Hitman - Jeder stirbt alleine

Being a big fan of the Hit-man games, I was fairly worried when I heard that they were going to make a movie based on it because movies based on video games don't tend to be very good movies...

But after seeing it last night, I must say I was pleasantly surprised. It was actually quite a good movie. It may not win an Oscar or anything, but it's amazing to see Agent 47 up on the big screen. Timothy Olyphant does a surprisingly good job of portraying him too.

The love interest is a bit awkward to anyone who knows Agent 47's nearly complete lack of emotion in that department, but despite what the trailer may lead you to expect, it really doesn't go very far outside of what you've come to know in the games (and what happens when she tries to seduce him is absolutely hilarious and very much in the Agent 47 tradition).

It is indeed a violent movie, and 47 is as cold-blooded as you'd expect him to be. Seeing it tends to make me wish other movie heroes had the same level of guts, just to shoot the bad guy in the face instead of letting him live or anything silly like that. The fight scenes with the other assassins from the Agency are also very well done and quite a treat to see.

All in all, it's quite a good movie. Definitely worth paying to see in the theaters. Hopefully there'll be another one!

My first big question is: - Was this movie originally produced in French? It seemed to me that the Lip-sync was totally English, although I was told that it was produced in French. Technology has improved so much, so please let me know. The action scenes were fantastic. Very interesting storyline, but it was funny how they all dropped their guns and fought with their hands. I liked Olyphant for Agent 47, but I think he could have showed more action. He was a bit laughable at times. However, it was fun looking at the film. I did not expect too much when I started looking at the movie, but I must say that the action was placed at the right time, so it kept me interested. I also liked very much the girl, Nika, if I did, then I am sure she was a favourite.

Watching the new film "Hitman," an adaptation of the highly successful Eidos video game series (which I have never played), you get the feeling right from the opening credits that this will be a hit-or-miss-type of movie. Like a pistol that's loaded, cocked and ready to rock & roll, "Hitman" succeeds by remaining true to its source material (even if only in a few instances) and becoming a stand-alone picture in its own right. That's where the hits mostly come from.

But the misses are mostly in the screenplay and frenzied direction of Xavier Gens. In a plot that mixes the assassin looking to rediscover his humanity, the hooker with a heart of gold, the video game adaptation, shady politics and the frenetic direction of European action movies, "Hitman" should be an action fan's wildest dreams come true. While skilled in these areas, the problems arise in trying to bring it together as a wholesome film and trying to tell a coherent story.

"Hitman" centers on the mysterious and world-renowned assassin Agent 47 (a perfectly stoic Timothy Olyphant), who becomes embroiled in a political conspiracy in St. Petersburg, Russia, following a failed hit on the Russian president. Hunted by a determined Interpol agent named Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott), his men, the Russian military and other assassins, Agent 47's only key to clearing his name is the tragic hooker Nika (Olga Kurylenko), who may have been a witness to the attempted killing. Of course because Nika is sexy as hell, the film allows her two topless scenes, and one attempt at trying to bed Agent 47, though sadly, her character is way underdeveloped, so all we care about are her T + A.

"Hitman" establishes itself nicely in the beginning but loses itself in murky political intrigue that I myself had a lot of difficult trying to sift through. If the script by Skip Woods had taken its time in developing the plot a little bit more, then maybe I wouldn't have been so lost at trying to figure things out. Of course where the film mostly succeeds at, is its bloody action sequences. Where most action films today don't even bother in the way of bloody violence, "Hitman" loses itself in these stylish action scenes. Issues abound though with the extremely hyper and tripped-out editing, which tends to take away from the action.

The bald-headed, bar-code-tattooed Timothy Olyphant fills his shoes nicely as Agent 47, the man who was literally born to kill, though I honestly thought that the role should have gone to someone a little bit older or more experienced in the realm of action films; of course the actor I would have chosen for Agent 47 would have been Billy Zane, though I'm not sure anyone knows where he is right now so Olyphant will have to do. Olyphant seems to handle himself nicely in the film's frequent blood-lettings, including a four-way shootout that devolves into a brutal hand-to-hand combat encounter within the claustrophobic confines of a rail-car.

"Hitman" is the latest video game adaptation to hit the screens so far and like most entries, it's a hit & miss vehicle. My generic approach to these movies is clear and as follows: "Mortal Kombat" (1995) remains the best adaptation of a video game yet, followed by last year's "Silent Hill" (2006). Others, like "Doom" (2005), and the "Resident Evil" films and "Tomb Raider" movies, are also above-average efforts, so "Hitman," with its hits & misses, fits right in perfectly.

6/10

.. despite the fact that the longest period i have spent playing hit-man the game was 10 minutes , i really did enjoy this movie

I've seen some comments call the movie horrible and disappointing , as i can see the movie was very good , but being short was the only bad thing about it .. IMHO there should have been more to watch maybe another target for him to kill .. still i highly recommend the movie even if you aren't a big fan of the game.

Timothy Olyphant was great in the way he performed agent 47 .. the way he walks , the way he moves or look , he literally rocked .

After all , i wish that the 20th century would think of producing another hit-man as good as this one or maybe better .

Viewers unfamiliar with the video game won't be disappointed - this is a well rounded action movie in its own right. Those who have played the video games from which the film characters are derived should enjoy the way Olyphant brings the anti-hero to life on the big screen.

In places the movie skirts on the borders of the usual action movie clichés: our ice-cold protagonist appears to thaw due to good-hearted "victim of society" hooker, for example. However, this is reasonably well handled in this movie and thankfully we don't get a serving of love interest cheese.

Dougray Scott's detective in pursuit character is another overused "good cop against the establishment" device, although again this is handled in a way that doesn't unduly distract. The fact that Dougray repeatedly pulls out a cigarette that he never once lights does become slightly distracting. If Dougray is an ardent non-smoker, why bother with the cigarette prop at all? Hard cops don't have to be smokers.

As with all movies of this genre, realism gives way to visual impact. If it bothers you that someone can emerge victorious but unscathed from a 10-against-1 firefight, this may not be the movie for you. For the rest of us, put your brains into neutral and enjoy the show!