With Hitman 2 turning a year old, it is time I looked at the two films based on the iconic video game franchise. It's surprising to even think two films exist, despite the franchise not being as mainstream as many other franchises. The first film was released in 2007, coming out just after what was regarded as one of the best in the franchise, Hitman: Blood Money. The film follows Agent 47, an assassin working for The Organization. When he was ordered to kill the Russian president, he succeeds, but realized that the contract was set up, as the president apparently survived the assassination attempt. In reality, the body double set up the contract in order to take the presidential position, while also ordering a hit on 47 in order to tie loose ends. 47 escapes along with the mistress of his target in order to exact his revenge. In case you can't tell, the story is overly-complicated and unnecessary, since the franchise is not known for their gripping stories. The film also changes elements from the games, such as 47 not being a clone and The Organization being a company that takes in orphaned boys to work for them as hitmen. Diana is barely in the film and Agent Smith has a completely different role compared to the games. Speaking of which, they even show two girls playing Blood Money during an action scene, which is just plain stupid. The tone does stay serious however, and the filmmakers did at least try making the film pay homage to the games as much as they can , even though they should have focused on making a more coherent story.
Timothy Olyphant feels somewhat miscast as Agent 47. Although he did shave his head bald and can get the brutal nature of 47 right, his face doesn't match the character as he looks relatively young. In the games, 47 has very defined cheekbones and looks like he's in his early 40's. Olyphant looks like a 20 year old in the part. I also don't like the choice to make 47 long for romance or human connection, since that is far from his character in the games. I understand that since he's not a clone who was constructed the way he is, rather an orphan, it still doesn't change how the writers clearly didn't get the character of 47 right, especially in the action scenes, which we will get to later. Belicolf, the antagonist of the film, is pretty generic, though does act like a target that 47 would hunt down. Agent Smith is more serious compared to the games, where he is a complete screw-up, perhaps trying to fit with the tone of the film, which I don't understand why they needed to change the character at all to the point that he is unrecognizable from his role in the games. Lastly, there's Nika, Belicolf's mistress and the sort-of love interest for 47. Although they never get together, let alone form a romantic chemistry, her inclusion actually pisses me off. Not only does she barely add anything to the movie, but the fact that she develops Stockholm Syndrome and attempts to sleep with 47, as well as 47 making a human connection with her, triggers the hell out of me. She is the worst character in the film, mainly due to how the writers were forcing this connection for 47 and how she feels unnecessary to the overall plot. As you can tell, the cast of characters are not really strong. Olyphant might be trying, but none of the characters or actors come across as good.
Xavier Gens does a shockingly poor job directing this film as there are so many mistakes in multiple departments that the director needs to be in charge of. For one, the film doesn't have a unique flair from Gens, it feels pretty generic as an action film. The camerawork can be decent at best, but amateur at worst. The editing is downright horrible. From repeating shots to white flashes in order to jump-cut, it's is completely embarrassing. It is the action sequences however that break the film for me in my opinion. Most of the scenes are gunplay that fits more with an Arnold Schwarzenegger flick than a Hitman film with the constant spray of blood. The sword fight scene is hilarious due to the fake swords and poor stunts, but the worst part is that the action and stealth scenes don't get the character of 47. In this film, 47 kills plenty of special forces and guards, which some could have been completely avoidable if 47 didn't get so excited over killing people. Many fans will tell you that the best way to play Hitman is to become a silent assassin, meaning no casualties and no evidence. With this film, it feels like some newbie playing the game for the first time by killing everyone instead of actually being stealthy and quiet. Gens clearly didn't know what he was doing when he was given this project.
"Hitman" has absolutely nothing going for a general audience. With a nonsensical story, generic characters, terrible filmmaking, mediocre action, and the overall cheapness of the film, there are much better action films to watch or even better video-game adaptations to watch. As for the fans, you will only get off to various easter eggs and Olyphant's miscast role as 47, that is if you just care about silly fan-service rather than a well-made film. Overall, this film feels like a generic action flick that only uses the video game franchise in order to get the fanbase to watch it, which is pathetic.
Verdict: 3/10. Not the worst film I've seen or one that makes me enraged, but there's nothing much to look at compared to the reboot.
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