Movie Review for Hitman (2007)

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Review #571 of 365
Movie Review of Hitman (2007) [R] 100 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.00
Where Viewed: United Artists Denver Pavilions Stadium 15, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 21 November 2007
Time: 8:00 pm
DVD Release Date: 11 March 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer

Soundtrack: order the CD below

Directed by: Xavier Gens (Frontière(s))
Written by: Skip Woods (Swordfish)

Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard) • Dougray Scott ("Desperate Housewives") • Olga Kurylenko (Paris, je t'aime ) • Robert Knepper (Good Night, and Good Luck) • Ulrich Thomsen (Kingdom of Heaven) • Henry Ian Cusick ("Lost") • Michael Offei (Casino Royale) • Christian Erickson (Arthur and the Invisibles) • Eriq Ebouaney (The Nativity Story) • Joe Sheridan (Hannibal Rising) • James Faulkner (The Good Shepherd)

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Those who remember Skip Woods's screenplay for Swordfish will know that he knows his way around a cold thriller with a steely villain. So, who better to pen the screenplay adapted from the video game series, Hitman? From the opening sequence which provides all the back story on the birth and 'education' of Agent 47 we'll ever really get, to the chain of cataclysmic events for which he is the brilliant catalyst, Hitman is the runaway action thriller of the year.

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"… destined to be acclaimed the best action thrill ride of the year."

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While Matt Damon's Jason Bourne may have propelled him to the cover of People Magazine as the 'Sexiest Man Alive', watch for Timothy Olyphant to not only wrest him from that title, but also as the most excellent spy 'hero' since James Bond. Posessing the skills and resources of a Bond/Rambo hybrid, Agent 47 is a professional hitman, part of an ultra-secret world force that keeps the planet in order and on the 'right' path by simply eliminating anyone who would stand in the way of that course. Abandoned and unwanted boys from the worst parts of the world are apparently taken into the organization, numbered, bar-coded, and bred for one specific purpose, to kill. And the best of the best is Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant).

While Mr. Olyphant has flown largely under the radar of the People Magazine crowd, he's quietly assembled a decent résumé of diverse roles, this being his third of the year believe it or not—Catch and Release and Live Free or Die Hard.

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"… blending titanium charm with Teflon®-coated, acerbic wit, Olyphant has created a very worthy living rendition of the video game icon."

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This role represents his crowning achievement blending titanium charm with Teflon®-coated, acerbic wit, Olyphant has created a very worthy living rendition of the video game icon. With his bald head exposed, dressed to kill, and physical conditioning intact, Timothy Olyphant's Agent 47 would make even John McClane quake in his bare feet—even McClane never slid down steel elevator cables barefooted.

The story for the film begins with Agent 47 staring down his long-time pursuer, Interpol Cop Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott). He's broken into his home, arranged things just so, and now posed to Whittier a question, "How do good men know when to kill?" The answer holds the key to the events that will unfold next. Three months prior, Agent 47 received an assignment from the computerized voice of Diana on his notebook computer. He was offered the hit on the Russian President Mikhail Belicoff (Ulrich Thomsen). While parameters were changed outside his routine and general comfort zone, he accepted and proceeded to carry out the hit. With ingenious execution, no pun intended, he plans and enacts the assassination with pin point precision even detonation a bomb from his shooting location to ensure no traces of his activities would ever be found. Unfortunately, he would learn a bit later that Belicoff is not dead. Impossible. He's never missed a target in his life. He knows it, Whittier who's been tracking him for 3 years knows it, and even Belicoff knows it, in fact Belicoff is counting on that. And then all infierno breaks loose. He, himself, becomes a target of his own hitman organization, and the key to it all seems to be a Russian slave girl, named Nika (Olga Kurylenko).

With a perfect blend of action, thrills, twists, turns, and a carefully planned and paced plot, director Xavier Gens has unleashed a highly stylized, adrenaline-powered film that draws you in, toys with you, and takes you on one incredible ride. The one thing that really sets Hitman apart is that it's not overdone. Films of the genre all too often take their one gimmick too far. Because Agent 47 is the complete package with ruthless fighting skills, incredible brain power and intuition, and the all important gadgets, there's nothing of which to get tired. And, without disrespecting the Bond legend, this guy, actually is a real gentlemen—he doesn't just hop into bed with every pretty young thing because he can.

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"… there's more sexual tension and electricity between the nameless Agent 47 and Nika than the last 5 Bond films added together …"

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No, he resists taking advantage of the girl. He does transport her around too much in the trunk of his car, but he wisely realizes this is for her own protection; and, actually, he probably does not have sufficient 'training' in the opposite gender given his purpose, his 'programming' has been to be a hired hitman, not a lover. Nonetheless, there's more sexual tension and electricity between the nameless Agent 47 and Nika than the last 5 Bond films added together—and all without any sex. Dougray Scott does an great job as well playing Agent 47's nemesis at Interpol. Of course, the film will show Mike Whittier a thing or two about who's on whose side after all, but that's part of the film's fun.

On the one hand, it might be possible to say that Hitman is derivative borrowing the best of the best from its predecessors. On the other, there's the sheepish grin of Timothy Olyphant as his Agent 47 sets in motion, with the simple catalyst of an ancient key, the down fall of so many. So while a tad derivative it might be, Hitman, with Geoff Zanelli's stirring musical score, nonetheless, is destined to be acclaimed the best action thrill ride of the year.

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Related Products from Amazon.com

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Other Projects Featuring Hitman (2007)
Cast Members
Timothy Olyphant • Dougray Scott • Olga Kurylenko
Robert Knepper • Ulrich Thomsen • Henry Ian Cusick
Michael Offei • Christian Erickson • Eriq Ebouaney
Joe Sheridan
Director
Xavier Gens
Writer
Skip Woods

CD Soundtrack	Video Games	Related Product

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Review-lite Hitman (2007) [max of 150 words]

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On the one hand, it might be possible to say that Hitman is derivative borrowing the best of the best from its predecessors. On the other, there's the sheepish grin of Timothy Olyphant as his Agent 47 sets in motion, with the simple catalyst of an ancient key, the down fall of so many. So while a tad derivative it might be, Xavier Gens's Hitman, with Geoff Zanelli's stirring musical score, nonetheless, is destined to be acclaimed the best action thrill ride of the year.

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