Hitman

At an early age, Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) has known little more than the art of war and the sculpture of death. Raised by a covert organization whose sole purpose is the training and conditioning of professional killers and chosen from the world's destitute children, Agent 47 is the best. The Organization has ties to all governments, but prefers none. When he is hired to execute the Russian President, the job runs smoothly until he is told of a witness, and goes to intercept her, walking straight into an ambush. Having seemingly failed, his employer cuts all ties and orders a free-for-all for all its agents on his head. Pursued by his relentless, longtime nemesis, Interpol Agent Mike Wittier (Dougray Scott,) as well the head of Russian Intelligence, Yuri Markov (Robert Knepper.) Things are not as they seem, and Agent 47 is prepared to kill his way through the conspiracy and get his life back...but will he get the answers before his pursuers catch up to him?

Video games have a certain epic quality to them. I've spent hours beginning to watch (and usually falling asleep at certain time intervals) my dad play anything from Tetris Worlds to Lego Star Wars. I've played a few, myself, as well. It's not really my thing, but my dad likes it, so I watch...and he's way better than me, too!! However, the epic quality does tend to cross over into the movies that they're based upon. However, it doesn't feel epic here...it feels personal, emotional.

"You don't want to have me and you don't want to kill me; I've never felt so much indifference in my entire life." Olga Kurylenko's Nika describes in beautiful clarity Olyphant's performance. She also quips, "you know you really are charming when you're not killing people." This is also true. He has a disarming quality about him, that does melt the heart and weaken the knees. But he also has the ability to return that melted heart to ice with his soulless and icy performance. His humor also blends in quite nicely with his quiet serious nature. Absolutely stunning and completely flawless.

Our two agency pursuants are portrayed perfectly by Scott and Knepper. Scott perfectly has the balance of awe and chess-play for his target. He also is a man of cause and purpose and justice. And Scott fills his heart with it and it becomes him nicely. Knepper's Yuri is perfect as the pawn who wants so badly to succeed, but who is still a tough, suspicious, driven cold-war relic. He's not weak, just powerless and fearful.

The action is routine, the story a bit cliche, playing a bit like the typical heist film. However, in the end, the film doesn't feel like it's based on a video game. It feels like an assassin film, an action movie with some quality acting to compliment. Olyphant's Agent 47 is perfectly executed, as are his antagonists. His sidekick and allies are also solidly written and performed. All around, this film is brilliant and stands well on its feet.

***

In: Robert Knepper

Out: Timothy Olyphant

Coming Soon: Dreamcatcher