were Delta force, or ANY special forces, they would have had the same training, and not so easily taken out by one man with a knife. Thet were not sweepers. They were rich hunters.

Hunters also DO carry 9mm pistols, or other hand gun. They carry them for self defense, or just to have with them if they need it.

[–] brferrell 12 years ago

They were sweepers. Hunters would not talk crap while hunting animals. A 9mm is a weak round for the woods a 10mm or a revolver would be better. Did you not listen to what they were saying to each other? Aaron saying challenging them to a fight between them with their guns and him with his knife. Sweepers don't have to be ex military.

[–] BobH12370 8 years ago

If they were sweepers, I think they would have been smart enough to grab his knife when he threw it in to a tree so he couldn't recover it. Or at the very least set a trap for him when he went to back to get it. I think the point was to show that he was paranoid, and saw everyone as someone who was sent to kill him.

[–] 8 years ago

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