The Big Hit (1998) User Reviews

Mark Whalberg: Urban Hit man - Gen X style

[ebiros2 · 7/10 · 23 January 2006]

This movie is about a day in the life of a hit man played by actor Mark Whalberg. Melvin (Mark Whalberg) has good life thanks to his talent as a hit man, but has very working class mentality going about his life. But none of the girls he associates with shares his work ethics, but just sees him as a cash cow, and a guy to dump all their troubles on to, until Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) kidnaps a Japanese mogul Jiro's (Sab Nishi) daughter Keiko (China Chow) and dumps her on to his lap. Keiko is the first to sympathize with Melvin and hits it off with him.

There are three stories going on simultaneously in this movie: One with Cisco and his boss Paris (Avery Brooks) who's a friend of Jiro's and wants the guy who kidnapped Keiko dead (not knowing that it's actually Cisco who did it). Second with Melvin's girl friend Pam (Christina Applegate) who's Jewish, and has a mother who is against her marrying this Irish Catholic guy. Third with Melvin and Keiko who's being kept at his house. All three converge at Melvin's house at lunch, and pandemonium breaks loose.

The story line is one of the most original, and is a feel good movie '90s style where the under dog anti-hero gets the good he deserves in the end. The riot is seeing all the other materialistic people around Melvin all trying to take advantage of him showing how nice of a guy he is despite his choice of profession.

Was this movie great ? Yes !! And is highly recommended.

Hitman with a heart

[=G= · 6/10 · 18 April 2003]

Wahlberg plays a contract killer who wants no more than to be liked in "The Big Hit"; a solid three star flick which features good action, stunts, pyro, CGI, camera work, etc. Protag Wahlberg juggles two difficult girl friends, a double cross, and a cute kidnapee (Chow) with the demands of his profession in this not-to-be-taken-seriously film with a spritz of romance. A fun and kinetic watch for those into the crime/action/comedy/romance genre mix. (B-)

Feasting On a Diet of Scenery and Ham

[bkoganbing · 7/10 · 11 May 2008]

The Big Hit is a nice fast paced black comedy where a whole lot of actors get to chew the scenery without getting in the way of each other's diets. Everyone looks like they're having a great old time in making this film.

A team of four hit men who we first meet doing a job for boss Avery Brooks decide to do a little weekend moonlighting into kidnapping. They kidnap China Chow the daughter of Sab Shimono a Japanese industrialist who they don't know is going bankrupt. He couldn't come up with the payments on his own.

What they don't know also is that she's the goddaughter of Brooks who is determined to find the kidnappers and eliminate them. Like Nixon's staff when Watergate got going, they all start bailing.

The quartet's head, Lou Diamond Phillips does more than that. He turns on the others and names as the scheme's mastermind Mark Wahlberg. In the whole cast Phillips is absolutely relishing every minute of his role. He's stealing the film whenever he's on screen.

Poor Wahlberg, he's the schnook of the bunch who apparently has only one talent in life, he can kill people with efficiency. Away from the trade everybody just intimidates him. He's got two girlfriends, one a Black American Princess, Lela Rochon who's bleeding him dry and a Jewish American Princess, Christina Applegate who's engaged to him, sort of. Even the obnoxious clerk at the video store is getting on his case.

While Phillips is turning on the group, Wahlberg is having a meeting with Applegate and her parents, Lainie Kazan and Elliott Gould. Next to LDP, Kazan and Gould are the best thing in the film also playing their ethnic stereotypes with relish and ketchup on the side.

Believe it or not, it all works out in one crazy way for poor Wahlberg, but you'll have to see and enjoy The Big Hit to find out how.

The Big Hit assembles a cast of familiar players who all look like they're having a great old time, burlesquing their own images and feasting on a diet of scenery and ham. Cut yourself in for a slice.

Organized crime has never been so funny

[soranno · 29 October 2002]

Mark Wahlberg portrays Melvin, a professional hit man whose financial problems make him a reluctant partner in crime in a kidnapping scheme. Melvin's closest associate, Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) plots to kidnap the daughter (China Chow) of a wealthy foreign film maker (Sab Shimono) and demand a huge ransom in the process that will help all of their financial positions. What originally seemed like the perfect crime soon turns deadly when their boss (Avery Brooks) who also just happens to be the godfather of the kidnappee finds out about their scheme. In an effort to save his own skin, Cisco pins the entire thing on Melvin. Now Melvin is running (and gunning) for his life from a squad of deadly hit men as well as the power hungry Cisco. In the process, he also begins falling for the beautiful kidnap victim (only in the movies, folks). Sure, the film is hokey at times but it makes up for that with an abundance of gripping action scenes and hilarious comedy.

Guilty pleasure

[nicholls905-280-546911 · 7/10 · 14 September 2019]

I've been a fan of this film ever since catching it on the bigscreen. I'm actually surprised to find the low scores. The film is fun and borderlines slapstick style humour. Great character chemistry, with an effective Phillips scene chewing role.

Turn your brain off and enjoy

[RMurray847 · 6/10 · 4 June 2001]

Is the film flawed? Oh YEAH!! Are there ridiculous lapses in logic? You bet!! Is it fun? I think so.

I'm not quite sure how to describe this movie. It's about a likeable hitman, who kicks serious ass and racks up a huge body count, but he's the only person we care about in the movie. His co-horts are untrustworthy and (gasp!) lazy, and his two girlfriends are both horrid in their own special ways.

The movie is an action comedy...but not in the way we might expect (a la Rush Hour or its ilk). It is obvious the budget was low, so the makers of the film obviously decided the whole tone of the film should be cheesy.

But almost everyone in the movie gets into the style of silliness, and thus a non-finicky viewer has an amusing 90 minutes. Here's one example of the ever-shifting tone: Mark Wahlberg (our likable hit man) is coming home to his fiancee (Christina Applegate...a jewish princess with an over-the-top accent and really tight pants). He is driving with a chopped up body in the trunk, and pulls into his suburban driveway...except its not his house, just one that looks exactly like all the other houses in the neighborhood. Someone yells out "Wrong house!" and Wahlberg pulls back out and into the right driveway. The scene takes about three seconds, but it's funny because it's incongruous. How many hit men live in suburbia...at least in movies?

Everyone in the movie is WAY OVER THE TOP in their performances. Lanie Kazan actually seems reserved...if that gives you an idea. Elliott Gould is totally gross and very funny. Bokeem Woodbine is amusing in the role of a thug with a fixation on masturbation. Lou Diamond Phillips is totally unlikeable as a character, but gosh darn it, he sures seems to be having fun. The whole film is a lark.

It also plays right into Mark Wahlberg's strengths. Wahlberg seems to have the "nice guy" act down very well. It's why Boogie Nights worked so well...he was just so innocent and likeable. In PERFECT STORM and THREE KINGS, it was his innocent nature that worked for him. As soon as he starts getting serious or pensive or angry...it stops working. And in FEAR, with Reese Witherspoon, he tries sinister and comes off silly. He takes the "aw shucks" nice guy attitude to the nth degree in THE BIG HIT, and we really root for him.

This is not a movie for film "criticism." It would totally fall apart under scrutiny, whether for logic, continuity or artistry. But if you're in the mood just to have a little fun, and like guns going off, and cars crashing, and a bit of satire while you're at it...you could do worse.

One of my favs from my teens!

[madhachanga · 7/10 · 8 January 2024]

The film that took Marky-Mark out of the funky bunch. This one was done before all of the fancy cgi that you see today. All of the action scenes were done using old school double takes and makeup. The action scenes were well done and acting was decent. The plot was solid also.

A sequel should have been done already to build on the characters and the relationships they have. At times Wahlberg outshines his co stars, but not too much. It's a fun movie despite being grim. This one should bring back fun memories for Generation Y. I still enjoy it to this day. I would for Hollywood to produce more dark comedies like this one.

it's not all that

[petshop · 3/10 · 2 March 1999]

An action-packed comedy that's neither very thrilling nor funny. This sophomoric romp follows hitman Mark Whalberg through a kidnapping scheme that gets him into big trouble. I guess the moral is plain and simple: killing is better than abduction. There are a few genuine laughs, but not enough to balance out the moments of utter frustration as testosterone-fueled characters strut about uttering self-important bull. Antonio Sobato Jrs' (very underused) body is worth the price of admission.

Let us not forget the trace buster buster buster

[tone_e2000 · 9/10 · 6 June 2005]

Indeed Mark Wahlberg is a bit cack in most of his films, but The Big Hit is a masterpiece of comedy. The action is fun, but is not meant to be taken seriously. I think that some people might have watched this film expecting a standard action film, in which case I can understand their disappointment. It's just good fun and Lou Diamond Phillips is brilliant. His over-the-top performance is perfect and is something I'll never forget.

The Big Hit is one of those films where you either get it or you don't. If you don't then I can understand how it might seem a bit two-dimensional. However, anyone who hasn't seen it should take a chance.

Hit, yes, but who's the target?

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 8 July 2017]

I understand that this is a comedy and it's not to be taken seriously when Mark Wahlberg shoots an obnoxious high school kid through the head.

Okay, it's a comedy, and it has a lot of action and explosives and wisecracks, but it's not really too funny. The most amusing scenes have Wahlberg and his Jewish girl friend (Applegate) being visited by Applegate's parents. They discover that he's a shagetz and they go ape. ("Look, you seem like a nice German and Irish fellow -- but you're not laying hands on my DAUGHTER!" Something like that.)

One of the running jokes is that Wahlberg has an overdue videotape from the store. It is intimated that the movie is silly and trivial. The movie is "King Kong Lives" and I resent the aspersions cast on it. "King Kong Lives" is silly, true, but boasts one magnificent performance -- by myself, as an extra.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons I never found myself laughing and consider the film to be far from "hilarious." However, it's necessary to take into account the target audience. Take away the violence, the F bombs and the M bombs, and you have a Bob Hope comedy, specifically "Boy, Did I Get a Wrong Number," in which Hope, the bourgeois husband, tries desperately to hide the succulent Elke Sommers from his wife an family.

What I'm trying to say is that the target audience seems to be kids in late adolescence. They should get a kick out of it, along with adults whose sense of humor isn't concordant with my own.

The Big Sh*t...

[markles · 1/10 · 18 December 1999]

Spoof or no spoof, this movie was incredibly painful to watch. I found no humor in the outlandish gun fights or car chases, and the dialogue was utterly reprehensible. And that cooking scene...ugh, I did not need to see the stuffing of a bird used as foreplay. What a great big pile of crap.

If you think the movie was supposed to be serious, you missed the point...

[vincea1906 · 8/10 · 13 January 2001]

I had absolutely no idea that this movie was supposed to be a silly, spoofy action film when I saw it at the theater. The first 10 minutes makes this perfectly clear. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for just being "guilty pleasure" escapist entertainment. Yes the movie is silly and corny - but that was the intent of the film.

Its more than understandable that this movie isn't for everybody, either you love it or hate it. However, if you watched the movie and took it seriously (ie the breakdancing during the first 'hit'), then you definitely missed the point. 8 out of 10.

90s style action writing at its best.

[tableeightproductions · 6/10 · 4 April 2021]

The 90s was a weird time for action where it was a giant mix of pop culture, sarcasm, and violence. This movie has all of that.

And Mark Wahlberg's acting has not changed. For the most part he is still a misunderstood nice guy trying to make people like him.

What is it?

[stevemc · 2/10 · 2 December 1998]

Is it a farce? A blood-n-guts gangster flick? A romance? A comedy? An action film? That's the problem: The Hit doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, and as a result isn't much of anything. Even Christina Applegate (God, she's a fox!) can't save this one.

Silly and fun!

[A. Appleton · 21 December 1999]

This film was thoroughly enjoyable! Yes, it was unbelievable and the characterization was not so great, but who cares? The movie's humor comes from the very fact that it is completely absurd and way over the top. It was fun to watch, good for a laugh, had a lot of action, and the nice guy wins out in the end. What more do you want? Besides, Mark Wahlburg and China Chow are about the two best-looking people on the planet, so even if you don't like to movie you can still enjoy it.

Much better than expected. Potential spoilers

[Baldach · 7/10 · 4 July 2003]

My viewing of this movie was pure accident, since I borrowed a tape from a friend and this movie happened to be on the tape. Seeing Matt Wahlberg as contract killer with a personal promblems was a delight. Wahlberg is not as funny as John Cusack in "Gross Pointe Blanke" but he has his funny points. The lengths that Wahlberg "Smiley" goes to find and return the rental movie 'King Kong Lives' is unbelievably hilarious. Christina Applegate as a "gold digger girlfriend" with a predjuicous jewish mother is also a treat.

Off the subject, I.M.H.O. I believed that the tv show "Nanny" should have hired Christina Applegate as the jewish nanny instead of Fran Dressler. At least viewers would not be subjected to Dressler's high pitched cackling laugh

Applegate Gets Sweezed In

[whpratt1 · 7/10 · 9 September 2006]

Great Drama, Comedy and plenty of slap stick killings with Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips. The Hit Man in this fill loves to kill, but has a heart of gold and is a sucker for women and especially Gold Diggers who rob him blind. The Hit man does anything his buddies in crime demand of him and even gives back $25,000 dollars which he gets cheated out of his bonus money. Christina Applegate,(Pam Shulman) is one of the Hit Man's girl friends and is Jewish which proves a problem for Pam's mother, who wants her nice Jewish daughter to marry a nice Jewish man. Elliott Gould,(Morton Shulman) gives plenty of comedy and lots of laughs. However, there is non-stop intense action through out the film and it will keep your interest right to the bitter end.

Eh, not bad.

[Rumples · 7/10 · 31 January 1999]

This movie is just that, not bad. Its action sequences are well done and very entertaining. The comedy is generally amusing and fun (although some of it is very subtle and the rest pretty low-brow). Don't expect too much from this movie and you won't be disappointed. If you want a light, fun, action movie with some interesting characters, give this film a try. I would have to say that the cast, on the whole, does a fantastic job considering the absurdity of their situations. China Chow does well in her film debut, fortunately the part only requires her to be cute and Asian which she does very well. Mark Wahlberg also makes a good attempt at being a kind-hearted killer. I gave this a 7/10 because it's fun, not because it's a clever movie.

More Like The Big S**t

[mattymatt4ever · 3/10 · 25 February 2002]

This movie gets dumber by the nanosecond! Now, I understand its intention. It's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek action-comedy that requires you to check your brain at the door. So it's a trashy film. There's fun trash and there's dull trash. This is dull trash.

There's lots of humor, lots of high-energy action. But neither works out. The humor is so low-brow, awfully timed and delivered. The action sequences seem straight out of a video game. As Roger Ebert said, "This is the kind of flick where the bullets have read the screenplay." The only ones who get shot are the ones who HAVE to get shot. Mark Wahlberg busts in, in the first sequence, facing an army of baddies--every one armed--yet he manages to nail every one of these b*****ds with his magic machine gun. Not once does a bullet even brush through his hair. The action is so stylized it's like a ballet. I'm waiting for MarkyMark to get into his tutu and do a couple of pirhouettes, as he flamboyantly fires bullets left and right.

The storyline doesn't make a bit of sense, and if this were an entertaining action piece I would excuse the weak storyline. People come back to life after getting caught in the midst of massive explosions. I've seen tons of action and horror flicks where people come back to life after being virtually mutilated, but this movie takes the cake.

The characters are completely one-dimensional, and not the least bit interesting. Wahlberg is a mild-mannered hitman (what a cool oxymoron!) who just wants to be liked. Awwww, such pity. Lou Diamond Phillips is a trash-talker who will do anything for the buck. Bokeem Woodbine is a chronic masturbator (yes, you heard right) who's addicted to smut. And there's another dude who's...an utter dumbass who can never get his words right. Christina Applegate plays the stereotypical Jewish girl with stereotypical Jewish parents (Elliott Gould and Lainie Kazan). But Lainie Kazan, as the mother who bashes his daughter for dating a non-Jew, has some amusing moments and I actually got some chuckles. "You seem like a good...German-Catholic fellow," she says sarcastically in the middle of a card game. And Gould has some funny moments as the alcoholic father. Sure, the two characters are alarmingly one-note, but at this point I don't care about artistic integrity. I just want to be entertained!

Mark Wahlberg is not EXACTLY a terrible actor. I thought he was good in "Fear" and fairly good in "Boogie Nights," though I can't understand why he was even considered for an Oscar nomination. In this movie, he has absolutely NO expression whatsoever!!! A piece of cardboard could've played this role better than him. I've seen Wahlberg in interviews and he seems to have virtually no personality. I think he should've stuck to being a rapper/underwear model. If he didn't have the looks and the body, he would've been tossed out the movie biz in an instant. He could easily be replaced by any other young, good-looking actor--with more talent. Lou Diamond Phillips has showed off his talent in several early films including "LaBamba" where the played rocker Richie Valens. But recently, he's sunk into the direct-to-video circuit. And he lets his talent be even lesser known in this hammy performance. Avery Brooks is also extremely hammy as the villain Paris.

You can say this is a guy flick, but the chicks will probably love it too and overlook all its flaws as the sight of the gratuitous male locker room nudity takes over their psyche. Yes, women will probably appreciate this flick because there's no female nudity. So there ya go, chicks. You got your wish.

Even the soundtrack is lame. I was wondering why I saw the soundtrack for this movie on the discount rack, selling for $3.99. The title song is "I'm the Man" in which that's the only lyric you hear. It's goes like "I'm the man, man, man, man, man, man! The man, man, man, man, man!" You think with a big-budget like this they could afford some real artists.

No, I didn't take this movie seriously. But I wasn't laughing either. It's just stupid, stupid, stupid. The kind of film that caters to the lowest common denonimator of movie audiences. If you're under the age of 17, ignore my comments. But if you have a shred of maturity, please avoid this clunker at all costs!

My score: 3 (out of 10)

Ideal party-movie!

[limette · 8/10 · 3 December 2004]

Watch Melvin Smiley's more than complicated life erupt in chaos. His fiancée's parents are coming for a visit, his (other!) girlfriend is to blame that he's kind of out of money, he really ought to return the tape of King Kong Lives... On top of all that, Melvin soon gets problems of an even worse kind. A professional hit-man, Melvin suddenly finds himself in terrible danger of getting killed by his own co-workers when a kidnapping turns out to have been a bad idea.

It's crazy. Exaggerated, chaotic, full of somehow weird characters, often unrealistic action scenes, fun. I'm surprised this movie is so little known, and I am even more surprised that so many people hate it. Sure, if you expect a serious, realistic action movie, The Big Hit isn't the movie for you. You really need a sense of humour for this. Expect an action comedy, almost a parody, and you'll be entertained for sure.

Quite silly but enjoyable

[Floated2 · 7/10 · 24 April 2019]

Having barely heard of this film as being a fan of Mark Wahlberg and not knowing much about the film, decided to give the film a watch. The Big Hit is described as a comedy crime film and somewhat feels like a spoof, which makes the film overall more enjoyable.

It is quite silly at times and a lot of bizarre things occur but if you watch it not taking it too serious, it can be entertaining. The runtime is also quite short so it makes it easier and something to put on if you're bored. Mark Wahlberg playing a hit man with heart adds a nice good touch and reminds slightly like his character from Fear (but far less aggressive and less over the top).

The Big Hit is a better film than expected and better for what the critics have reviewed it.

One of the worst movies I ever saw!

[barryd101 · 1/10 · 18 December 2000]

This is one of those movies that you walk out of the theater thinking you were witnessing a car wreck - it's disgusting and horrible, and you don't know why you were looking at it. Given another chance, this would be the first movie I would have walked out of. Where to start? Firstly, it just goes to show that actors of some caliber (Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips) can be REALLY bad if the script is that bad. These guys seem like they're acting for a film school project - and they would have gotten an F for this assignment. The worst part of this whole mess is the movie itself - it tries to be an action movie, then a comedy, then a little drama - but the problem is that the story is so flimsy and the dialogue is so lame that there's nothing to hold this mess together. How funny is it supposed to be that Mark is a hit-man who DESPERATELY wants people to like him? They got it right in "The Whole Nine Yards" - they had the likeable guy played by a 'bystander', Matthew Perry, and the hit man played with coolness by Bruce Willis. Also, that movie didn't do what this movie does too often - play down to the absolute lowest common denominator possible. I mean, how often is Lou Diamond Phillips' character supposed to be dead, only to pop back up again? This tripe makes me want to gag. I hope to G-d no one ever makes a movie like this again.

watch it for fun

[kittiwake-1 · 8/10 · 31 August 2006]

There are some movies that you just watch to relax and enjoy some great one-liners, and some movies you watch for the hilarious plot. This is one of both of those types of movies. A situational dark comedy, watch this one when you just want entertainment that makes you laugh. This is the story of a hit-man who is trying to get ahead by doing the dirty work all of his friends create. Turns out he is very talented at what he does. If you would like to see Mark Wahlberg in an early role, I'd recommend this one. He plays the straight-man so well. The characters are so well-casted. I enjoyed the humor. To like this one, you can't take life too seriously. If you've ever seen "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", this has similar humor, but it's like "L, S and TSB" on Prozac. Tame enough for most of your friends, but still funny enough to get a belly-laugh. I bought it sight-unseen and have been very happy with it!

China is so fina...

[Dr_Banner · 6/10 · 31 August 2003]

I wish she was mina. Sorry. I know - bad pun. The first thirty minutes was horrible. Then came Christina Applegate, and especially China Chow. She is such a natural. Unfortunately for the movie, it's not enough.

A Big Flop

[E.J. · 1/10 · 21 November 1998]

Not only one of the worst entries for 1998, but one of the worst films I've ever seen. Startlingly unfunny, this film is so bad that a golden turkey award would do it too much justice. Simply skip it.