Vendetta

Low key drama is very interesting if you give it time and listen to the dialog. The acting by the four main characters is effective, the story is straightforward, and the outcome is always in doubt. Special mention must be made of the excellent score and scenery. John Hurt elicits tension with his minimalist performance. Terrence Stamp shows detached indifference to his pending fate. Tim Roth and Laura Del Sol also give convincing performances. Some terrific camera angles and sharp direction adds to the overall enjoyment of "The Hit". This is not a loud movie, but rather a very quiet one that will hold your attention despite a leisurely pace. - MERK

Two hit men go to Spain and pick up a fellow crook who went into hiding years before. They are suppose to drive him back to Paris, however as they hit the road, it quickly becomes clear that things are not what they seem and that the hit men are in for more than they ever bargained for.

Tightly plotted and neat little thriller that works thanks to its three stars. Terrence Stamp kicked his career into high gear once more with his turn as the man hauled off for execution. So calm in the face of death its almost unnerving and its not hard to see how he can begin to play his captors like a violin. John Hurt and Tim Roth are his equal as the two hit men who never saw what they were walking into. This is ensemble acting at its finest.

This is a great little film. Its worth seeking out.

Terence Stamp is aces as a criminal who rats out his associates, then spends a decade hiding out in Spain. But his time is now up: two hitmen, the icy cold Braddock (John Hurt) and the cocky young Myron (Tim Roth, in his theatrical debut) have tracked him down. Now they are transporting him back to his execution in England. But things don't go quite the way that everybody expects, and Braddock & Myron end up taking a young Spanish woman (the sexy and feisty Laura Del Sol) along with them, and the idea of what to do with the captives seems to change from moment to moment.

"The Hit" is a solid British crime feature done with intelligence and nuance. While it has the typical violence for the genre, it doesn't play out the way that this viewer really expected. What made the difference is that this story (written by Peter Prince) focuses far more on the characters and the journey than the destination. And the characters are an interesting bunch. Stamps' character Willie Parker in particular takes a philosophical approach to his destiny that also functions as the theme of the story. He gets over his fear and resigns himself to his fate - something that Braddock apparently doesn't like.

Stamp and Hurt deliver standout performances in a film that also benefits from the chemistry among its cast. Although it's become something of a cliche by now to have two criminal types with contrasting styles, it's fun here to see the odd-couple dynamic between Hurts' Braddock and Roths' Myron. Del Sol has sufficient appeal to make the viewer tense about what might happen to her, and Aussie actor Bill Hunter is quite good in his brief appearance as a criminal who merely happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But Fernando Rey is rather wasted in his role as a senior policeman who usually just arrives at crime scenes after the fact, until a rather abrupt finale. Look for British character actors Willoughby Gray, Jim Broadbent, and Ralph Brown in small roles.

Although not as well as known as other favorites in the British crime genre, this is definitely worth your time, especially if you admire the actors, and the highly capable director, Stephen Frears, who went on to do films like "Dangerous Liaisons", "The Grifters", and "The Queen".

Eight out of 10.

Forget the flashy but empty "cor blimey guv" Brit crime movies of the last few years like 'Snatch' and 'Sexy Beast'. Apart from 'Croupier' and 'Gangster No. 1', most of them aren't worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the brilliant but largely forgotten 'The Long Good Friday', 'Mona Lisa', and the most underrated of all, 'The Hit'. Terence Stamp, playing a character not too dissimilar from the one he later portrays in 'The Limey', is a former gangster who grassed up his criminal mates years earlier. Now living in semi-retirement in Spain he is unexpectedly kidnapped by two hoods (John Hurt and, in one of his earliest screen roles, Tim Roth) who plan on taking him to Paris and killing him as punishment for betraying the criminal code. Of course, things don't go quite as planned and along the way the sexy Laura del Sol gets forced against her will to accompany them. This is a very fresh and interesting film that is more character than action based so might not appeal to the Guy Ritchie crowd. It's their loss. Stamp is just brilliant and his interaction with Hurt and Roth makes this a must see movie. The supporting cast also includes the legendary Fernando Rey ('The French Connection') as the cop on their trail, and Aussie veteran Bill Hunter as a crim in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'The Hit' is one of the most overlooked British movies of the last twenty years, and highly recommend viewing for all discerning movie buffs.

A petty gangster rats out his accomplices and goes into protective custody with his new-found penchant for books and thought, until one day retribution arrives in the form of two assassins. The gangster, now a philosopher who claims he is ready for death as just another step in the progression of life, is taken for a long ride across Spain so that the crime boss he ratted out can witness vengeance inflicted.

Talk about your minor masterpieces! This has long been one of my favorites ever since I stumbled across it on one of the premium cable movie channels many years ago.

It's hard to put my finger on just what it is, exactly, that makes this movie great. One can hardly point to substantial character development, because the characters (with one exception) never really become true flesh and blood to us. The plot meanders, truth be told. The dialog is clever but rarely brilliant. So what is it? Certainly the locations and the music, the general ambiance, add a lot to the movie. The car, the clouds of dust, the brilliant Spanish sun, the arc of azure sky, the arid hills, the sultry guitar: these things alone can turn a marginal movie into a good one. Exterior shots predominate, and with good reason. The director knew how to combine simple, pure elements--strong, bold colors, bright sunlight, stark images, and exactly the right sounds--in ways that seem to speak of things larger than themselves.

But I don't mean to make the rest of the movie sound marginal. The characters aren't terribly well fleshed-out, but they are interesting nevertheless. Hurt's character, the silent, wary predator, comes across as a bit stilted, but he makes it work with his craggy face, his angular body, his croaking voice, and especially his eternally weary eyes. (Few characters could have taken on this role without looking ridiculous.) Stamp is also stilted yet convincing as the amateur philosopher and erstwhile rogue at peace with himself and his fate. Roth, even more constricted in his role, also manages to put across a convincing if thoroughly unsavory persona. These actors don't have much to work with, and yet none of them ever slips into crudely cartoonish performances. They remain genuine, to the degree their characters allow.

The real surprise is the girl, Laura del Sol. Her obvious physical charms, barely stuffed into a very small dress, lead the viewer (the pop-eyed male viewer, anyway) into writing her off as mere eye candy, until the confrontation between her and Hurt, and the cruel, angry glow in her eyes, brings it home that here perhaps is the highest talent in this cast. It is she alone who stands out, at the end of the movie, as someone we can recognize and identify with; someone who isn't a mere cypher. What a pity that she has done so little else in English-speaking movies.

Whether you find the ending of this movie satisfying probably says something about your own personality, and how you view concepts like loyalty, crime, vengeance, and justice. I won't go into my own reactions. I'll only say that, when the movie is over, you'll find that, not only have you watched an absorbing movie, but you probably have things to think about.