After successfully completing an assignment, assassin for hire Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant,) discovers that not only is his target still alive; but he has gotten himself deeply involved in a conspiracy involving the Russian government.  As he seeks answers he finds himself the target of the Russian military, Interpol, and even members of his own organization.

CRITIQUE

Hitman (based of the game series by Eidos) is one incredibly stupid movie.  But, it’s that sort of stupid that makes for an entertaining night at the movies.  There is no real sense of logic, the plot is shallow at best, and the lead character completely lacks any sort of charisma. But in the end it doesn’t matter. This isn’t a film that is meant to be sophisticated.  This is a film in which a bald guy with a barcode on the back of his head runs around and shoots people. And that’s what this film does well. And manages to be far better than it really should be.

Agent 47 is a member of a shadow organization called simply “The Agency.” He was born and bred to be a heartless, emotionless killer.  And he is very good at it. So much so that he has his own special Interpol taskforce that is seeking him, lead by Mike (Scott) who is somewhat obsessed with capturing this mythical hitman.  However, 47’s newest mission might also be his last.  The mission is simple – assassinate the Russian president, Bellicoff (Ulrich Thomsen.) And he does so, very publicly.  However, as 47 prepares to leave the country, he discovers that he (apparently) failed his mission and missed the target.  He know he didn’t, so does Mike, who is very puzzled as to how or why.  I’m sure you can guess what happens next.

While there is little to be said about plot and the like, one can’t deny that Xavier Gens manages to bring a nice sense of style to the action sequences.  I’ve started to grow tired of the “shaky-cam” trend that has found its way into action films lately and it’s nice to see a film that doesn’t rely on it in order to maintain a sense of tension and energy.  It’s also nice to see a video game movie that is more of a movie than a video game.  While I was never a fan of the Hitman series myself, I feel as though both fans of the series as well as the general movie going audience call all leave this film feeling entertained.

THE VIDEO

The copy of Hitman I received was a promotional screener, as opposed to the final DVD release.  Being a DVD-R, there were many noticeable digital flaws. However, while I did encounter flaws, Hitman looked pretty good. The colors were well balanced, the black levels were consistent.  I doubt the flaws that I noticed will be found on the final release.

THE AUDIO

Hitman is presented with both a 5.1 Dolby Surround and 5.1 DTS mixes.  Both are excellent and definitely enhance the action sequences.

THE EXTRAS

Disc One:

Deleted Scenes: A few deleted sequences, two of which are alternate versions of scenes found in the film (the alternate train station scene is interesting to watch back to back with the film version to see an evolution in the story telling), and an alternate (and much darker) ending.

In the Crosshairs: The typical making of featurette. The interviews are interesting and it manages to give you an idea of how Hitman became a film.

Digital Hits: A look at the video game series Hitman and how the film relates to the games and yet manages to have its own identity.

Instruments of Destruction: A look at the various weapons used in the film.

Settling the Score: A featurette that examines the score of Hitman. Surprisingly more interesting than I expected, as most scoring featurettes are more geared towards those with a passion for screen music.

Gag Reel: The typical grouping of blown takes.

Disc Two:

Digital Copy: Download Hitman to your computer or portable device within minutes by putting the disc into the DVD-ROM drive and following a few instructions.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Hitman is far from perfect. Even as a brainless action film, there are films much better than this. But Hitman manages to take the negative stigma of “video game movie” and manages to not only be an entertaining action film, but an entertaining action film based off of a video game.