Hitman

List Price: $29.99 Discount Price: $17.03

Customer Reviews:

Fan of the video games. Satisfied. Not blown away. [Posted on 2008-08-04]
As a die hard fan of the Hitman video games, I was beyond excited for the movie. I did my best to temper this with the knowledge that most, if not all, videogame adaptations fall somewhere below the gamers' expectations.

That said, this one delivers a very respectable performance. As far as videogame crossovers go, this was a very enjoyable movie and I hope it did well enough to merit a sequel.

The minor changes from the game backstory did bother me since they didn't strike me as changes that were necessary to create a more mainstream story line (which is why these changes are usually made). While it was inevitable, the addition of a conscience and emotion for 47 detracted from the videogame protagonist stone cold persona.

All in all, I recommend this movie to videogame fans and action movie fans alike.

Why you can't actually fall in love with the Terminator? [Posted on 2008-08-09]
Because he is just a cyborg or a robot and that's all.

On the other hand why do we fall in love with a character like Indiana Jones or James Bond? - Because he is romantic, funny, sexy, brave, and you could add more attributes because he is human and humane.

According to the Eidios game if the hitman was genetically engineered and made for just killing people (almost like the Terminator) I can understand and accept the character who cannot smile, kiss or show any kind of normal human emotion. However if the director was trying to potray the hitman as a "Macho", romantic guy then the movie fails miserably. In fact that is how the director has tried to potray him. However there is nothing macho about some lockjaw guy who speaks with small movement of the lips. And because his jaw is locked it is difficult to hear and watch him speak so stressfully. To deliver powerful dialogues the Hitman has to not only strain himself to speak but there is hardly any voice coming out. The voice isn't authorotative even when it is obvious that the voice was dubbed in the studio.

Remember those great lines that James Bond or any of those classic heroes deliver. In fact movies are remembered for them. On the other hand The Hitman delivers some terrific flop lines. The most obvious one being the lines that he speaks just after Olga describes her torture session with the Russian mafia when she had tried to escape it once. "If you ever again interfere with me like that..." What a fiasco! What a let down for the audience in the cinema that was waiting to laugh or feel good. Nothing macho or funny about it. I wonder what the editor or director was doing while editing this scene. You can imagine what it takes to speak them over and over again for many retakes.

So in the end The Hitman just turns out to be a killing machine. Timothy Olyphant plays the lockjaw Hitman. No wonder they deliberately avoided kissing, smooching or even eating scenes becuase then this guy will have to use his mouth and teeth differently. This means even a sequel will have the same thing. If the excuse for his robotic behavior is the way he was taught in genetic-school how come the other hitmen from the same school don't act that way.

Too much of simply point at someone's head at close quarters and never miss a shot also gets boring after a point. The Hitman literally being unscathed in all the fights further adds to the unrealism.

In Die Hard 4 I complained about Olyphant not showing clenched teeth, but that's what he does all the time on this one. The nudity is acceptable but the blood and flesh splattering violence is gory.

The pretty Olga kurylenko who is going to be cast as the new bond girl is the heroine. She is beautiful and looks even more beautiful when she cries. I scored the two stars just for her.

Thank god it's good. [Posted on 2008-08-11]
At first I was a little sceptical about this movie because from past experiences movies can rarely reflect the ambience or the content of the games. In order to reach a wider audience, movie makers usually tone down the action and adult content drastically.

Not so in this case, thankfully director created a very well adaptation of the game. Our hero, or antihero, may look a bit on the softer side but proves himself to be brutal and deadly when necessary. Also Ms. Olga Kurylenko shows us how brave and secure she is, even in Istanbul.

I'm not an avid fan but I played the latest two Hitman games, not so successfully if I might add, and this movie can very well be a part of any of them. Plot is just like a game, so are the locations and the action. Some purists may disagree but I can easily recommend this movie to the fans of the game.

This is how a game movie should be. Uwe, please watch this movie before you ruin another game movie for us.

Incredible action movie [Posted on 2008-08-20]
Given that I do not like the Hitman video game series, I had low expectations for this movie, but, WOW, was I proven wrong. This movie was incredibly well done and I could not believe that I could like a movie based off of a video game so much.

First of all, picturing Olyphant as Agent 47 seemed like too much to handle, given that he is a very serious actor in a role where he almost never talks, but he does a great job with the action and emotions, whether letting them out or holding them in. His acting in this movie is perfect because he comes across as so cold and determined and intelligent in his craft, and then immediately you see him with the gorgeous Olga Kurylenko, who tempts him to a little bit of fun and tries to loosen him up.

Kurylenko was another pleasant surprise from Hitman, as I had never heard of her before, other than that she did foreign films. She is easily one of the most physically attractive actresses out there, and she will be in the upcoming Bond film, so she definitely got her name/face out there with this movie.

If you're looking for a great action film with a phenomenal actor as the lead and a beautiful woman for some eye-candy, this is a perfect choice ;)

For the gamers [Posted on 2008-08-24]
If you loved the game you'll enjoy the movie, it got all the great stuff from the game in it and many scenes feel like home. However if you didn't like the game or never even heard of the game, this movie is just another action movie with a vague plot.

For me it was like visiting an old friend.

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