Hitman - Action Film Review

I will start off by saying that this is one of the most faithful game to film movies I have seen, and also one of the best (admittedly that is not a hard thing). The director was obviously someone who had actually at least seen some game footage of Hitman.

Agent 47; a Hitman for a secret world wide organisation is tasked with assassinating a Russian running for presidency. The hit is successful, but soon afterwards the organisation he works for tells him that not only did he fail the hit, but that there was also a witness to his crime. Realising he has been betrayed Hitman goes to ground, hunted by both the Russian police, and his former organisation.

The film has many familiar elements from the game. The Hitman (played by Timothy Olyphant) really looks the part. The iconic suit with white shirt, red tie, and leather gloves. The iconic look - bald with a bar code tattooed on the back of his head. The iconic weapons - duel silver pistols, the long range sniper rifle, and his equipment holding steel suitcase. Many shots are filmed as if you were playing the game - slightly elevated from behind shots of Hitman walking down corridors. The crossed arms holding the gun, the gun hidden behind Hitmans back, and the red tie blowing in the wind all feature in the film, as well as Ava Maria; the Hitman theme.

There is plenty of action in the film, and Olyphant looks really cool as he coldly and calmly deals with any situation. The police, and criminals are really just cannon fodder designed to make 47 look cool. More intense battles come when other Operatives from his ex organisation appear. Trained the same way as 47 this leads to more close combat focused longer brawling.

The plot is kinda muddled, and is just really an excuse for scenes of action. Olyphant really looks the part, but unfortunately whenever he speaks the illusion is ruined as his voice just doesn't fit the part. Thankfully he doesn't talk much which is a blessing. Dougray Scott is excellent as the Interpol agent who has been tracking 47 for 3 years, and has a deep respect for 47.

The extras on the DVD are quite cool, as well as a making of, there is also a featurette on how they adapted the game to film, and also a cool section where they demonstrate real life versions of the guns used in the film. The film only cost me £2.99 so was a cool purchase.

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