Timothy Olyphant steps into the role of the popular videogame character, but I kept wondering to myself if the film might’ve been better if his co-star had been cast in the role instead.
Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) is a man with no name… only a number and we really don’t find that out till later in the film. He’s completely bald, has a barcode tattooed to the back of his head, and dresses in a suit and tie.
He’s also an assassin for hire working for a mysterious organization. It seems this mystery group (which is some kind of religious organization) takes the children, teaches them to be assassins, and is responsible for their signature look.
47’s latest assignment is to kill Russian president Mikhail Belicoff (Ulrich Thomsen) in a public place, which he carries out with his usual efficiency. However, the evening news only reports that Belicoff was only wounded and survived the assassination attempt. 47’s punishment for failure is that he’s now marked for assassination.
He tracks down Belicoff’s girlfriend Nika (Olga Kurylenko) and begins to unravel the mystery behind Belicoff. Not only does he have to keep Nika alive, but has to deal with Interpol agent Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott), who would like nothing better than to see 47 behind bars.
Hitman is based on the hit game of the same name. If you’re familiar with the game then you might be more forgiving of the silliness of the film. For example, do you really think that it would be wise to adopt 47’s signature look. It really helps you stand out in the crowd.
47 can even attest to this when his organization targets him for assassination – just kill any guys coming at you at happen to be bald and have barcodes tattooed on their necks. Sure the movie does have a gratuitous use of ‘Ave Maria’ but it’s all goofy fun if you can get past some of the plot points.
I did keep thinking to myself that it would’ve been better if Dougray Scott would’ve been the one with the shaved head since he seems like the role of a grizzled, kick ass hitman would’ve been made for him. However, they chose to cast Olyphant and he still seems like too much of a pretty boy to pull off the role.
I still snicker a bit when I think of him bald. I would’ve been afraid to snicker if Scott was in the role.
Needless to say I enjoyed the film more than the dire reviews during its theatrical run suggested that I might. It’s pretty derivative of other films in the genre but still better than some of the more low budget entries and other video game adaptations.
This is the unrated version, but since I didn’t watch the theatrical cut I cannot comment on the differences.
Hitman is presented in anamorphic widescreen (2.35:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include the 24-minute “In the Crosshairs” which covers the making of the film. The 10-minute “Digital Hits” looks at the videogame series on which the film is based.
The 14-minute “Weapons of Destruction” looks at the guns featured in the film. The 5-minute “Setting the Score” looks at the music in the film. Next are 8 minutes of deleted scenes that also feature a bleaker alternate ending. Finally there is a collection of trailers for Fox DVDs, but none for the Hitman.
Hitman isn’t as horrible as I assumed, but it’s really not much different than this one and the other types of films that have come before it. The casting of the main character is also part of the problem and I wished that costar Dougray Scott had shaved his head and took on the role.
It was a bit of mindless entertainment, so don’t think about it too hard and don’t look for too much innovation.
Hitman (Unrated) is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order from AmazonUK for a March 31st release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
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