Directed by:
Xavier GensScreenplay:
Skip WoodsCinematography:
Laurent BarèsComposer:
Geoff ZanelliCast:
Timothy Olyphant, Robert Knepper, Dougray Scott, Ольга Куриленко, Ulrich Thomsen, Henry Ian Cusick, Patrick Ligardes, Eriq Ebouaney, James Faulkner (more)VOD (4)
Plots(1)
The "Hitman" is a genetically-engineered, elite assassin known only as Agent 47. His hallmarks are lethal grace, unwavering precision, and resolute pride in his work. But even 47 couldn't anticipate a "random equation" in his life exactitude: the unexpected stirrings of his conscience and the unfamiliar emotions aroused in him by a mysterious Russian woman. (official distributor synopsis)
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Reviews (11)
The nightmare of all fans of the video game, promised by the trailers, turned out to be a surprisingly decent B-movie. In addition, the main star of the expected tragedy is not so much Timothy Olyphant, who at least looks like a man after all, nor Xavier Gens, who doesn't understand the atmosphere of the game, but at least the film goes by fast, but Skip Woods - an inept screenwriter who should have had his license taken away for Swordfish and his hands chopped off for this. There are unnecessary characters (the Russian whore, the Interpol agent), and zero references to the game (2 disguises, the kids sitting at the PC), and instead, we get a lot of filler and a point that goes to waste. As a whole, it’s still off the mark and another notch in the dysfunctional video game adaptations category. However, since I had zero expectations I'll give it 3 stars in the end because if you’re in a good mood, it's a fun and sufficient way to fill an hour and a half.
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Say what you want, but Timothy Olyphant IS Hitman. He can shoot silently or with a big bang, he can accomplish what he is tasked with, and if someone double-crosses him, he can overcome any obstacles (which in this case means a larger number of them than usual). He takes a pair of his best and most precise friends and goes exactly where he intends to. And yet he is not heartless, and his forced relationship with Nika is a perfect example of that. I won't let anyone convince me that it's just a way to get Olga Kurylenko's sexy character into the movie, because Agent 47, compared to the source material, is successfully humanized with a natural background and his confusion when interacting with someone other than an enemy is so believable and appropriate. A different assassin was born. Different from what he was created to be and different from how he was born in the game. But regardless, he is here, and the fact that an immediate sequel with any game storyline wasn't made immediately remained for me an unpleasant and burning debt for quite a while.
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It's definitely not a total disaster because Timothy Olyphant gave the character an interesting ambivalence through his appearance. On the other hand, one indeed expects a bit more from such a film than just ordinary action sequences. I generally love the theme of assassins. This is entertainment worth a single watch.
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A much bloodier Jason Bourne after hair removal, filmed following the "How to rip off a script and look original" manual. It's not just the music that's stolen from Bourne, and in a way the concept (the killing of a Russian politician, the pursued protagonist always one step ahead), but also some of the scenes, perhaps the most blatant of which is Hitman's analysis of the surrounding diners in a restaurant and listing everything he memorized upon entering. It wouldn't matter so much if there was at least one scene worth pressing the PLAY button repeatedly for. It's not boring, but it's out of your head before you can say Hitman. And it's hard to develop any sympathy for a main character who unscrupulously shoots a man in the back of the head. I haven't played the game and I don't even want to.
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It's really disappointing that Gens didn't quite understand the game, so there are really minimal references to the famous silent action (kids at the PC, one disguise), there’s no steel wire, and Hitman is not a silent assassin (the Matrix-like action in the club didn't impress me). Although Olyphant doesn't hold back and is usually ruthless, overall the film not really up to par because of the above mentioned flaws. The one-on-one fights are oddly edited and not much to speak of. So we're left with just raw, surprisingly bloody action, which is worth watching. Otherwise, Hitman is more of a pure action movie than a successful adaptation of the game.
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