Hit Man (2023) User Reviews

Good Movie

[cinemapersonified · 8/10 · 17 May 2024]

Rating: 8.2 Overall, a good romantic comedy that uses strong chemistry between Glen Powell and Richard Linklater to deliver an entertaining experience that tethers the line between humor and romance very well.

Direction: Good The direction on a macroscale feels very feel-good and comedic; the direction on a microscale is good as this is where the comedy and the romance comes out of the movie; the storytelling is pretty straightforward as it follows a simple story (but is still very entertaining to see how far it goes)

Story: Good The concept is very entertaining as it is an interesting premise about a fake hit-man and brings out the confidence in a character that is stuck; the plot structure is pretty simple; character writing is surprisingly good as the movie does a good job at tackling messages on identity and hiding behind a disguise to exude false confidence

Screenplay: Good The dialogue is good as it is both comedic, yet sexy; the humor is pretty strong and uses a decent amount of improv to build jokes up; the symbolism is surprisingly prevalent as it is about hiding behind disguises/masks to find the confidence you always had; the foreshadowing is pretty prevalent because the story is pretty simple (so you knew where the story was going)

Acting: Pretty Good Glen Powell: Good (Has a lot of charisma and comedic timing as he carries every scene he is in and builds strong chemistry with the cast (especially Arjona)) Adria Arjona: Pretty Good (Plays off of Powell very well as she develops a strong romantic connection with his character) Austin Amelio: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and acts as somewhat of a pseudo-antagonist) Retta: Pretty Good (Plays the comedic relief character well and works well with her castmates to build up the comedy) Sanjay Rao: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and has good chemistry in the police-unit scenes) Rest of the cast: Decent (The cast is relatively small, but there are some characters who are pretty good and do their job well and some who are over-the-top and inexperienced)

Score: Decent

Cinematography: Pretty Good For such a low budget, the movie felt very polished and well executed

Editing: Pretty Good For such a low-budget movie, the movie felt very polished and well-put together

Makeup: Pretty Good Acts a key symbol to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Costumes: Pretty Good Acts a key simple to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Pacing Pacing is good as it doesn't feel too fast or too slow

Climax Climax is well executed as it is really about the relationship between the two leads and building on it even when it is falling apart (though there are some questionable decisions they made to make this movie safe and predictable)

Tone Tone plays to what the scenes are trying to accomplish as it is comedic when it is trying to be funny and seductive when it is trying to be romantic

Final Notes Saw Austin Premiere.

Finally a good comedy movie

[alwinsup · 8/10 · 13 May 2024]

Well we had some tough comedy movies in the past but this is one is good. It made me think about 'the millers', it has a little bid the same comedy vibe. Just good jokes and even better acting. It just all fits. Not only the lead but also the crew around it.

Besides comedy the movie is also a little bit mysterious. You keep wondering what got the lady to do with it and can she be trusted?

Plot was decent too! Not some unrealistic without idea just to end the movie script.. no it actually fits with the whole movie and is original.

Maybe there was more possible with the teaching scenes on school.. that was sometimes a little bit duff but argh.. i didnt mind it that much.

So yeah.. had some good laughs.. i go wild and give it a 8.

👍 Good Film + The Message Walkthrough Scene was Excellent 📲

[DoNotComeToTheCinemaDepressed · 8/10 · 29 May 2024]

Just Got out of a Screening of Hit Man.

Positives of the Film -

• 🔥 💕 2 Really Attractive Leads Certainly Helps. Glenn Powell puts in a Good Performance, switching personas as different Hit Men, also the Message walkthrough scene he does near the end was so good. Adria Arjona also does very well and is Super Hot and Sexy as Hell in this.

• 📜 The Reveal by Madison to Ron(Gary) was really good because of the build up of her thinking he's this ruthless Hitman, this means she was confident enough to tell him the situation and us the audience could see this as outside watchers, it was really good.

• 📜 The Ending was Quite Surprising.

• 📲 The Message walkthrough scene was so good.

Negative of the Film -

• 🙎🏼⚡🙋🏼 The Actor that Played Jasper should of been told to add Amp + Zany into his Performance, as he is, he's ok, but it would have made this whole film far better.

Overall, it's Good + The Message Walkthrough Scene.

Linklater's new "screwball film noir"

[ru_rahman · 10/10 · 7 October 2023]

Hitman is definitely a film-lover's paradise but even the casual film viewer will thoroughly enjoy this brilliant new movie. Linklater's latest lovingly pays homage to film noir, screwball comedy, Hitchcockian black comedy and even the good old psychosexual drama but it still somehow manages to conjure up a fresh, witty and often uproarious confection that frequently teases, delights and occasionally thrills the audience with frissons of excitement, keeping them enraptured all the way to its deliciously razor sharp ending.

This is potentially a star-making turn for Glen Powell. Although he made a strong impression in Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky rival pilot, his role in Hit Man is easily more complex and, as the co-writer of the script, he has been able to add brilliant layers to his character, or should that be characters? In effect, Powell is playing more than one character - Gary Johnson, mild-mannered, cat-loving geeky Psychology professor and audio techie who moonlights as a surveillance expert for a Louisana-based police unit that targets and stings hapless ne'er-do-wells who are looking to hire a killer. Before the next sting operation, Gary's police colleague Jasper (Austin Amelio) who normally pretends to be the hired killer is suspended for brutally attacking two youths, which forces Gary's colleagues (brilliantly played by Retta and Sanjay Rao) into convincing Gary to take over from the universally loathed Jasper, much to Gary's dismay. Yet, within minutes of taking on the task, Gary suddenly morphs into "Ron" and during his first sting he is so convincing that his colleagues are shocked, even though they had believed he could do it having heard Jasper go through the rigamarole on previous occasions. It is a brilliant piece of acting.

Having created the killer persona, Gary soon finds himself becoming more and more immersed in Ron, adding further, chameleon-like layers of disguise and character traits to mirror whoever is about to be stung. However, things become really complicated (in true film noir style) when "Ron" is approached by a femme fatale, Maddy (beautifully played by Adria Ajrona who also adds a delightfully a kooky sexy edge as well as a tender vulnerability). As the sparks between the two begin to fly during a hilarious but flirty exchange, Gary, who is clearly enjoying himself as Ron, finds himself conflicted. Dare he. As Ron, continue with the sting and have Maddy arrested for plotting to murder her husband? Has the flirtatious exchange caused Maddy to betray some regrets about what she is doing? The chemistry between Powell and Arjona is a pleasure to witness. Both actors bring out the best in one another and it is thrilling.

Off-beat is an expression that would certainly apply to Hit Man - and it is a compliment. It is also one of the most enjoyable and fun 2 hours I've had in the cinema in the past few years. I absolutely adore this film.

Richard Linklater could get away with murder!

[AustinOswald · 9/10 · 26 May 2024]

Hit Man was such an interesting and welcomed departure from the projects usually led by director, Richard Linklater. It's the kind of story that, much like Edgar Wright's Baby Driver or Shaun of the Dead, would've made for a mediocre movie if directed by an amateur, but made for a great movie because it was directed by an experienced industry professional. All Linklater films are good films.

This film keeps you guessing from beginning to end and tells its story in a way that makes the audience feel like they are learning and growing along with the characters. A great example of this is when the film periodically cuts back to Glen Powell's character, Gary Johnson, lecturing students on the everyday behaviors of people. Gary casually and subtly uses his experience as an undercover investigator as the building blocks for these lessons. By doing this, Gary is also introducing and breaking down the overarching themes of the film. It truly is brilliant storytelling.

There will never be enough words to properly commend the actors in this film. They brought so much life and enthusiasm to their characters in constant battle between show stealers. In this battle, there were no winners or losers. The acting was balanced and cast members complimented their costars exquisitely.

Linklater and Powell's writing was entertaining, truly comedic, well paced, and extremely thoughtful. It is definitely a must see for film buffs searching for depth and those just looking for a fun surface-level comedy. It does both properly in all respects.

Hit Man

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 29 May 2024]

At this rate, Glen Powell is going to be able to pay Tom Cruise back for his flying lessons pretty swiftly! Here, he's a rather geeky teacher (Gary) who teaches philosophy at a college whilst occasionally helping out the cops with some criminal profiling. When one of their investigators "Jasper" (Austin Amelio) goes a bit too far and gets suspended, Gary gets drafted in last minute and proves quite effective at getting folks who want to bump of their nearest and dearest for $5,000 to admit their cunning plans to a well wired-up con. The more of these cases he does, the better he gets; the more fun he has dressing up and adept he becomes at assuming a range of identities. It's "Maddy" (Adria Arjona) who sets the cat amongst the pigeons when she asks him to get shot of her thuggish husband "Ray" (Evan Holtzman). He takes a shine to her and talks her out of her criminal ploy. Quickly the two are seeing each other - which is manna from heaven for the deposed "Jasper". When her husband is found dead, he thinks he knows exactly who did what and how best to exact his revenge... It's quite an entertaining romantic thriller this, providing Powell with an opportunity to charm his way through an almost two hours of cinema that is light and fluffy, completely preposterous yet based on a true character. Arjona looks like she is having a good time here, too - and the last twenty minutes are quite fun. No, it won't trouble a BAFTA jury I suspect - but it's quite enjoyable summertime fayre.

If Glen Powell was a publicly traded security, I'd buy

[guacamole-movies · 9/10 · 29 May 2024]

This film was a ton of fun - a smart script, witty dialogue, lots of laughs, lots of twists and turns, two incredibly watchable stars with great chemistry, and some interesting themes on who we are and our capacity to change. Glen Powell is on a meteoric rise and will be an A-lister in no time (he cowrote the screenplay?! Super impressive)

Honestly they don't make many movies like this these days - it's a clever screwball dark comedy with some whodunit elements that ropes you right in. Ever find yourself checking the time when you're watching a movie in a theater? Not with this one; it left me wanting more.

Glen Powell gets the opportunity to play multiple roles in his new film.

[movieman6-413-929510 · 6/10 · 14 May 2024]

Hit Man is a new action comedy directed, written and produced in part by Richard Linklater, director of Boyhood and Before Midnight.

Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a school teacher, but also secretly works for the police. At one point he has to play a fake hitman with the police. He is hired by clients to commit murders, but after clients confess their criminal plans to Gary, the police can arrest them.

When Madison Masters (Adria Arjona) wants to hire Gary, he falls for her beauty. This causes him to break his own rules and try to change Madison's mind so that she does not carry out criminal plans. The two fall in love, but Madison actually falls for the hitman Ron, who played Gary for her. On the other hand, Gary shouldn't show that he's broken his own code to Madison because it could get him in trouble with the police and ruin his career.

This film is based on a true story, where the real Gary Johnson posed himself to the police as a hitman who criminals could hire to commit murders. Only after sharing their murderous plans with Gary could the police catch them. The real Gary Johnson had to dress up so many times, wearing different styles of clothes and wigs to appear different to each criminal, so he couldn't be exposed as an undercover cop. Glen Powell also does the same at the beginning of the film. He wears different costumes and also acts in different ways. For example, the film starts off more like an action comedy, but when Gary falls for Madison, the film turns more into a romantic comedy.

Richard Linklater provides a comic action film, but with repeated events, where Gary, in different disguises, makes various criminals confess. When the film later turns more into a romantic comedy, this mainly works because of the good chemistry between Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, their characters. Glen Powell only plays a character who leads a double life and his character ends up in a relationship with the possible criminal. This creates complicated situations in which he has to continue working strategically, without Madison or the police realizing that he is actually lying to both of them. However, the film does have a somewhat abrupt ending, which does not seem to answer everything.

Glen Powell plays the lead role well and actually has to play the role in different ways. This gives him the opportunity to show different acting capabilities in this film. Adria Arjona also plays the role of a seductive, possible criminal well, because as a viewer, like the main characters, you do not always know whether she can be completely trusted. After his time in various Walking Dead series, Austin Amelio also gets the chance to act in a film. He plays a colleague of the main character, who may thwart his strategic plans if he is told too much.

Learning

[kosmasp · 9/10 · 28 May 2024]

No pun intended - we have a teacher in the main role here. And he has a side job/hustle. Which is nothing special, he just seems to help out the police in catching people who try to hire a hitman ... if you didn't know: there is no such thing as a hitman (at least according to the movie - I wouldn't know what reality actually looks like - funnily enough the movie suggests it is based on a real story in the credits).

So this walks a fine line - being quite romantic in one sense, but also quite ridiculous and over the top in another sense. Glen Powell seems to be quite "hot" right now (which his students will say too, towards the end of the movie) - getting a writing credit next to Linklater here too.

This may suggest it is action, but there is very little in that department happening. There is quite the romance going on and discussions ... a lot of dialog. And a lot happening too (cat and dog persons behave - it's a movie). This are almost two hours that fly by ... with a few twists along the way ... and an ending I did not expect to happen like that. Great acting from all involved ...

The Netflix Original At It's Very Best

[cdjh-81125 · 8/10 · 27 May 2024]

I feel like Hit Man is the epitome of how I usually feel about Netflix's original movies. Because whenever one of their films comes out and is bad I'm really not that surprised. But when something of theirs comes out and is great I usually think it deserves to be put out somewhere else and the the latter very much sums up how I feel about this movie.

Hit Man is totally riveting as a viewing experience and I'm glad I got to see it in a theatre while I could. Because this film is utterly hilarious in a way that feels referential to other films that we've seen before but it still feels like its own vision. Glen Powell is basically perfect in this role and I loved still managing to feel invested in his journey despite becoming more and more conflicted by the actions that he takes. As a crime thriller it's totally effective and as a dark comedy it's utterly hilarious. Despite the fact that I felt the core story could've been stronger I was always interested to see where it went next.

I'm already very excited to see it again and as of now it's one of the best original movies that Netflix has put out.

Entertaining but I didn't love it as I would hoped for

[chenp-54708 · 5/10 · 29 January 2024]

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

My apologies but this one didn't work for me. Richard Linklater is a hit and miss filmmaker as he has made some pretty good movies but also some pretty bad ones in his career. Hit Man is different to his usual style and despite Linklater having good energy, I didn't connect with the movie as much.

The narrative is pretty standard and typical of he thriller noir genre and despite Linklater adding some new tones, style and approach to the story, it oftentimes feel too cheesy and predictable to be fully engaged with. The camerawork, production and some of the tense and action moments were pretty good as it helped to add the atmosphere and environment. The performances are pretty good as Glen Powell continues to shine and he does an awesome job performing his character.

The dialogue is interesting although some of the dialogue moments were a little too silly, some of the characters are interesting but some not as interesting. Linklater's direction was pretty solid but there are some aspects where his direction feels a little messy and unfocused at times. With the narrative being predictable and cheesy, it causes some of the moments for me to feel a little slow and slightly bored.

Hit Man has some entertaining moments but just like Top Gun: Maverick, I find myself not being big on the cheesy action stuff. Good for a watch but just not for me.

An interesting romance wrapped in hints of action.

[chong_an · 9/10 · 29 May 2024]

Gary is an unassuming professor of Psychology and Philosophy. For excitement, he joins a team of cops who monitor people who are trying to hire a hit man. The excitement takes a leap, when the cop pretending to be a hit man is suspended, and Gary is pushed into the role of hit man Ron. With his background and research capabilities, he does a better job than his predecessor in playing that role convincingly.

This starts to unravel when a woman asks for help to be freed from a suffocating husband, and he talks her into simply leaving him. Sometime later, "divorced", she seeks him out and they have an affair. But then the other cop comes back from suspension and wants his job back, while one outing too many has the couple discovered by the "ex-" husband.

I found the fake hit man angle interesting, since it is in the news - an agent from India tried to hire a hit man in the U. S. to eliminate a Sikh separatist living there. There are interesting scenes of the professor talking with his students about good and evil, crime and punishment. There are also court scenes where defense attorneys effectively accuse him of entrapment. But the central romance is hot, accompanied by the mandatory secrecy and threat of danger.

Exceeded all expectations!

[parksiet · 10/10 · 30 May 2024]

Believe the hype: Richard Linklater and Glen Powell's Hit Man is awesome! It's a slick, sexy screwball comedy about identity that only a filmmaker like Richard Linklater could properly pull off! I'd say this might even be the must see romantic dark comedy of the decade! Hit Man is definitely a film-lover's paradise but even the casual film viewer will thoroughly enjoy this brilliant new movie. Linklater's latest lovingly pays homage to film noir, screwball comedy, Hitchcockian black comedy and even the good old psychosexual drama but it still somehow manages to conjure up a fresh, witty, and often uproarious confection that frequently teases, delights, and occasionally thrills the audience with frissons of excitement, keeping them enraptured all the way to its deliciously razor sharp ending. Go in blind - it's such a fun movie to experience with a crowd, knowing nothing of what's to come! I absolutely loved my experience watching this movie - it's a shame most people will experience it on Netflix for the first time. But because this movie is so unique and fun to experience knowing nothing about it - I'm gonna keep this short in order to preserve the experience of watching it for the first time! This film has been hyped up for months and yet it was still able to surpass everything I expected of it. This was some fresh, fun, effortless storytelling that works so well, and truly allows Glen Powell to ascend to a new level of movie stardom with such a charismatic performance! This is potentially a star-making turn for Glen Powell. Although he made a strong impression in Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky rival pilot, his role in Hit Man is easily more complex and, as the co-writer of the script, he has been able to add brilliant layers to his character, or should that be characters? His chemistry with the equally terrific Adria Arjona was dynamite, they both had true movie star energy! Both actors bring out the best in one another and it is thrilling! Hit Man is one of the most entertaining films of the year - a slick, cool, and hilarious crime film that deconstructs our notion of what a hitman is while simultaneously examining its lead character's ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO. This is Linklater at his most fun and effortless. A masterclass on direction, writing, and acting, Hit Man is a wild, entertaining ride that I can't wait to see many more times! I LOVED Hit Man, it left me with the biggest smile! It's a - hit, man!

Descending into the depths of Dionysus

[frankde-jong · 8/10 · 24 May 2024]

The hitman is already for a long time a popular character in crime and (neo) noir films. For me the ultimate hitman-film is "The day of the jackal" (1973, Fred Zinnemann). In this film Edward Fox plays a hitman that is professional, emotionless and a typical loner.

Only the last description does apply to Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) in "The hit man". He is however not a real hit man but an undercover hit man. He meets people looking for a hit man and makes sure the compromising evidence is on tape.

In order to do this he changes outfit all the time and this leads to a comic costume parade, including an imitation of Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem), the hit man from "No country for old men" (2007, Ethan & Joel Coen).

Being partly a comedy, "Hit man" is an odd one in the oeuvre of director Richard Linklater, who is mostly known for his "Before .... " relation trilogy (1995, 2004,2013) and his coming of age film "Boyhood" (2014).

"Hit man" really takes of when Gary Johnson falls in love with one of his clients (Maddy Masters played by Adria Arjona). It is the starting point of a roller coaster of numerous unexpected twists and turns.

One of the themes is losing sight of the difference between your undercover "me" and your real "me". It happens in numerous film, but it also happens in reality. In an investigation from 1994 - 1996 the Dutch parliament studied how it happened by the police while combatting organized crime.

The fact is however that Gary Johnson has two real "me's", one as a part-time police officer and one as a professor in philosophy. The last one delivers the philosophical theme of the movie of how to find a satisfactory balance between ratio and discipline (represented by the Greek God Apollo) and feeling, emotions, instincts and living dangerously (represented by the Greek God Dionysus).

Remarkable is that where his most famous films (The "Before" trilogy and "Boyhood") are typical for an Apollonian world, "Hit man" descends to the depths of Dionysus.

By the way, "Hitman" is in my opinion not very flattering for women, showing how they prefer the sex appeal of a hit man to that of a "dull" police officer (let alone a nerdy professor).

A romantic comedy edge with a film noir backdrop

[steiner-sam · 8/10 · 26 May 2024]

It's a sly undercover police drama set in modern times in New Orleans, Louisiana. It follows a divorced, mild-mannered psychology professor, Gary Johnson (Glen Powell), who lives alone with his two cats, Id and Ego. He has also worked part-time with the New Orleans Police Department as a technical advisor on some undercover operations. Suddenly, Jasper (Austin Amelio), the guy who usually plays the undercover role of a hitman, is suspended, and Claudette (Retta) and Phil (Sanjay Rao) co-opt Gary to fill in. Gary proves amazingly skilled at his job with his forgettable face, many disguises, and believable sales pitch. Nonetheless, Gary's ex-wife (Molly Bernard) encourages him to liven up his personality.

Suddenly, Gary meets Madeline Masters (Adria Arjona), a beautiful young woman who wants to have her husband, Ray (Evan Holtzman), killed. Rather than trap her, Gary encourages her to flee her husband and begin her own life. Soon, Gary and Maddy begin a relationship in which she still believes Gary is a hitman, and Gary's police colleagues are unaware of his relationship with a potential suspect. The movie then unfolds through many twists and turns that threaten their relationship and their trust in one another.

"Hit Man" is a supremely clever story loosely based on a real Gary Johnson in Houston. It has a romantic comedy edge against a film noir backdrop. Powell and Arjona have excellent chemistry. The script lags a little in the middle but sprints to the end and has a good film noir ending.

Boring, uninspired, and done a thousand times.

[scottkolflat · 3/10 · 15 May 2024]

"Hit Man" on Netflix attempts to blend comedy with crime in a concoction that's as awkward as a clown at a funeral. Directed by Richard Linklater, a name usually associated with thought-provoking dramas, this film feels like a misfire from start to finish.

Glen Powell stars as the titular "hit man", a character more reminiscent of a frat boy with a gun than a hardened assassin. His attempts at humor fall flatter than a pancake, relying heavily on tired slapstick and juvenile jokes that wouldn't even elicit a chuckle from a laugh track.

Adria Arjona plays his love interest, a role that feels about as necessary as a screen door on a submarine. Their romantic subplot is as forced and unconvincing as a Hollywood marriage, adding nothing of substance to an already lackluster plot.

Linklater's direction, usually known for its subtlety and depth, feels completely out of place here. It's as if he's trying to juggle too many genres at once, resulting in a messy mishmash of half-baked ideas that never quite come together. The pacing is as erratic as a squirrel on caffeine, leaving viewers wondering if they accidentally hit fast forward on the remote.

The comedy itself is as stale as week-old bread, relying on tired clichés and recycled jokes that were tired the first time around. Powell's attempts at comic timing feel as awkward as a first date, while Arjona's straight-faced delivery only serves to highlight the lack of humor in the script.

Overall, "Hit Man" is a swing and a miss for Netflix, offering little more than a cringe-inducing comedy that's as forgettable as yesterday's news. If you're looking for a laugh, you're better off rewatching old episodes of "The Office" or "Parks and Recreation." As for "Hit Man," it's a contract best left unfulfilled.

I think Netflix is paying critics now

[lisa_barense · 3/10 · 25 May 2024]

Rotten Tomatoes gives this movie an unbelievable 98%. The first hour is slow and repetitive and completely unbelievable despite its being based on a real person. But that real person was a real investigator not just a tech guy who filled in unexpectedly one day. The legal stuff is ridiculous. As if multiple murder convictions would take place in a matter of months. And police witnesses don't sit in court throughout a trial. There was little chemistry despite the best efforts of the female lead actress. It did finally get a little more interesting a hour in but any originality was squandered by the trite ending.

identity games

[dromasca · 5/10 · 29 May 2024]

I always look forward to the films of Richard Linklater, whom I consider one of the most interesting American filmmakers. His films manage to bring to the screens novel landscapes of American reality and characters that involve their viewers. His persistence in long-term projects has managed to transform time perspectives that span many years and decades into plots and images. Linklater is constantly looking for new characters to turn into stories on screen and new forms of expression to tell their stories. However, not all of his experiments are successful to my taste. This is also the case with 'Hit Man', an original combination which, however, failed to convince me.

'Hit Man' is inspired by a real-life character named Gary Johnson, who lived in Houston and assisted the local police as an undercover agent, posing as a professional killer to those looking to buy assassination services and gathering evidence (mostly taped recordings of conversations) to arrest and prosecute them for planning murders. The script moves the action to New Orleans and assigns Gary the job of art teacher, showing him giving moral and life lessons to his young students. As long as he builds the character of the teacher who masquerades as different variants of professional killers, adapting his physiognomy and attitude to the 'clients', the film is interesting and funny. When the romantic component is added, it becomes less believable, not to mention the moral and legal ambiguities. What doesn't work? To a large extent, the role and activities of the police assistant hero are based on the first impression, or if you want, on the prejudices through which people judge those around them. The police disguises may fool the buyers of crime services, but the identity game on which the romantic story is based is more difficult to believe. A relationship based on false identities has no chance of standing the test of time. Or maybe the script wants to tell us that true love can overcome even lies about identity? Such a message is too trivial to support the surprises in the second part of the film. Linklater uses tools from the film noir toolkit mixed with romantic comedies and a little eroticism, but the combination just didn't work for me.

Glen Powell is a good actor, but what he does in this movie constantly reminded me of Ryan Gosling and in cases like this I prefer the original. His romantic partner is played by Adria Arjona, who looks fantastic but whom I need to see in other roles to convince myself of her acting qualities. 'Hit Man' is a movie that many will like, OK as entertainment, but I found it to be one of Richard Linklater's weaker movies. In my opinion, this is one of the highly overrated movies of this season.

Thin, repetitive but well made

[trozhon · 5/10 · 27 May 2024]

I am baffled by the critical praise for this movie. The much lauded "chemistry" between the two leads was either pushed by the studio or the result of the female lead acting as if she was on the verge of orgasm for most of her screen time. The movie is undeniably well made, the leads are enormously attractive, and there a few chuckles. The scene with the cellphone texts tipping off the female leads as the cops listened was amusing for sure. The female detective was great throughout - great comedic timing. But this is definitely a wait-until-its-free-on-your-favorite-streaming-channel kind of film. You'll be pleasantly entertained.

Spoiler: how are you supposed to root for the couple after they kill the detective in a most horrific way, the detective being only character smart enough to see through them? Was he supposed to be the bad guy instead of the actual two-time killer because he is made to appear unattractive and she is....pretty?

Would have been better with a little more Double Indemnity, a little less Hart to Hart.

darkly quirky and very entertaining

[stevencayer · 8/10 · 31 May 2024]

If you enjoy quirky movies, director Richard Linklater is your guy. His latest is HIT MAN, which is a romantic comedy that's very loosely based on an article about a real guy, Gary Johnson. Gary (Glen Powell) is a college professor and part-time staffer at the New Orleans Police Department. He stumbles into a new role as an undercover hitman, arresting people who try hiring him to kill someone. It turns out he's very good at it. Powell really showcases his talents here, playing different characters for each arrest. When he meets Madison (Adria Arjona) though, he breaks protocol. I guess Powell has great chemistry with whoever he works with. He has an undeniable charm that seems like it spreads to the whole cast. I could tell they had fun filming this. It also has a very smart script, playing with ideas of identity and being your true self. The strong sense of humour actually changes as the movie progresses, which was fun for me, but might not work for some. I find it hilarious that they must've asked the real Gary Johnson for permission to go as far as they do here. The movie makes it clear what actually happened during the end credits. HIT MAN is quirky, unconventional, and very enjoyable. If you can't see it in theaters, don't worry! It'll be on Netflix June 7th. Make sure the algorithm doesn't bury it. Enjoy!