The Hit List

Be careful what you wish for. After having the worst day of his life Allan (Hauser) meets Jonas (Gooding Jr) at a bar. After talking to him Jonas says he can help Allan with his problems. Thinking it's a joke Allan gives him the name of five people he wants dead. When they begin to wind up dead Allan is the only one who can stop it. After watching "Sacrifice" I was not expecting much from this movie. This one, however, was very good. Even with Cuba's movie choices lately being one step above Val Kilmer's, his acting is far better. He does a good job playing a heartless killer on the verge of death himself. Cole Hauser also does a really good job playing an everyman trying to correct his mistakes. While there are many similarities to "Collateral" (and a hint of "The Shootist"), this movie is not as good, but it's not a huge decline from that movie. It is a pretty solid action, suspense movie that is well worth checking out. I give it a B.

Would I watch again? - I think I would *Also try - Collateral & S.W.A.T. : Firefight

Allen (Campbell) doesn't believe that Jonas (Gooding, Jr) is a hit man. So Jonas tells Allen to write 5-names on a list of those he wishes dead. He does this and soon realizes he made a very big mistake.

I don't understand why Cuba Gooding Jr goes for these dark, really dark stories, but it's been that way since he was in Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men and Men of Honor. Now, some may ask why I seem to be attracted to these dark movies. Good point. I like Hit Man movies, but was not prepared for this one (who is?) and also, there is nothing else out there at this time. Also, the holidays put all my TV shows into re-runs and what's a person to do?

But, Gooding is always excellent and yes, of Oscar caliber, but these dark movies won't get him to any Oscar nomination, in my opinion. It is what it is and we have to deal with it (if we watch).

This turns into a thriller frenzy as Allen tries to stop Jonas from completing the list. Good action stunts and perhaps some CGI, but that was difficult to tell. The acting by all is very good, the story is certainly different, and you won't be bored. Rating 6/10.

Violence: Yes. Sex: No, we see a make-out session that was supposed to lead to Sex, but……. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

I've come to the conclusion that Cuba Gooding Jr. has accepted his downfall to direct-to-DVD movies, because he doesn't seem to be trying to pick good projects anymore, including this one. In fairness, this project isn't as bad as some of his other turkeys. For a low budget direct-to-DVD project, the production values are okay, though there are signs of cost-cutting throughout (such as a number of close-ups and very few wide shots). The police in this movie don't come across as dumb as they do in other B movies, and the movie did interest me enough to wonder how the situation would be wrapped up in the end - though honestly, it wasn't worth the wait. The screenplay has a number of other problems, with some decisions by the hero to be so idiotic that I was groaning out loud, and some implausibilities by others that make no sense when you think about them closely. (For example, think about the way Gooding's character kills the second person on the list.) Gooding is simply unconvincing as a ruthless hit-man, and Hauser has to somehow make his stupid and spineless character sympathetic, which sees far beyond his abilities. If you ask me, more thought and planning went into the fancy opening credits sequence than with the rest of the movie.

This is the kind of movie that you could feel since the beginning that the director should be making sandwiches in a cafeteria. With the performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. here compared to Men of Honor ( 2000 ) anyone can see what a difference can make a good director. The girl is pretty but is out of timing though for moments she gets on the roll. The scenario or the background looks cheap and boring, thats because the movie's budget was very low even though the director I think that for a job like this he refuse to be paid. The script is so so, not even close to Jackie Chan movie. Finally, this movie looks like a students film.

This movie is very entertaining. The acting of Cuba Gooding Jr. and Cole Hauser make this movie good. The story is nice, there are only a few lines the writers could have had a second look at, but it is bearable, and the action is good. But the idiot that thought Jonathan LaPaglia could act must be fired on the spot, every time he is in the picture he brings the whole move down, but again, thank god for Cuba Gooding Jr.and Cole Hauser. The movie has something of Collatoral Damage, but is much more fun. I don't understand some of the bad reviews, you just can't go wrong with this movie, it is little gem. I have never seen a William Kaufman movie, but this inspired me to see another one right away.