Amazon.com: It's hard not to feel like one has entered a certain dimension of video-game logic while watching Hitman, a lightly enjoyable action-suspense movie indeed based on a popular and bloody game about a mysterious hired gun with a bar-code tattoo on his bald head and a number (47) in lieu of a name. Living like a chaste monk while slipping past borders to kill his targets, 47 (Timothy Olyphant of Deadwood) moves like a determined shark and speaks softly to his contact at the enigmatic "the Organization," which raises cast-off children to become well-paid assassins. Fruitlessly pursued by an Interpol cop (Dougray Scott) who can never get sovereign governments to cooperate, 47 has no trouble slipping in and out of countries to ply his trade. Until, that is, he's set up to take a fall in Russia by shooting a national leader who is promptly replaced by a lookalike double. Suddenly on the run, 47 has to retrace his steps and formulate a lethal plan for extricating himself from a trap. Caught in the chaos is the lovely Nika (Olga Kurylenko), forced into sex slavery by 47's new enemies and the one person who seems uniquely qualified to break through 47's many personal barriers. Directed by France's Xavier Gens, Hitman features loads of bloody mayhem and unabashed moments of pulp absurdity, such as a scene in which 47 and three other Organization killers agree to fight one another respectfully, then proceed to pulverize each other with swords and fists. As fodder for gamers, however, Hitman is packed with visuals and dramatic moments that seem so odd on the big screen until one realizes they are basically placemarkers for the video-game edition. --Tom Keogh
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Product Description: The best-selling videogame HITMAN roars to life with both barrels blazing in this hardcore action-thriller starring Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard). A genetically engineered assassin with killer style and deadly aim known only as "Agent 47" eliminates strategic targets for a top-secret organization. But when he's double-crossed on a mission the hunter becomes the prey as 47 finds himself ensnared in a life-or-death game of international intrigue and violent retribution. System Requirements:Running Time: 94 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE/CRIME Rating: UNRATED UPC: 024543510024 Manufacturer No: 2251010
SURPRISINGLY GOOD Films based upon video games haven't exactly enjoyed the greatest success. From the terrifically bad Uwe Boll films, to Doom and Street Fighter, video game adaptations have been some of the worst films in recent years. This brings us to the latest attempt, Hitman, which I can confidently state...isn't all that bad. It's not groundbreaking and its got its share of plot holes but it's a decent action film with a sort of James Bond Lite feel.
Timothy Olyphant turns in a surprisingly deep performance in his role as the assassin known only as Number 47. He works for the "Organization" who takes orphans and trains them to be nameless and anonymous assassins, giving them only a number and tattooing barcodes on the backs of their heads. 47 is the best at what he does. A ghost who slips in, kills whom ever he's been assigned to kill, and then disappears. Interpol agent Mike Whittier (Scott) has been tracking down 47 for several years. The trail leads to Russia as Number 47 accepts a mission to kill the Russian President Mikhail Belicoff. The hit seems to go off as planned until 47 sees the Russian President alive and well on the news. He knows there's no way he could have missed.
47 soon realizes that he's been set-up by his own organization in a covert plot to replace the Russian president with a look-alike. The only loose ends are Number 47 and a Russian prostitute, Nika, who was a virtual slave to Belicoff's sadistic brother Udre. The Organization sends out a team of it's own assassins to kill 47 and the girl. Meanwhile Whittier's investigation is hindered by Russian secret police just as he finally seems to have 47 trapped.
Hitman has some outstanding action scenes that are stylishly filmed. 47's escape from his hotel when he discovers the double cross is just one of the many action highlights. The whole film had a very elegant look to it. There are some wonderful framing shots and use of slow motion which I normally detest. You can certainly tell that James Bond films are a big influence on Director Xavier Gens. 47 doesn't have an array of gadgets but he does have a fantastic arsenal of the latest weapons at his disposal.
Olyphant plays Number 47 as somewhat emotionally challenged. He's used to being in control and when he's betrayed it almost confuses him. Later, when Nika tries to seduce him, he knocks her out with a hypodermic needle. One might think it is because he simply has no time for sex but my take was that the mere thought of sex was too vexing for 47. He didn't know how to react to Nika's advances and this merely underscored the fact that being an assassin is all he's known throughout his life.
Furthering the Bond influence, Olga Kurylenko who plays Nika, is all set to become the next Bond Girl when she teams with Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace. She was one of my favorite things in the movie. She's beautiful and exotic, tough and sexy. All of the performances in Hitman were far better than I expected. You can poke a few holes in the plot but this film vastly exceeded my expectations.
Extras
The DVD features four deleted scenes, an alternate ending, and a gag reel.
In the Crosshairs is a 24:10 documentary about the making of the movie.
Digital Hits takes a look at the games genesis from videogame to film. 10:30
Instruments of Destruction focuses on the various weapons used by Number 47 in the film 14:20
Settling the Score is a featurette on composer Geoff Zanelli who wrote the score.
I liked it. I loved this movie. It was what you should expect. Good rollicking fun. And a pretty neat story. I really enjoyed it.
Great action flick If you want some awesome action with a decent story line, then this movie is definitely for you. It is definitely only for 18 and over as well, due to language, nudity, and violence. So, if those things offend you, then stay away. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this movie, and I never really got into the game. So, it is for every action fan... not just gamers...
Missed Target In a world of Uwe Bolls and other listless directors, it seems the only qualification for making a passable "video game movie" is making sure that it doesn't suck completely. Good examples of this are found in the "Tomb Raider" series and the "Resident Evil" sequels, and also in "Hitman" - adaptation of the game of the same name, directed by Xavier Gens and starring Timothy Olyphant ("Live Free or Die Hard"). While competent enough, however, "Hitman" wallows in the mediocrity of the modern action genre, with its storyline and action easily eclipsed by recent hits like "The Bourne Ultimatum" and "Casino Royale", leaving it to appeal only to fans of the game series and viewers who like bald men.
I haven't played the games, so I won't bother arguing about the faithfulness (or lack of) in adaptation, but here's the plot: Agent 47 (Olyphant) is an ace assassin-for-hire trained by a secret agency that specializes in political murder. After being set up for the murder of a corrupt Russian politician (Ulrich Thomsen, "The Inheritance"), 47 is hounded by both Russian secret service and British Interpol as he attempts to uncover who double-crossed him.
The film attempts to hold your attention by moving along at a brisk pace, but it lacks the constant intrigue that would prevent you from noticing its flaws. First of all, the action is not all that good: the frequent gunfights and couple of hand-to-hand encounters lack both originality and pacing. While the acting is passable, I wish I knew who thought it would be a good idea to pick Tim Olyphant as the star: like I said, I've never played the games, but seeing the character on the case of the second instalment in the video store I frequent is enough to make we question the casting. Olyphant looks like a male model next to the stony-faced killer on the cover of the game. In addition, attempts to make his character sympathetic should've been excluded: roughing up and locking women in the trunk of his car is fine, but when the same woman (Olga Kurylenko) falls for him, I start to question the mindset of the script writer.
The film is less about assassination than it is about Agent 47 running from folks who want to catch him, so perhaps "Hitman" should've waited until a script better suited to the title of the film came around. What we have here is a run-of-the-mill attempt at adaptation that managed to find an audience but falls short of having any and all re-watch value. If you're like me, you'll want to see it simply because it's based on a game, but don't fork over the $15 for a purchase before you've given it a rent.
Well-done, mindless action. I've played a few video games in my time, but never this one. I knew nothing about it going in, so I cannot speak to whether or not the movie is true to the storyline of the game. What I can tell you is that the movie was light on dialogue and heavy on the action. And I really liked it.
Timothy Olyphant seemed relatively awkward cast as the lead, but the more I think about it, the more intentional that must have been. The movie's protagonist, Agent 47, was bred only to kill. Had he been more charismatic, it would have been less...for lack of a better term...believable. But that does not mean the movie lacks good action-movie one liners.
I will freely admit that this movie carried little appeal beyond "mindless shoot 'em up," but I like that type of movie, and Hitman was one of the better movies like that to come along recently.
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