Two well-respected actors and a legendary director should form a firm basis for a quality motion picture. Particularly in these days of war and violence, a film about a ruthless, renegade, militarily trained killer could be the perfect opportunity to make some great ideological statement.

Thus, “The Hunted” is a great disappointment.

Director William Friedkin is far removed from his best works, such as “The Exorcist” and “The French Connection.” “The Hunted” is visually effective — dark and wild, whether in the woods of Oregon or in downtown Portland. But the characters and story carry little weight, and the film is bogged down with excessive hunting and tracking metaphors.

Benicio Del Toro (“Traffic”) and Tommy Lee Jones (“Men In Black”) are stuck with very static characters. Both actors have built their reputations on understatement. In this film, however, there is not enough character development to warrant such subtlety.

Del Toro plays Aaron Hallas, a soldier whose killer instinct flies out of control. The man who trained him is L. T. Bonham, played by Jones. Jones is not a member of the military — though the relevance of this fact never becomes apparent.

Basically, Hallas is out in the woods killing deer hunters, and Bonham is brought in to track him down — which he does, remarkably quickly. But Hallas escapes, so Bonham has to track him again, this time in the city. Think “Crocodile Dundee” with more graphic knife wielding.

There are hints of Hallas’ emotional battle scars and hints of the relationship between the two characters, but nothing gives us a real sense of who these people are or why we should care about them.

If it is the violence in their lives that has made both men such hollow shells, the display of this violence needs to be made more compelling. The only contrast we’re shown is via Abby Durrell (Connie Nielsen, “Basic”), a federal agent who, unlike the male leads, actually shows emotion when confronted with violence and death.

As the endless chase sequence begins to resemble “The Fugitive,” with Jones as a backwoods version of his character from that film, the absurdity creeps in. While Hallas is supposed to be trying to escape and Bonham is supposed to be tracking him, they each pause — in an “A-Team”-like montage — to carve and forge knives with which to do battle.

When they face off in their climactic knife fight, the audience will be amazed at the wounds they can withstand without appearing hobbled. Despite some moderately exciting fight choreography, the final duel lacks any sense of consequence.

The film’s title is meant to make us ask the cliché question: Who’s doing the hunting, and who is “The Hunted?” But even this feeble duality doesn’t amount to anything. We wait for Bonham to be forced to kill his student, hoping for some twist to add depth to the conflict. But none comes.

Grade: C