DVD
REVIEW: HITMAN
03/07/08
SYPNOSIS: Agent 47 (Olyphant) has been educated to become a professional assassin for hire. His most powerful weapons are his nerve and a resolute pride in his work. 47 is both the last two digits of the barcode tattooed on the nape of his neck, and his only name. The hunter becomes the hunted when 47 gets caught up in a political takeover. Both Interpol and the Russian military chase the HITMAN across Eastern Europe as he tries to find out who set him up and why they’re trying to take him out of the game. But the greatest threat to 47’s survival may be the stirrings of his conscience and the unfamiliar emotions aroused in him by a beautiful, damaged girl.
REVIEW: The best and
most concise way to describe this movie is eye candy. I was
anxiously anticipating this movie and after finally seeing
it, it fell slightly short of what I was hoping for. I
personally don’t mind eye candy cause, again, one of the
main reasons to see a movie is to be entertained and eye
candy can be entertaining so long as something in it has
some substance. The substance in this case comes in the form
of decent action, a not-so-bad storyline, and seeing Timothy
Olyphant (Agent 47) in a role unlike any other I have ever
seen him do. I had my doubts on the decision to cast him in
the lead for this film, but he was sharp and pulled it off
nicely. Granted, not nearly as good as when I had doubts
about Christian Bale as Batman, or Daniel Craig as 007. We
all know how that turned out. At certain moments he looked,
acted, spoke, and even moved like a video game character.
Not sure if that is good or bad, I guess it depends on if
you’re familiar with and/or a fan of the game. This is not
his best performance in a film, but it did broaden his
repertoire.
Dougray Scott (Mike
Whittier) delivers the only other performance worth
mentioning. He plays an Interpol agent that has been trying
to track down these mysterious hitmen for years,
specifically 47. One of the pieces of eye candy, or least
for me (sorry, I am a guy), comes in the form of Olga
Kurylenko playing the role of very attractive Nika, a damsel
in distress who gets all wrapped up in this conspiracy and
thus in 47’s life. By the way, 47’s serious focus and good
training is evident on how he deals with Nika’s seductive
advances. It is almost disappointing.
Other eye candies include
the gorgeous Audi that 47 drives, the weaponry, the sharp
and sexy wardrobe, and even the movie poster itself is quite
captivating. It does take more than eye candy to make a
movie better than “ok”. I’m not familiar with the game so I
don’t know if it does the game justice, but from what I see,
I think it could have been better. I wanted more background
on 47 and the agency’s connection with the Church. The movie
opens with the timeless, spiritual musical piece, Ave Maria.
Linking that to this story of super-professional hitmen
gives a chilling effect. I wanted more of that and how/why
the Church is behind this agency. Even though there are some
flaws, not a bad job for Director Xavier Gens’ first major
U.S. release.
Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com
VIDEO:
1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
English,
Spanish and French
5.1 (Dolby Digital).
Subtitles - English Spanish - Optional
SPECIAL FEATURES:
Deleted Scenes and Alternate Ending
A total of four deleted scenes all worth
watching, also contains an alternate ending that is also
worth checking out.(8:04)
In The Crosshairs This is
a total behind the scenes about how the film came to life.
Includes comments from production team, director and the
cast. A very nice documentary (24:18)
Digital Hits: A nice documentary about how the game
was created includes comments from the creators of the game
and game critics (10:16)
Instruments Of Destruction:
Director, cast and Weapons Coordinator
Christophe Maratier talk about the gun selection for the film.
They go over the details about how guns were modified and
used in the film
(14:26)
Settling The Score: Composer Geoff Zanelli talk
about how the music for the film was created (5:16)
Gag
Reel (4:24)
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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