Hitman (2007)

SPOILER WARNING!!! This post spoils movie Hitman (2007).

This movie had so many things wrong, but I still like it. More than I should. I think, this is first game based movie I do, that I have played the game it is based on. At least tried. I tried to play one of the Hitman games, but never get further than beginning. Hitman games tell story of mysterious bald hitman. Goal is to kill your target without anyone realizing what happened. You could do that in different ways. If you end up killing everyone, you did something wrong. Game is more about planning that fast reflexes. Or figuring different paths game allows you to use. I got frustrated, because I couldn't do what I wanted or I missed something, I should have done at one point and got stuck somewhere. This is not game review, so let's get to the movie.

Movie start in spirit of the game with carefully planned hit. Next hit is also in spirit of the game. After that movie forgets the game it is based on. Main character 47 turn into tricked happy lunatic causing death and mayhem everywhere.  He kills people he doesn't need to kill and uses guns instead of poisons and other more sophisticated methods. His plans involve hiding guns into places, he can't be sure, he can get during the hit. One time he goes to bar and kill everyone Rambo/Commando style. In game goal was to do clean hits. Here he needs to kill one person in bar. His plan is to walk in to that bar and shoot everyone there. 47 still do some planning, but those plans involve too much shooting with machine guns like crazy.

There is one scene I hate. It doesn't bring anything to movie. Only makes it worse. I talk about railway station scene. 47 and Nika are on the run. Other hitmen like 47 are after them. Three of them catch 47 in empty railway car. Other hitmen are there to kill 47. For some reason, they don't shoot 47, when they have change. They point guns at each others. 47 suggest them to do this honorable way. Everyone pulls their swords. Everyone has two Japanese style swords. Why they carry those? Wouldn't all metal detectors see them and wouldn't they make moving harder? When they started fighting, everyone fights against 47. Not against each others. Why they didn't just shot 47, when they had change. After all they were co-operating to kill 47.  The scene doesn't make any sense. We knew from earlier scene, other hitmen were after 47. It didn't tell us anything we didn't already know. Whole sword thing was just stupid and should have been cut from the movie. I am not sure, if it was in theatrical cut. I have only seen unrated cut. Some times those have stupid additions, which were originally cut for good reason.

There were other stupidity too, but this would get very long, if I went through them one by one. I actually like this movie. It is guilty pleasure. I should not like this as much as I do. So why I like it? Movie looks good. Soundtrack is good. I like 47 and his chemistry with Nika. 47 is member top secret assassin organisation. Assassins are taken as kids and trained to be effective killers. They are orphans and outcasts, when organisation has taken them under its wings. He doesn't know anything else than killing people. He doesn't know how to act in social situations. He was set up and his target Nika might be only one, who could tell him what happened. He didn't kill Nika, because he realized something was wrong. They end up escaping together. Nika tries to get to know 47 better, but 47 doesn't know  how to react, because he hasn't been with woman before. Or in any social situations like this. He even drugs Nika, when he doesn't know what else to do. I liked how they didn't make 47 grow and learn during movie like movies often do.  47 only learn to act as much as he would in real life. He does what he does best and try to keep it out of Nika's eyes. Drugging her when he has to.

Fun fact. This was third movie in row produced by Vin Diesel. I realized that after the movie. I planned to do another movie , but saw this and decided to do this instead. That another movie will come later. Maybe next, maybe later.

One more thing. If you have a group of elite assassins, who need to blend in, you don't make then dress similarly, have shaven head and  bar codes tattooed in their heads. They would be catch as soon as police realizes what members of group look like. Tattoo is from games, it is not movie's fault.

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