Hit Man (2023) User Reviews

Finally a good comedy movie

[alwinsup · 8/10 · 13 May 2024]

Well we had some tough comedy movies in the past but this is one is good. It made me think about 'the millers', it has a little bid the same comedy vibe. Just good jokes and even better acting. It just all fits. Not only the lead but also the crew around it.

Besides comedy the movie is also a little bit mysterious. You keep wondering what got the lady to do with it and can she be trusted?

Plot was decent too! Not some unrealistic without idea just to end the movie script.. no it actually fits with the whole movie and is original.

Maybe there was more possible with the teaching scenes on school.. that was sometimes a little bit duff but argh.. i didnt mind it that much.

So yeah.. had some good laughs.. i go wild and give it a 8.

Good Movie

[cinemapersonified · 8/10 · 17 May 2024]

Rating: 8.2 Overall, a good romantic comedy that uses strong chemistry between Glen Powell and Richard Linklater to deliver an entertaining experience that tethers the line between humor and romance very well.

Direction: Good The direction on a macroscale feels very feel-good and comedic; the direction on a microscale is good as this is where the comedy and the romance comes out of the movie; the storytelling is pretty straightforward as it follows a simple story (but is still very entertaining to see how far it goes)

Story: Good The concept is very entertaining as it is an interesting premise about a fake hit-man and brings out the confidence in a character that is stuck; the plot structure is pretty simple; character writing is surprisingly good as the movie does a good job at tackling messages on identity and hiding behind a disguise to exude false confidence

Screenplay: Good The dialogue is good as it is both comedic, yet sexy; the humor is pretty strong and uses a decent amount of improv to build jokes up; the symbolism is surprisingly prevalent as it is about hiding behind disguises/masks to find the confidence you always had; the foreshadowing is pretty prevalent because the story is pretty simple (so you knew where the story was going)

Acting: Pretty Good Glen Powell: Good (Has a lot of charisma and comedic timing as he carries every scene he is in and builds strong chemistry with the cast (especially Arjona)) Adria Arjona: Pretty Good (Plays off of Powell very well as she develops a strong romantic connection with his character) Austin Amelio: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and acts as somewhat of a pseudo-antagonist) Retta: Pretty Good (Plays the comedic relief character well and works well with her castmates to build up the comedy) Sanjay Rao: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and has good chemistry in the police-unit scenes) Rest of the cast: Decent (The cast is relatively small, but there are some characters who are pretty good and do their job well and some who are over-the-top and inexperienced)

Score: Decent

Cinematography: Pretty Good For such a low budget, the movie felt very polished and well executed

Editing: Pretty Good For such a low-budget movie, the movie felt very polished and well-put together

Makeup: Pretty Good Acts a key symbol to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Costumes: Pretty Good Acts a key simple to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Pacing Pacing is good as it doesn't feel too fast or too slow

Climax Climax is well executed as it is really about the relationship between the two leads and building on it even when it is falling apart (though there are some questionable decisions they made to make this movie safe and predictable)

Tone Tone plays to what the scenes are trying to accomplish as it is comedic when it is trying to be funny and seductive when it is trying to be romantic

Final Notes Saw Austin Premiere.

Glen Powell gets the opportunity to play multiple roles in his new film.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 6/10 · 14 May 2024]

Hit Man is a new action comedy directed, written and produced in part by Richard Linklater, director of Boyhood and Before Midnight.

Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a school teacher, but also secretly works for the police. At one point he has to play a fake hitman with the police. He is hired by clients to commit murders, but after clients confess their criminal plans to Gary, the police can arrest them.

When Madison Masters (Adria Arjona) wants to hire Gary, he falls for her beauty. This causes him to break his own rules and try to change Madison's mind so that she does not carry out criminal plans. The two fall in love, but Madison actually falls for the hitman Ron, who played Gary for her. On the other hand, Gary shouldn't show that he's broken his own code to Madison because it could get him in trouble with the police and ruin his career.

This film is based on a true story, where the real Gary Johnson posed himself to the police as a hitman who criminals could hire to commit murders. Only after sharing their murderous plans with Gary could the police catch them. The real Gary Johnson had to dress up so many times, wearing different styles of clothes and wigs to appear different to each criminal, so he couldn't be exposed as an undercover cop. Glen Powell also does the same at the beginning of the film. He wears different costumes and also acts in different ways. For example, the film starts off more like an action comedy, but when Gary falls for Madison, the film turns more into a romantic comedy.

Richard Linklater provides a comic action film, but with repeated events, where Gary, in different disguises, makes various criminals confess. When the film later turns more into a romantic comedy, this mainly works because of the good chemistry between Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, their characters. Glen Powell only plays a character who leads a double life and his character ends up in a relationship with the possible criminal. This creates complicated situations in which he has to continue working strategically, without Madison or the police realizing that he is actually lying to both of them. However, the film does have a somewhat abrupt ending, which does not seem to answer everything.

Glen Powell plays the lead role well and actually has to play the role in different ways. This gives him the opportunity to show different acting capabilities in this film. Adria Arjona also plays the role of a seductive, possible criminal well, because as a viewer, like the main characters, you do not always know whether she can be completely trusted. After his time in various Walking Dead series, Austin Amelio also gets the chance to act in a film. He plays a colleague of the main character, who may thwart his strategic plans if he is told too much.

Linklater's new "screwball film noir"

[ru_rahman · 10/10 · 7 October 2023]

Hitman is definitely a film-lover's paradise but even the casual film viewer will thoroughly enjoy this brilliant new movie. Linklater's latest lovingly pays homage to film noir, screwball comedy, Hitchcockian black comedy and even the good old psychosexual drama but it still somehow manages to conjure up a fresh, witty and often uproarious confection that frequently teases, delights and occasionally thrills the audience with frissons of excitement, keeping them enraptured all the way to its deliciously razor sharp ending.

This is potentially a star-making turn for Glen Powell. Although he made a strong impression in Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky rival pilot, his role in Hit Man is easily more complex and, as the co-writer of the script, he has been able to add brilliant layers to his character, or should that be characters? In effect, Powell is playing more than one character - Gary Johnson, mild-mannered, cat-loving geeky Psychology professor and audio techie who moonlights as a surveillance expert for a Louisana-based police unit that targets and stings hapless ne'er-do-wells who are looking to hire a killer. Before the next sting operation, Gary's police colleague Jasper (Austin Amelio) who normally pretends to be the hired killer is suspended for brutally attacking two youths, which forces Gary's colleagues (brilliantly played by Retta and Sanjay Rao) into convincing Gary to take over from the universally loathed Jasper, much to Gary's dismay. Yet, within minutes of taking on the task, Gary suddenly morphs into "Ron" and during his first sting he is so convincing that his colleagues are shocked, even though they had believed he could do it having heard Jasper go through the rigamarole on previous occasions. It is a brilliant piece of acting.

Having created the killer persona, Gary soon finds himself becoming more and more immersed in Ron, adding further, chameleon-like layers of disguise and character traits to mirror whoever is about to be stung. However, things become really complicated (in true film noir style) when "Ron" is approached by a femme fatale, Maddy (beautifully played by Adria Ajrona who also adds a delightfully a kooky sexy edge as well as a tender vulnerability). As the sparks between the two begin to fly during a hilarious but flirty exchange, Gary, who is clearly enjoying himself as Ron, finds himself conflicted. Dare he. As Ron, continue with the sting and have Maddy arrested for plotting to murder her husband? Has the flirtatious exchange caused Maddy to betray some regrets about what she is doing? The chemistry between Powell and Arjona is a pleasure to witness. Both actors bring out the best in one another and it is thrilling.

Off-beat is an expression that would certainly apply to Hit Man - and it is a compliment. It is also one of the most enjoyable and fun 2 hours I've had in the cinema in the past few years. I absolutely adore this film.

Descending into the depths of Dionysus

[frankde-jong · 8/10 · 24 May 2024]

The hitman is already for a long time a popular character in crime and (neo) noir films. For me the ultimate hitman-film is "The day of the jackal" (1973, Fred Zinnemann). In this film Edward Fox plays a hitman that is professional, emotionless and a typical loner.

Only the last description does apply to Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) in "The hit man". He is however not a real hit man but an undercover hit man. He meets people looking for a hit man and makes sure the compromising evidence is on tape.

In order to do this he changes outfit all the time and this leads to a comic costume parade, including an imitation of Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem), the hit man from "No country for old men" (2007, Ethan & Joel Coen).

Being partly a comedy, "Hit man" is an odd one in the oeuvre of director Richard Linklater, who is mostly known for his "Before .... " relation trilogy (1995, 2004,2013) and his coming of age film "Boyhood" (2014).

"Hit man" really takes of when Gary Johnson falls in love with one of his clients (Maddy Masters played by Adria Arjona). It is the starting point of a roller coaster of numerous unexpected twists and turns.

One of the themes is losing sight of the difference between your undercover "me" and your real "me". It happens in numerous film, but it also happens in reality. In an investigation from 1994 - 1996 the Dutch parliament studied how it happened by the police while combatting organized crime.

The fact is however that Gary Johnson has two real "me's", one as a part-time police officer and one as a professor in philosophy. The last one delivers the philosophical theme of the movie of how to find a satisfactory balance between ratio and discipline (represented by the Greek God Apollo) and feeling, emotions, instincts and living dangerously (represented by the Greek God Dionysus).

Remarkable is that where his most famous films (The "Before" trilogy and "Boyhood") are typical for an Apollonian world, "Hit man" descends to the depths of Dionysus.

By the way, "Hitman" is in my opinion not very flattering for women, showing how they prefer the sex appeal of a hit man to that of a "dull" police officer (let alone a nerdy professor).

Entertaining but I didn't love it as I would hoped for

[chenp-54708 · 5/10 · 29 January 2024]

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

My apologies but this one didn't work for me. Richard Linklater is a hit and miss filmmaker as he has made some pretty good movies but also some pretty bad ones in his career. Hit Man is different to his usual style and despite Linklater having good energy, I didn't connect with the movie as much.

The narrative is pretty standard and typical of he thriller noir genre and despite Linklater adding some new tones, style and approach to the story, it oftentimes feel too cheesy and predictable to be fully engaged with. The camerawork, production and some of the tense and action moments were pretty good as it helped to add the atmosphere and environment. The performances are pretty good as Glen Powell continues to shine and he does an awesome job performing his character.

The dialogue is interesting although some of the dialogue moments were a little too silly, some of the characters are interesting but some not as interesting. Linklater's direction was pretty solid but there are some aspects where his direction feels a little messy and unfocused at times. With the narrative being predictable and cheesy, it causes some of the moments for me to feel a little slow and slightly bored.

Hit Man has some entertaining moments but just like Top Gun: Maverick, I find myself not being big on the cheesy action stuff. Good for a watch but just not for me.

Boring, uninspired, and done a thousand times.

[scottkolflat · 3/10 · 15 May 2024]

"Hit Man" on Netflix attempts to blend comedy with crime in a concoction that's as awkward as a clown at a funeral. Directed by Richard Linklater, a name usually associated with thought-provoking dramas, this film feels like a misfire from start to finish.

Glen Powell stars as the titular "hit man", a character more reminiscent of a frat boy with a gun than a hardened assassin. His attempts at humor fall flatter than a pancake, relying heavily on tired slapstick and juvenile jokes that wouldn't even elicit a chuckle from a laugh track.

Adria Arjona plays his love interest, a role that feels about as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. Their romantic subplot is as forced and unconvincing as a Hollywood marriage, adding nothing of substance to an already lackluster plot.

Linklater's direction, usually known for its subtlety and depth, feels completely out of place here. It's as if he's trying to juggle too many genres at once, resulting in a messy mishmash of half-baked ideas that never quite come together. The pacing is as erratic as a squirrel on caffeine, leaving viewers wondering if they accidentally hit fast forward on the remote.

The comedy itself is as stale as week-old bread, relying on tired clichés and recycled jokes that were tired the first time around. Powell's attempts at comic timing feel as awkward as a first date, while Arjona's straight-faced delivery only serves to highlight the lack of humor in the script.

Overall, "Hit Man" is a swing and a miss for Netflix, offering little more than a cringe-inducing comedy that's as forgettable as yesterday's news. If you're looking for a laugh, you're better off rewatching old episodes of "The Office" or "Parks and Recreation." As for "Hit Man," it's a contract best left unfulfilled.