The action feature Hitman, based on the video game franchise of the same name, is a shoot em up, blood fest, which goes nowhere fast.
Timothy Olyphant of Deadwood fame, stars as agent 47. A cool and calculating genetically engineered assassin who is ruthlessly precise with his unwitting targets. However his measured, unemotional state is greatly challenged when he meets a beautiful, mysterious Russian woman.
Wow this film really does push the boundaries of believability. Penned by Swordfish writer Skip Woods and directed by Xavier Gens, Hitman is at best mildly entertaining, at worst, ridiculous!
Some of the scenes are stylishly shot but they just don't add up and Timothy Olyphant, who is so good in Deadwood, seems terribly uncomfortable as the deadly assassin.
Gens employs the use of loud music to create the suspense and tension badly missing in the text. Characters are underdeveloped and the story itself is bland and really confusing. I had a great deal of trouble trying to work out what exactly was going on.
To be fair to all the gamers out there, I haven't and probably never will play the video game, so I don't know how it compares, but as a film Hitman comes across as dull and contrived.
Maybe those who know the game will get more out of Hitman than I did, well I certainly hope they do - 2 stars.
