Hit List

Your standard good guys versus bad guys action flick is given a boost thanks to some fast-paced excitement, sharp camerawork, and a solid cast of character actors. HIT LIST is a fine achievement directed by William Lustig (MANIAC COP 2, UNCLE SAM). It is a vastly under-appreciated movie that did not earn nearly enough respect from both critics and audiences alike. HIT LIST is nonetheless an acclaimed little thriller.

Reputed mob overlord Vic Luca (Rip Torn) is in a ton of trouble. The infamous Luca is being put on trial, indicted for racketeering amongst other federal crimes. However, Luca is confident that he will be found innocent...only if he can tie a few loose ends.

First, Luca must make sure that these two witnesses, Abe Fasio (Jack Andreozzi) and Frank DeSalvo (Leo Rossi) do not live to testify. Luca decides that he needs a right-hand man to finish the job properly so he hires Chris Caleek (Lance Henriksen), a shoe salesman by day...and a professional killer by night.

Caleek manages to permanently silence one of the witnesses...but another one is still alive.

Jack Collins (Jan-Michael Vincent) is an ordinary man with an ordinary job and an ordinary life. His ordinary life is about to take a turn for the worse...

Due to a wrong address, everything begins to be thrown off course. Caleek arrives at Collins's house, expecting to find the witness under federal protection. Instead, he finds Collins's wife, Sandy (Harriet Hall) and everything just falls apart. Caleek attacks the wrong people, kills the wrong bystander, and kidnaps Collins's son...

Jack Collins arrives home moments later only to realize that his wife is beaten and is currently unconscious. His son has also been kidnapped. With minimal help from the FBI agents Tom Mitchum (Charles Napier) and Jared Riley (Jere Burns), Collins finds himself reluctantly teaming up with the informant DeSalvo. They must race against time in order to rescue Collins's child and stop Luca's men...

The B-movie genre is one of my favorite genres. These types of films are always proliferating in the video shelves week after week. For the most part, HIT LIST is an example of a B-movie that delivers the fireworks. This movie includes just about anything and everything possible. From incredible car chases and martial arts sequences to a convoluted plot about the `Mafia,' HIT LIST is your ticket to an enjoyable experience. There is enough zest in this film to satiate even the most ardent aficionados of B-movies.

HIT LIST benefits from some noteworthy performances. Many familiar faces in the cast can be recognized such as Jan-Michael Vincent, Rip Torn, Lance Henriksen, Charles Napier, and Leo Rossi. For the most part, these veteran character actors do a tremendous job with proficiency. Thanks to the great cast, HIT LIST is more than an action-thriller; it is also an intense crime drama. Rip Torn is great as a mob boss of pure haughtiness. He even enjoys mentioning quotes from Machiavelli! Lance Henriksen is in top form as a shoe store employee (and a part-time elusive ninja assassin). The vivacious Leo Rossi is excellent as an informant in trouble. His character may be cold-blooded on the outside, but he's intrinsically soft. You will end up rooting for this tough-surfaced hero! Jan-Michael Vincent is also good as an everyday man thrown into the danger zone. Vincent is back in action after having a disappointing cameo in the dismal film, ENEMY TERRITORY. In short, HIT LIST contains some surprisingly efficient performances that give this movie some extra profundity.

Of course, if the acting does not satisfy you, then the action will! The competently staged action alone makes this film worth seeing. The shoot-out inside a `Lazer Tag' center is awesome and the finale will literally take your breath away! It is one of the best action sequences you will ever see. With stylized action scenes and stunts, this movie is turbo-charged for your own satisfaction! Believe me, the action will not disappoint you!

An ironic aspect about this movie is its screenplay, which is tenuous yet strong. Though it has a number of flaws in coherence, the screenplay itself is thoughtful and meaningful. It gives some insights about the father and son relationship. The idea is that a father should always go the distance, especially for the sake of his own son's safety. The screenplay also deals a lot with justice and how it is blinded in a power-driven, money-making society. In addition, this movie wanted to make a statement saying that sometimes, justice will not always be served...

The only complaint that I can mention about this film is its occasional lax spots. Even the best action movies tend to lose their vigor once in a while. HIT LIST is no exception. The worst offender was the first half which was sometimes lackadaisical; but that would be allowable since the film's exhilarating climax compensates for a few plodding spots.

HIT LIST is a part gangster film, part urban thriller, part courtroom drama, and an all out action movie. This well-made thriller never knows when to quit! It is certainly a cool, nicely crafted movie with expert stunt-work, keen performances, and subtle undertones. Great performances + merciless action + relentless violence = a recommended sleeper hit. Make sure to add this film to your `hit list' of movies you plan to see...

RATING: *** out of ****.

Film-maker William Lustig had made a sleeper in the shape of "Relentless" in 1989, but also that year he did the worthwhile 80s low-budget revenge thriller "Hit List" which kind of went by unnoticed between the "Maniac Cop" features. A mafia boss Luca organises for his hit-man to get rid of a witness Frank who's under police custody, but the guy takes out the wrong people and kidnaps the wrong son. The husband Mark comes home to find his friend dead, his pregnant wife injured and his son gone. The FBI wants Luca to believe he has the witness's son, so their witness can testify, but this means putting Mark behind bars until that happens. Overhearing the plans, Mark flees and kidnaps Frank in the hope of tracking down his son.

"Hit List" is a gritty urban action thriller that is as systematic as you can get, but director Lustig does a competently slick job and the mouth-watering cast he had at his disposal simply aimed up. Jan-Michael Vincent, Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Ken Learner and Harold Sylvester. Henriksen is ultimately unforgettable as the deadly hit-man, who also happens to be a shoe salesman by trade. Would you dare ask for a discount? Not when you see this guy in his grove. Vincent goes about things in very hardened manner and Rossi is in good form as the humorous wise-guy. An excellent Napier gives a crusty turn as the FBI agent and Torn gives his Mafia boss plenty of fire and weight. The cast are excellent and they needed to be, as the pulpy plot was too basic and somewhat unspectacular even with its calculative suspense and tough brutality (a shootout in a kid's laser zone, where everyone just goes about their business?!). It doesn't entirely go all-out, as the hardy script does take its time for the character's to some degree open up with a bit of drama. Lustig's taut style suited the inventively agile photography and the go-for-broke stunt-work and stunt-car driving provided some fatal excitement in its absurd climax.

"Hit List" is a gratuitously neat little action joint, which doesn't ask much of your time.

"Maybe it's your world, but it's my kid".

It's too bad that a solid cast of character actors working with a decent genre director can't quite improve upon, or merely disguise, their lead's mumbly, slurring performance. I remember seeing the film and wondering why so much of Jan-Michael Vincent's acting was dubbed, and why there were so many single shots of him by himself, the other actors being cut in for individual lines of dialogue, etc.

According to director William Lustig, Vincent was so inebriated they oftentimes had to just prop him up in some of the master shots and let the other actors "act around" the poor guy. One scene he's even lying down on a backyard bench.

If anything, it gives Lance Henriksen more room to chew up a lot of scenery, and then, of course, there's the stunts. Lots and lots of them. This is one movie that doesn't necessarily make you disappreciate dynamic car pursuits, but the tire squealing is enough to make you don headphones and listen to good heavy metal for the duration of the chases, especially the parking structure one.

All in all, it's a watchable movie. I especially like one of Vincent's decipherable lines (one that he repeats quite a few times) "But he's got my kid!!" because he says it with about as much despair as if he'd just ran out of cigarettes.

"Hit List" is a perfectly acceptable little actioner. Anyone who has seen a fair amount of action pics will agree that the quality of this movie is average, and not nearly as low as it often gets in this genre. An extremely untalented lead is a major disappointment here, but the good supporting roles (particularly a colorful Torn, who seems to slightly imitate De Niro's version of Al Capone from "The Untouchables") make up for that. The script is ordinary, and gets far-fetched at the end, but the slick production values keep the film watchable.

Hit List is an action film that has enough suspense and predictability to keep you on the edge of your seat and cheering at the same time. The story is about a mistaken identity murder and kidnapping that turns Jan-Michael Vincent from caring father, to an unstoppable killing machine. Like all action movies, there are points that are totally ridiculous, but the movie as a whole was adventurous and fun. Action film fanatics are sure to enjoy.