Hitman

The script takes the worst of the 1980s, the director doesn't step out of the average and the whole thing takes itself too seriously to be fun. Timothy Olyphant is not bad, the supporting characters are not interesting and the action is far from impressive. And a few winks at fans of the game aren't enough to make an entertaining film. (12/09/2007)

Say what you want, but Timothy IS a Hitman. He can shoot silently or with a big bang, he can accomplish what he is tasked with, and if someone double-crosses him, he can overcome any obstacles (meaning a larger number of them than usual). He takes a pair of his best and most precise friends and goes exactly where he intends. However, he is not heartless, and his forced relationship with Nika is a perfect example of that. I won't let anyone convince me that it's just a way to get the sexy character of Olga Kurylenko into the movie, because 47, compared to the original, has been successfully humanized with a natural background and the confusion when interacting with someone other than an enemy is so believable and appropriate. A different assassin was born. Different from what he was created to be and different from how he was born in the game. But still, he came, and the fact that an immediate sequel with any game storyline wasn't immediately made remains an unpleasant and burning debt for me for a long time. (12/21/2007)

It's really disappointing that Gens didn't quite understand the game, so there are really minimal references to the famous silent action (kids at the PC, one disguise), there’s no steel wire, and Hitman is not a silent assassin (the Matrix-like action in the club didn't impress me). Although Olyphant doesn't hold back and is usually ruthless, overall the film not really up to par because of the above mentioned flaws. The one-on-one fights are oddly edited and not much to speak of. So we're left with just raw, surprisingly bloody action, which is worth watching. Otherwise, Hitman is more of a pure action movie than a successful adaptation of the game. (07/26/2008)

I only played part two of the game this is based on, but I would say that it looked completely the opposite to what Gens tries to present us here (although it’s clear from various details that he knows the series of games back to front, cf. the rubber duck). Instead of wild action sequences and dialog, the game was more about crawling and thinking up the least obvious approach possible. Even “Forty-Seven" had some depth of character. While Olyphant (although I like him and I have no issues with uncompromising hard guys who ooze respect) is about as charismatic as me in this role. So, great material, but nothing comes of it. And the screenplay... Even if any screenplay was ever written, you won’t come across it for the entire ninety minutes. Gens’ Hitman is simply an action pastiche with uninspiringly filmed action that is closer to being a C-movie, rather than coming anywhere near being an A-movie. Lots of stealing (as far as music is concerned), unfaithful to the game it was based on (and to god knows what else) and dumb to the very core. But does that necessarily mean that it isn’t entertaining? No in the least. Because the celluloid Hitman is entertaining. Intentionally or not. (05/29/2008)

When it comes to my review, I should start with something positive. I thus confirm that Olga Kurylenko really looks good in the film and is irresistibly sexy in some scenes, so much so that she remotely reminds me of my wife. Secondly, the action scenes are well shot, but that is practically an obligation within the genre nowadays. Then we have the rest. The script is traditionally stupid, as it usually goes in this kind of production, meaning it is full of logical nonsense and unbearable posing in places - the scene of the arms dealer's elimination, alias the Russian president's brother, stupid exaggeration of the main character's invulnerability and superpowers. But all of this could be tolerated within the game and genre. However, this type of film stands and falls with the casting of the main character, and he is simply not charismatic. Moreover, as an assassin who commits assassinations as inconspicuously and elegantly as possible, he is as inconspicuous as a boy who comes to elementary school with an AK-47. The whole mysterious Organization in the background has ridiculous rituals and strange uniformity that makes it easily identifiable and laughable for the moviegoer. For the genre fans to take their action hero seriously, he should be much tougher and more charismatic. Overall impression: 20%. (03/29/2011)