Film review: Hitman – Agent 47 (15)

As somebody that considers himself an avid video gamer, it often surprises me that some of the many top titles available don’t make the successful transition to the cinema screen.

Some of the best stories I’ve ever seen told originate from the vast video gaming industry, be it the Mass Effect trilogy, the Uncharted series, The Last Of Us or Half-Life.

Square Enix’s Hitman series is great fun to play on your console or PC, but it never really struck me as an obvious choice for a movie.

Saying that, I did enjoy Agent 47’s first big screen outing back in 2007. It wasn’t a brilliant film, but it was a bit of a buzz seeing an iconic character from my console on the cinema screen.

Sadly, the critics (and audiences, it seems) didn’t really agree. Fast forward eight years and we have a reboot, with Homeland’s Rupert Friend taking on the role of the ruthless red-tied assassin.

In the Hitman universe, Agent 47 (yes, that’s actually his name) is one of a number of genetically modified humans, dubbed Agents.

That makes him smarter, faster and (of course) much more lethal than the average person on the street.

He’s also supposed to have no weaknesses or compassion, but 47 has always broken the mould (a little) in that regard.

Basically, he’s an anti-hero. Indeed, freshmen to the franchise will probably see him as the villain of the piece early on in this Aleksander Bach-directed offering.

This version of the Hitman story sees 47 trying to bring down an evil organisation, run by the villainous Le Clerq (Thomas Kretschmann – Avengers: Age of Ultron).

They’re aiming to re-start the defunct Agent programme and deploy their top asset John Smith (Zachary Quinto – Star Trek: Into Darkness) in a bid to find the person responsible for the original program, Dr Litvenko (Ciaran Hinds – Game Of Thrones).

With Litvenko in the wind, his daughter Katia van Dees (Hannah Ware – Oldboy) is their best bet to find him, so both Smith and 47 face a battle to earn her trust.

Beyond that, things do get way too hard to comprehend, but suffice to say that there is a huge bodycount racked up.

Indeed, at times it does feel like you’re watching a bunch of video game cut scenes. It’s great to see plenty of nods to Hitman’s roots, but the film does stray very much into the generic action movie bracket.

That’s not to say there aren’t some great sequences, though.

I liked Friend as 47, he nailed the tone of a character I’m invested in. Sadly, the plot stops him in his tracks.

Ware was solid as Katia too, but Kretschmann didn’t get much screen time and Quinto’s Smith wasn’t really built up enough for me.

As a fan, I enjoyed Hitman. But for the neutral, this is bog-standard action flick.

Voice Verdict: 6.5/10 (reviewed at Boston’s West End cinema)
+ Friend is a great Agent 47
+Some enjoyable sequences
+ Nods to game
– Stupid story
– Generic action

SHOWTIMES
Boston’s West End Cinema (Fri, Sept 4 to Thurs, Sept 10)

**LEGEND (18)
2.30pm (Wed), 8.40pm (Weds/Thurs)

**THE MAZE RUNNER: SCORCH TRAILS 2D (12A)
5.30pm (Thurs)

**RICKI AND THE FLASH (12A)
11.45am (Sat/Sun/Weds), 2pm (Fri/Sat/Sun/Weds), 4.15pm (daily), 6.30pm (daily), 8.45pm (daily)

**TRANSPORTER REFUELLED (15)
2pm (Fri), 4.15pm (daily), 6.30pm (daily), 8.45pm (daily)

** NO ESCAPE (15)
2pm (Fri/Weds), 4.15pm (daily), 6.30pm (daily), 8.45pm (daily)

STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON (15)
2.30pm (Fri), 5.15pm (not Thurs), 8.15pm (daily)

HITMAN: AGENT 47 (15)
6.45pm (daily)

INSIDE OUT 2D (U)
Noon (Sat/Sun), 4.30pm (daily)

INSIDE OUT 3D (U)
10am (Sat), 2.15pm (Sat/Sun)

SINISTER 2 (15)
8.45pm (not Weds/Thurs)

PIXELS 2D (12A)
10am (Sat/Sun), 12.30pm (Sat/Sun/Weds), 2.45pm (Sat/Sun)

MINIONS 2D (U)
10am (Sat/Sun), 12.10pm (Sat/Sun), 2.15pm (Sat/Sun)

PAPER TOWNS (12A)
12.45pm (Sat/Sun/Weds)

KID’S CLUB
Sat/Sun 10.30am – Two By Two (U)

SILVER SCREEN
Wed 11.30am – Sinister (15)

** FREE LIST SUSPENDED