Hitman

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. (30/05/2008)

The nightmare of all fans of the video game, promised by the trailers, turned out to be a surprisingly decent B-movie. In addition, the main star of the expected tragedy is not so much Timothy Olyphant, who at least looks like a man after all, nor Xavier Gens, who doesn't understand the atmosphere of the game, but at least the film goes by fast, but Skip Woods - an inept screenwriter who should have had his license taken away for Swordfish and his hands chopped off for this. There are unnecessary characters (the Russian whore, the Interpol agent), and zero references to the game (2 disguises, the kids sitting at the PC), and instead, we get a lot of filler and a point that goes to waste. As a whole, it’s still off the mark and another notch in the dysfunctional video game adaptations category. However, since I had zero expectations I'll give it 3 stars in the end because if you’re in a good mood, it's a fun and sufficient way to fill an hour and a half. (24/01/2008)

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%. (29/03/2011)

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. (21/12/2007)

Dumb and boring. The action scenes are probably the only thing capable of entertaining you. Olyphant as agent 47 isn’t as bad as I was afraid he would be, (actually he carries this whole movie forward a lot), but there’s no denying with that shaved head of his, he looks a lot like a kid. I keep on thinking about how would this look if Vin Diesel played the lead role and the script had been written by somebody else. (09/02/2008)