DVD Review: Hitman - Unrated

Back in the year 2000 the world was introduced to the world's greatest assassin. A man who has never been caught, never been identified, and is a favorite employee of the rich and powerful in need of a kill. Despite his ability to blend in, never get caught, and never be identified, he is easy to pick out of a crowd, what with his ever-present black suit, bald head, and bar code tattoo (easily viewed on the back of his skull). What makes him so good at his job? Why, you do, of course, for he is the playable character in a series of popular video games, called creatively enough: Hitman. He has starred in a series of games, but now he has leapt from the 3D rendered console screens into flesh and blood on the big screen. I have never played the game, but have seen the film, in R rated form on the big screen and now unrated form on the small. The easiest way to sum the experience up is to say: what works on the computer screen under your control, does not always translate well to the passive experience of the theater, or even your favorite easy chair.

The plot of the film is simple. Agent 47, the titular hitman played by Timothy Olyphant, is hired to assassinate a high-ranking Russian official. Following the hit, he becomes a target himself, the subject of a double-cross to clean up potential loose ends. So, 47 grabs his target's girlfriend (new Bond firl Olga Kurylenko) and takes off, with the goal of remaining alive for the rest of the film. He is pursued by a good number of other Hitmen, all clad in the black suits with bald heads and barcode tattoos. 47 is also pursued by an Interpol agent, Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott), a man obsessed with catching the uncatchable assassin, whose attempts are slowed by interference by Russian police officer Yuri Marklov (Prison Break's Robert Knepper). That's about it. It is simpler than it seems.

Quite simply, the film is not very good. I think the biggest problem is that the lead character is not terribly sympathetic. There is no reason to like the guy, or root for him. He is a killer for hire, no remorse, no regret. Why should I cheer for him? Yes, I can understand the appeal of living vicariously through the character in a game, but it does not translate to the passive film medium. I identified more with Whittier, who is presented as someone to root against, someone only hampering the "hero's" attempts to escape.

This leads me to what can be viewed as a plot hole (warning for potential spoilers). Following the hit on the Russian, another hitman takes a shot at him and misses. Why would he miss? Especially if he has had the same training, one should be able to safely assume, as 47 who never misses. Well, if he lands his shot, the movie is over, that's why.

All of this begs the question: what happened? I admit that the concept has potential for an intriguing film, especially as presented by the trailers, which seem to have been advertising a different movie. They offered up hints of religion and genetic engineering, both of which could have given us fascinating characters to follow, even if they are killers.

While Hitman falls flat in terms of story and performances (sorry, Olyphant was OK, but did not strike me as terribly imposing with that dome of his), it does succeed at delivering some over the top action. There are some nicely stylish fight and shootout sequences, with the highlight being the short-sword fight between 47 and three other hitmen.

The movie was directed by Xavier Gens, whose prior directorial effort is just now getting ready for the big screen (Frontier(s)). He displays a decent eye for action, but that is about it, I am hoping he was just hampered by the poor script than anything else. Not sure why, perhaps I am holding out hope that Frontier(s) will be good. The screenplay from Skip Woods is all surface and no content. There are hints of something deeper, but not enough to really dig anything out of.

This DVD was the unrated release, and it does not really improve on the theatrical version. The runtime difference is only a minute, and consists primarily of added blood. Oh yes, there is also a shadowy full-frontal nude scene featuring Olga Kurylenko that was not in theaters.

Audio/Video. Video is presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen and it looks good. There is an excellent level of detail and colors are nicely represented. Audio has both Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 tracks, and as one would expect, there is nothing to complain about, they sound very good.

Extras. The two disk special edition includes a selection of bonus materials, although there is no commentary.

• The second disk contains a digital copy of the film that can be transferred to your computer for use on your iPod or other portable device. Otherwise, this is the same disk as in the the single disk release.
• In the Crosshairs. This featurette takes you inside the adaptation from the game screen to the big screen. It features interviews with all of the primaries. I was most amused by producer Adrian Askarieh talking about how they made a great movie because they had a great script. There is also some comparison between how they went to capture the movement in the game on the screen. (24 minutes)
• Digital Hits. Take a look inside the videogame and how they went about trying to create something that was different than what has come before. (10.5 minutes)
• Instruments of Destruction. Through a series of shorter featurettes, take a look at the various weapons shown in the film. (14.5 minutes)
• Settling the Score. A brief look at scoring the film. It should be noted that the score from Geoff Zanelli is quite good, and is better than the film itself. (5 minutes)
• Deleted Scenes. Nothing particularly exciting, although the scene called "Another Train Platform" has a nice flow to it, but would have definitley slowed the pace down a little. There is also an alternate ending that is interesting in how it is unfinished and shows the placeholders for the special effects. (8 minutes)
• Gag Reel. The usual collection of flubbed lines and goofed scenes. I always like seeing these. (5 minutes)
• Trailers. We get a few trailers for other releases, unfortunately we do not get the Hitman trailer.

Bottomline. Could be worth a rental for the action-junkie looking for a fix, or maybe even the videogame fans. The best I can say is not to expect a lot out of it and you won't be disappointed.

Not Recommended.