Hitman

I've often compared my addiction to seeing movies in the theater to a crack addiction. I can actually start to shake if I don't see a film. In the dearth of movies that has existed in the past few weeks I've been shaking pretty bad. Which is why this afternoon I decided I had to see a movie. I was hoping to see The Mist but the theater I went to didn't have a noon showing. So sadly with me jonesin for a film I went and saw Hitman.

Based on a video game (apparently) and starring Timothy Olyphant as the titular (anti) hero, Hitman follows Mr. Olyphant as he commits contract killings but is eventually set up by the very people who employ him. I don't know if that is the plot of the game as well but it sounds just cliched enough to be. Oh yeah Dougray Scott is in this film too. He plays an Interpol agent tracking Olyphant. That is why he is in the film. I have no idea WHY he is in the film. Olyphant takes pity on a stripper and helps her out and of course crazy hijinks ensue. Or something.

The action sequences were competently done and the camera stayed fairly steady so I could actually see what was going on, I'll give the film that. What I won't give it is anything else. Like why were the opening sequences of his youth training just clips from the show "Dark Angel"? No I'm serious. Did they actually say "instead of filming these scenes, let's just take them from some tv show"?

The actors are trying mighty hard to embue any thing resembling character depth to their characters. Poor Mr. Olyphant who isn't exactly an actor with a lot of range tries desperately to be this emotionally distant character who doesn't know how to interact with people especially women. Tries and fails. This thing barely qualifies as worthy of the true video game fans.