Hitman (2007) Directed by Xavier Gens
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(Review originally written at 21 July 2008)
"Hitman" is basically a well made and good looking movie but with one big flaw to it. The story just never really flows well. The movie feels inconsistent, with basically just the one action sequence after the other, which really makes you loose interested into the actual story of the movie. Because of this, the story of "Hitman" just doesn't work out. The story instead now mostly remains confusing and not everything seems really connected enough. I'm not saying Xavier Gens is a bad director, or "Hitman" is a bad movie but you can just tell by looking at this that with a more experienced director at the helm, who had the abilities to the make the story flow well, this could had really been a superior modern action-flick.
The movie now instead is perhaps style over substance. Especially its action sequences are well directed and great looking, making this simply a fine action-flick to watch. The movie gets really carried by those sequences and are what is making "Hitman" still a seriously fine and enjoyable flick to watch. You don't have to be a fan of the video games to enjoy this movie.
Because the story doesn't really work out, the character of agent 47 also doesn't really. They try to give him a more humane face and he wants to start a normal life on his own. The movie builds up and hints to this constantly but in the end it doesn't wrap it up properly, which makes it look like as if all those moments within the movie are pointless and don't serve a significant enough purpose for the main character. Same goes for the love interest played by former model Olga Kurylenko. In the long run you're only wondering; 'Now what was exactly the purpose of this character in the movie?'.
Perhaps it's also Timothy Olyphant fault, who plays the movie its main character. At times he's acting too much, rather than being agent 47 enough. Agent 47 is cool and to the point, who never looses his focus on things. In this movie he's constantly struggling with himself and the world and by default he also has way too many lines, in my personal opinion. I think that the character would had worked out way better if he had been an almost complete mute. It would had made the character cooler and more mysterious and would had given the other actors, mainly Olga Kurylenko and Dougray Scott, to do their thing and become the more 'human' face of the movie.
For Olga Kurylenko is especially a real discovery. She had starred in movies before but mostly in small unknown small French flicks. But main thing is that she can really act and she of course also has the looks, which helps her a lot. Because of those two reasons she also got cast as Bond-girl in the new Bond movie "Quantum of Solace", which will be released later this year.
All in all, "Hitman" is a movie, with superior action sequences, that I enjoyed watching but its story and main approach of things prevent this from being an absolute genre must-see.
6/10
Watch trailer
"Hitman" is basically a well made and good looking movie but with one big flaw to it. The story just never really flows well. The movie feels inconsistent, with basically just the one action sequence after the other, which really makes you loose interested into the actual story of the movie. Because of this, the story of "Hitman" just doesn't work out. The story instead now mostly remains confusing and not everything seems really connected enough. I'm not saying Xavier Gens is a bad director, or "Hitman" is a bad movie but you can just tell by looking at this that with a more experienced director at the helm, who had the abilities to the make the story flow well, this could had really been a superior modern action-flick.
The movie now instead is perhaps style over substance. Especially its action sequences are well directed and great looking, making this simply a fine action-flick to watch. The movie gets really carried by those sequences and are what is making "Hitman" still a seriously fine and enjoyable flick to watch. You don't have to be a fan of the video games to enjoy this movie.
Because the story doesn't really work out, the character of agent 47 also doesn't really. They try to give him a more humane face and he wants to start a normal life on his own. The movie builds up and hints to this constantly but in the end it doesn't wrap it up properly, which makes it look like as if all those moments within the movie are pointless and don't serve a significant enough purpose for the main character. Same goes for the love interest played by former model Olga Kurylenko. In the long run you're only wondering; 'Now what was exactly the purpose of this character in the movie?'.
Perhaps it's also Timothy Olyphant fault, who plays the movie its main character. At times he's acting too much, rather than being agent 47 enough. Agent 47 is cool and to the point, who never looses his focus on things. In this movie he's constantly struggling with himself and the world and by default he also has way too many lines, in my personal opinion. I think that the character would had worked out way better if he had been an almost complete mute. It would had made the character cooler and more mysterious and would had given the other actors, mainly Olga Kurylenko and Dougray Scott, to do their thing and become the more 'human' face of the movie.
For Olga Kurylenko is especially a real discovery. She had starred in movies before but mostly in small unknown small French flicks. But main thing is that she can really act and she of course also has the looks, which helps her a lot. Because of those two reasons she also got cast as Bond-girl in the new Bond movie "Quantum of Solace", which will be released later this year.
All in all, "Hitman" is a movie, with superior action sequences, that I enjoyed watching but its story and main approach of things prevent this from being an absolute genre must-see.
6/10
Watch trailer
