On the Big Board |
Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
76/94 |
Shane Jenkins |
Timothy Olyphant is as intimidating as Velma from Scooby Doo. |
97/214 |
Max Braden |
A number of the game elements are used in the movie, but this is a poor man's James Bond and not up to par with Leon/The Professional. |
And the award for least creative or interesting title of the year goes to: Hitman. Considering its premise is somewhat more complex than the man on a mission to kill action movie (not that Crank and Unleashed have set the bar terribly high), you would think that writer Skip Woods and director Xavier Gens could have come up with a better title.
Timothy Olyphant, who has shown remarkably little acting talent in The Girl Next Door and Live Free or Die Hard, has found a perfect part as an emotionless assassin named Agent 47. He becomes embroiled in an international political conspiracy, and becomes the target of Interpol and the Russian Military. As he is chased across Europe he meets a prostitute named Nika (Olga Kurylenko) whom he must protect. No doubt at some point he says to her, “what is this… love?” just before a gratuitous sex scene.
Hitman is Xavier Gens’s American directorial debut, and Skip Woods follow-up to Swordfish, an entertaining mindless action flick. Entertaining seems to be the best Hitman can shoot for, although Timothy Olyphant, Olga Kurylenko, and Dougray Scott aren’t exactly on par with Hugh Jackman, Halle Barry, and John Travolta. Hitman will be aiming at the same audience that Shooter targeted: guys with a taste for senseless violence, little plot development, and extremely mundane titles. (Tom Houseman/BOP)
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