Hitman

A much bloodier Jason Bourne after hair removal, filmed following the "How to rip off a script and look original" manual. It's not just the music that's stolen from Bourne, and in a way the concept (the killing of a Russian politician, the pursued protagonist always one step ahead), but also some of the scenes, perhaps the most blatant of which is Hitman's analysis of the surrounding diners in a restaurant and listing everything he memorized upon entering. It wouldn't matter so much if there was at least one scene worth pressing the PLAY button repeatedly for. It's not boring, but it's out of your head before you can say Hitman. And it's hard to develop any sympathy for a main character who unscrupulously shoots a man in the back of the head. I haven't played the game and I don't even want to. (15/04/2008)

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. (26/07/2008)

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)

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)