The best-selling videogame, Hitman, roars to life with both barrels blazing in this hardcore action-thriller starring Timothy Olyphant (Live Free or Die Hard). A genetically engineered assassin, known only as "Agent 47", finds himself ensnared in a life-or-death game of international intrigue and violent retribution.
 
"The best movie derived from a violent computer game...a thoroughly entertaining experience."  Desson Thomson, The Washington Post
"Ultimately Hitman is about bullets, blood, and bombs. For die-hard fans of the videogame, there is much to relish..."  Karl Rozemeyer, Premiere
"...a lot of bloodshed. And that's a good thing..."  Kelley L. Carter, Chicago Tribune
"...one of the best movies ever made from a video game..."  Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle
"...[Olyphant's] sociopathic elegance is...[driven by a] dry, monotonic, Eastwood-like delivery..."  William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
 


Editor's Note

Based on the popular Playstation 2 game, HITMAN chronicles the frame-up and retribution-packed odyssey of Number 47 (Timothy Olyphant), a bald assassin raised from birth to be a killer and tattooed with a barcode on the back of his head. There's lots of BOURNE SUPREMACY-style flash-edits and superhuman stunt work as 47 seeks to find out why moderate Russian presidential nominee Belicoff (Ulrich Thomsen) was the client for his own assassination, a hit that 47 pulled off perfectly, except for one hitch: the target's still alive. For romantic interest we have Olga Kurylenko as a foxy Russian prostitute sold into slavery by the evil Belicoff. She and 47 wind up on the lam together but they'll never be safe as long as Belicoff is still alive. Meanwhile, Interpol agent Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott) has been tracking 47 for years; he's on the scent and about to close in. Luc Besson was the producer on this, and fans of his TRANSPORTER, THE PROFESSIONAL and LA FEMME NIKITA films will eat it up, as it's got the same narrative arc, same hyper-kinetic shoot-em-up flavor, vividly saturated colors, swooping camerawork, tightly choreographed fights, and lots of blood flying from the copious bullet wounds. Vin Diesel executive produced, and one wonders what stopped his big bald head from filling the screen in the lead, but no matter, as Olyphant does a thorough job, speaking in a measured drawl that recalls, of all people, Clint Eastwood in his DIRTY HARRY days.