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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2887 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-03-31
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 90 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
It’s hard not to feel like one has entered a certain dimension of video-game logic while watching Hitman, a lightly enjoyable action-suspense movie indeed based on a popular and bloody game about a mysterious hired gun with a bar-code tattoo on his bald head and a number (47) in lieu of a name. Living like a chaste monk while slipping past borders to kill his targets, 47 (Timothy Olyphant of Deadwood) moves like a determined shark and speaks softly to his contact at the enigmatic "the Organization," which raises cast-off children to become well-paid assassins. Fruitlessly pursued by an Interpol cop (Dougray Scott) who can never get sovereign governments to cooperate, 47 has no trouble slipping in and out of countries to ply his trade. Until, that is, he’s set up to take a fall in Russia by shooting a national leader who is promptly replaced by a lookalike double. Suddenly on the run, 47 has to retrace his steps and formulate a lethal plan for extricating himself from a trap. Caught in the chaos is the lovely Nika (Olga Kurylenko), forced into sex slavery by 47’s new enemies and the one person who seems uniquely qualified to break through 47’s many personal barriers.

Directed by France’s Xavier Gens, Hitman features loads of bloody mayhem and unabashed moments of pulp absurdity, such as a scene in which 47 and three other Organization killers agree to fight one another respectfully, then proceed to pulverize each other with swords and fists. As fodder for gamers, however, Hitman is packed with visuals and dramatic moments that seem so odd on the big screen until one realizes they are basically placemarkers for the video-game edition. --Tom Keogh, Amazon.com

Synopsis
Based on the popular Playstation 2 game, HITMAN chronicles the 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 run 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 THE TRANSPORTER, LEON and LA FEMME NIKITA films will appreciate this film, as it has a similar narrative arc, vividly saturated colours, swooping camerawork, tightly choreographed fights, and lots of blood flying from the copious bullet wounds.

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Customer Reviews

Actually very good!
'Hitman' is another game-to-film conversion based on the violent series of the same name where an assassin known only as Agent 47 is hired by a group known only as 'The Agency' to kill the Russian president but he has been double-crossed, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military.

It's not very often you can come away from watching a game-movie and think "well that was pretty damn good!" but this here is one where I did. I'm a pretty big fan of the Hitman games with Blood Money being one of my favourites of all time and when I first heard that Timothy Olyphant had been chosen to play the notorious anti-hero Agent 47, I had pretty much written the film off completely as I really didn't think he fit the part well at all. I've now watched the film after a friend's strong recommendation and have been proved completely wrong by this casting decision as I now think there would be no one better for the role. The character is confident and has no feelings, just like in the games and Olyphant pulls this off perfectly. If there is ever a sequel (which is most likely...) I really hope that he returns to fill the suit of 47 again. Dougray Scott also plays an excellent part in his role as the Interpol agent, in fact this is one of the best performances I've ever seen him in.

For once the film sticks close to the style of the games and doesn't try and change anything that didn't need changing (like the unneccessaryAlice character in the Resident Evil movies). The story isn't too complicated and doesn't require much thinking, which is what you'd expect from this kind of movie. The action is pretty much non stop and there are some really impressive fight scenes all the way through, so there is never a dull moment. Basically, if you take this movie for what it is, it is a very fun, very enjoyable film that is entertaining from start to finish and it actually surprised me at how good it is.

ENGAGING FUN
As Agent 47 played by Timothy Olyphant aims his gun at Interpol's Mike Whittier (Dougray Scott), he asks, "How does a good man decide when to kill?" That is the paradox of Director Xavier Gens's slick "Hitman". The screenplay by Skip Woods is based on the video game "Hitman". I am unfamiliar with the game. Movie genesis from video games usually does not bode well. However, "Hitman" surprises with narrative and visual style, and the charismatic Olyphant as Agent 47. Olyphant (recently seen in "Live Free or Die Hard") has a decidedly dark air about him, and wisely underplays the role. Also a surprise is Olga Kurylenko who plays Nika, the woman 47 must protect in the enveloping conspiracy. Kurylenko is stunning naked, and surprisingly she is a genuine and compelling actress. She embodies vulnerability and smarts in what could have been a one dimensional victim. Analogous to "The Fugitive" narrative pretext, director Gens expediently overlays the origins of the mysterious 47 as a youth bred and trained to become the perfect assassin in the opening credits. Is he really a "good man"?

"Hitman" is puzzling in that the movie trailers appear more polished than the actual movie. Perhaps Gens was a music video director? Or "Hitman" is resourcefully produced on a medium budget? Some of the action sequences in "Hitman" are breathtaking. There is the automatic weapons orchestrated mayhem in the Russian night club. The deadly fight scene with 47 and assassins from his own Agency is an amazing martial arts display--knife fighting, joint locks, and close in boxing. Olyphant may not be a trained martial artist, though he is a graceful athlete. The slow motion and slick editing evoke the dramatic. On a very basic level "Hitman" delivers with its darkly powerful hero, beautiful women, spectacular action, and engaging story.

As played by Olyphant, 47 is the classic enigmatic hero--in the sense that we really don't know if he is really a villain from the start. 47's paying client hires him to assassinate Russian President Mikhail Belicoff (Ulrich Thomson). Belicoff is a merciless despot. 47 completes his mission; however, he has been set up. His employer informs 47 that there was a witness to the assassination attempt: the President's prostitute Nika (Kurylenko). She must be eliminated. Investigating the assassination coup is Interpol Agent Mike Whittier (Scott). Hindering the Interpol investigation is KGB Agent Yuri Marklov (effective Robert Knepper) claiming KGB jurisdiction. Whittier believes the Belicoff's assassin is the "ghost" killer he has been tracking across the globe.

47 distinguishes the conspiracy and becomes the inadvertent protector of the vulnerable Nika. Their relationship reveals the more human side of 47. Humorously awkward and touchingly believable Olyphant and Kurylenko's partnership is an undeniable strength. They have a sublime chemistry that works. And 47 emerges as a hero and a man of honor.

"Hitman" is solid entertainment that benefits from Gens's stylish direction, and star-making performances from Timothy Olyphant and Olga Kurylenko. "Hitman" is a great hero story about an essentially good man vanquishing great evil and protecting the innocent. The movie is engaging fun.

HITMAN - BRILLIANT!
I have to say... I was a little bit bullied into going to see this movie. I am a bit against game-movie things. I think it's a bit of a rip off to be honest.
Anyhow, I wasn't looking forward to seeing this and was pleasently suprised. Timothy Olyphant is amazing. He always has been, but this was his best performance yet.
A shortish movie, only around 90 mins, but it was brilliant throughout.
Very gripping, exciting and slick.
This movie has become one of my favourites, and I have been shocked at quite how much I enjoyed it.
Everyone has got to see this. It's amazing.