​FILMS

hitman: agent 47

2015 review number 123:

Hitman: Agent 47: (Action/Thriller): 43 out of 100: Super Mario Bros, Double Dragon, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Wing Commander, Doom, Tomb Raider. What do all these have in common? They are poor movies based on video games. Add Hitman: Agent 47 to that notorious collection. Looks like I'll never learn as I still see these types of movies that bore me silly.

 

Rupert Friend is Agent 47, an elite and genetically engineered assassin, whose latest target is Katia (Hannah Ware). She eventually teams up with him to overcome their powerful and clandestine enemies led by John Smith (Zachary Quinto). The corporation that produced him plans to unlock secrets of his past to create a new army of killers even more powerful than him. The mission results in them confronting revelations of their existence and origins. 

 

To reflect the nature of a shoot 'em up video game, there's plenty of killings. This gets monotonous after a while. Perhaps if one was in control of the movie where the you could decide what happens, that would become more interesting. What we have left here is a mindless action/thriller where the acting takes a back seat to several decent stunts. The acting is actually quite bad led by Friend. Fair enough that he is a 'robot' but does he have to be so expressionless to the point where he is boring? Friend isn't the only one to blame. Quinto isn't that menacing as a villain. To make matters worse, there's not even any humour in the story to add some entertainment value.

 

The problem from the outset is probably the story. It's just not interesting enough to sustain a one and a half hour movie. It's not helped by dialogue that could have been written by a juvenile. I know it's based on a video game but surely someone could have made the story and screenplay more engaging.

 

There are some highlights, remarkably, which contribute to my slightly inflated rating. There are some spectacular shots of Germany and Singapore. Keen observers might spot a slight misrepresentation of the Singapore skyline but that is rather trivial. This is a made-up movie after all, not a documentary! There are quite a few action scenes that will make you sit up and take notice. You would certainly hope this to be the case when the movie is billed as action. Finally, the sound effects deserve credit for bringing the weapons and car chases to life.

 

Beware, if you are like me when it comes to movies based on video games. Hitman: Agent 47 will definitely not change your mind about them. Will I be seeing another Hitman if it is made in the future? Probably, as I am a sucker for punishment and I have yet to learn my lesson about these video game movies after all these years!

 

Staring Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto and Ciaran Hinds

(96 minutes)

Parental advice: Coarse language and violence

Additional scene during or after credits: Yes, during the credits we see a character awaken from the dead

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alQlJDRnQkE (Movie trailer)

(Reviewed on Friday 21st August, 2015)

 

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