Film Review: HITMAN (2007)

Director: Xavier Gens
Running time: 89 mins (approx)
Certification (UK): 15

Genre: Action/Thriller
UK Release date: 30th November 2007

Watched on Sky+ Saturday 25th June 2011.

PLEASE NOTE: THERE MAY BE SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW.

I have seen this film before, but it’s one of those films that isn’t exactly memorable whilst at the same time it’s not exactly rubbish either. It’s kind of hard to explain really, but I think it’s a lot better than some ‘scores’ you’ll see on the internet might suggest. It’s based on a video game and as such, like many others of its type, it suffers from trying to be too much like the game. I thought it was actually quite good in patches, it just failed to deliver at the crucial moments. Here’s a brief summary before I give you more of my thoughts.

Our Hitman, Agent 47, was brought up from an early age to be a Hitman. He is hired to assassinate a Russian politician, Mikhail Belicoff, and he carries out his instructions to the letter. Imagine his surprise when the same politician appears live on TV the very next day. Add to this the fact that he is being pursued by an Interpol Officer, Mike Whittier and the Russian Secret police are also getting involved. He discovers the politician has a lover, Nika Boronina, who he kidnaps, hoping to get more information from her. He finds himself drawn to her in ways he’s not used to. A hit is put out on Agent 47 and people from his own employers, ‘The Organization’ are now also after him. It’s time to strike back and this is where I leave it. I don’t want to find a mysterious bald man sitting in my armchair when I get home one stormy evening.

As I said at the beginning, this film suffers from trying to be a little too much like a video game. There is quite an over-complicated plot that really doesn’t have a strong narrative which doesn’t help matters. Performance wise, I thought Timothy Olyphant did a decent job as Agent 47, he certainly had the look. Dougray Scott was adequate without really breaking a sweat as Mike Whittier and Olga Kurylenko did a decent job as Nika Boronina. Also worthy of note were; Robert Knepper, sporting a natty Russian accent, as Yuri Marklov, Ulrich Thomsen as Mikhail Belicoff, Henry Ian Cusick as his brother, Udre Belicoff and Michael Offei as Jenkins.

Unfortunately this film did have a bit of the look and feel of a ‘Jason Bourne’ film… and we have already seen at least one of those. The fight scenes were all very well done and there were some spectacular explosions to keep the kids happy (that’s a joke by the way). An over-complicated plot didn’t help matters, but at the end of the day I did find it entertaining, if not very memorable (and I’ve seen it twice!). Over all, recommended, but for just one viewing.

My Score: 5.7/10

LINKS:
(RT=Rotten Tomatoes)
IMDb Page: http://uk.imdb.com/title/tt0465494/
RT Page: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hitman/
Trailer: