Hitman Agent 47 Did They Even Play The Games

Despite being a critical failure and not exactly a large hit with the fans of the videogame series on which it was based, 2007’s Hitman actually made a decent amount of money, and at one point there were plans to create a sequel to it. Those eventually fell through, and it looked as though the six people on the planet who wanted another Hitman movie were going to be disappointed. But then it was decided that a reboot would take place instead. Now we have Hitman: Agent 47, which is, indeed, a reboot, although I don’t think it really matters, given that the only plot that anyone can even remember from the first one was that there is a guy, named 47, who is also a hitman. 47 is now played by Rupert Friend, who takes over from Timothy Olyphant, one of the only good parts from the last film. He has been genetically modified to be a superhuman killer, which means he has more strength, speed, and intelligence than a normal person – but with an inability to feel pain, remorse, or even love. Does that take some of the thrill out of the action scenes? Of course it does. We never question whether or not he’s going to win against normal people. As such, we need another enhanced individual, who in this case is “John Smith,” played by Zachary Quinto. Both individuals want Katia (Hannah Ware), because they want to get to her long-lost father (Ciarán Hinds), who is the man behind the genetic modification program. Oh, and Katia has clairvoyance, or something that acts just like it, further reducing the thrill of the action scenes. Here is how much Hitman: Agent 47 has to do with the videogames: (1) It has a character named 47. (2) There is fiber wire. (3) Before the title card, a couple of the shots somewhat resemble the cover artwork of one or two of the games. I’m not even a big Hitman fan – although the games have somehow all wound up on my Steam account… – but even I know that the film misses the entire point of the source material. It’s gone a mainstream action route, which might be fine if the action was even halfway decent, and in doing so alienates those who made the games popular. There’s a good movie to be made from this franchise, too; it’s just a shame that we may never get it. Another failed videogame adaptation, Hitman: Agent 47 delivers bland, same-y, and choppy action, cold characters, poor plot, a complete lack of thrills, and a misunderstanding of the source material. Did we need another Hitman movie? Of course not. We didn’t need a first one, either. I’m not sure which of the two is better, but I don’t think it matters. They’re both poor adaptations of a game franchise that deserves better, and the new one is another addition to an ever-growing list of bad adaptations of videogames. Maybe the next one will be better. Bottom Line: Hitman: Agent 47 misses the point of the videogames on which it’s based and delivers a bland and generic action movie in that point’s place. Recommendation: Go (re)play the videogames instead of watching Hitman: Agent 47. [rating=1.5]