Hitman
Hitman (2007)
Starring - Timothy Olyphant, Oleg Kurylenko, Dougray Scott, Michael Offei
Directed by - Xavier Gens
I was looking forward to this film as the last computor game to film adaptation I saw, Silent Hill, was a film a really enjoyed. Timothy Olyphant plays a hitman known just as 'Hitman 47' as he came from a background of trained killers, given numbers but not names. He kidnaps, then forms a twisted relationship with Nika (Oleg Kurylenko.) Sadly, like the film as a whole, this relationship does not spark at all.
The other part fo the story is two British detectives from Interpol investigating the attemtped assassination of the Russian President. With Hitman 47 involved, these stories intertwine to create a series of action series. Michael Offai playing Jenkins, the sidekick to Mike Whitter (Dougray Scott) was one bright spark in an otherwise dull movie, full of acting performances that at no point stirred the emotion, or any reason to care about the characters in question.
The plotline was at time convuleted and confusing, trying to do too many things at once. But the heart of the failure of this film was the Hitman himself. If at any point I found myself caring about the fate, journey or role of this character, the film may have taken off, but I didn't, and as a result the entire film felt like a pointless excersice as a result.
This film is a short, 93 minutes. If you see this I fear you will be thankful for that, I certainly was. It was a very long 93 minutes and I'm not sure I could have sat through any more. Sadly this opportunity for a series of unknown actors to step up and make a name for themselves failed on every single count. The film did have some fine choice of settings, but made nothing of them. I've never played the game Hitman, but I would be surprised if even it's own fans wil be impressed by this movie.
MOON OF LIBERT VERDICT - RATING 'D+' - A tedious film that may make others think seriously about if a game can really make a good film before producing such an adaptation in future.
