Hitman (2007)

A gun-for-hire known only as Agent 47 hired by a group known only as 'The Organization' is ensnared in a political conspiracy, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military as he treks across Russia and Eastern Europe.

Director:

Xavier Gens

Writer:

Skip Woods

Stars:

Timothy Olyphant, Dougray Scott, Olga Kurylenko

2 wins.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Timothy Olyphant	...	Agent 47
Dougray Scott	...	Mike Whittier
Olga Kurylenko	...	Nika Boronina
Robert Knepper	...	Yuri Marklov
Ulrich Thomsen	...	Mikhail Belicoff
Henry Ian Cusick	...	Udre Belicoff
Michael Offei	...	Jenkins
Christian Erickson	...	General Kormarov
Eriq Ebouaney	...	Bwana Ovie
Joe Sheridan	...	Captain Gudnayev
James Faulkner	...	Smith Jamison
Jean-Marc Bellu	...	Hitman #2
Nicky Naudé	...	Hitman #3 (as Nicky Naude)
Abdou Sagna	...	Hitman #4
Ilya Nikitenko	...	Hitman #5

Storyline

A gun-for-hire "Hitman" is a genetically-engineered, elite assassin known only as Agent 47 hired by a group known only as 'The Organization' is ensnared in a political conspiracy, which finds him pursued by both Interpol and the Russian military as he treks across Eastern Europe. But even 47 couldn't anticipate a "random equation" in his life exactitude: the unexpected stirrings of his conscience and the unfamiliar emotions aroused in him by a mysterious Russian woman.

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Plot Keywords:

hitman | topless female nudity | interpol | agent 47 | assassin | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Europa Corp. [France] Twentieth Century Fox [United States]

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Russian Serbo-Croatian

Release Date:

21 November 2007 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hitman - Agente 47

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Box Office

Budget:

$24,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,180,769, 24 November 2007, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$39,687,694

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$99,965,792

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox,EuropaCorp,Anka Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 94 min (unrated)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Agent 47 sits atop the roof, sniper in hand and red lettering behind him is taken directly from artwork from the game, as is the scene between 47 and Yuri in the bathtub, including the rubber duck.

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Goofs

Whittier states that the passage on the cross from 47's luggage is from Psalms. It is actually a shortened version of Proverbs 3:5-6.

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Quotes

Mike Whittier: We are Interpol, and in accordance to section 3 we are transporting an international criminal.
Smith Jamison: What criminal?

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Alternate Versions

The Unrated version contains an extra 63 seconds of mostly violence.

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Connections

Features Hitman: Blood Money (2006)

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Soundtracks

The Tomb and Death...
Traditional
Performed by The Male Choir of Valaam Singing Culture Institute
Courtesy of 5 Alarm Music

User Reviews

Clones and Orphans

I found this solid and competent. The curious thing is that what it did well, it did not because of what it is, but because it did not stick closely to the world of the video game. This is also why the fan base rejected it.

Apparently, the agent in the game is one of the 47th generation of clones, where the movie has him as the best of a collection of specially trained orphans. Instead of a name, he simply has the number 47.

I also liked the mashup, conventional as it is: Russian mafia, secret supercapable murder enterprise, worldwide conspiracy of priests. Its the spice of the priests that matters, after the Dan Brown conspiracy to make it seem ridiculous and taking the style out of it. It is easier somehow to believe a cabal lead by a Moscow Patriarch instead of the inept Rome.

The girl does what the girl is supposed to do: claim that she is sexually exploited, and then proceed to be exploited by us in much the same way. The assassin does what he is supposed to and does it well: show us unexpected ways that he can manipulate the world, anticipating coincidences and odd subplots. Our designated watcher, the typical American detective, also does his job: watching at a distance.

Why this film deserves a comment and others I see do not, is the way it ends. The form here is reverse noir. In noir, we have a hero, an everyman, who is manipulated by the world of the viewer. He is subject to cosmic coincidences that come not from any natural unfolding, but from our need to have a structured narrative. The watcher unconsciously manipulates the character.

In reverse noir, the character somehow can control the world, so that minor coincidences are anticipated, even controlled by a plan he has that we do not know. We, the viewer, are placed in the thing to be befuddled as we end up as the manipulated soul. I am not sure when this reversed form first appeared; I am hoping a reader can advise. But the form is common enough now to have some endemic problems, the most challenging of which is how to end the film.

This film does that admirably, and it can be said that all the automatic stuff in the middle of the film is arranged to set up this satisfactory ending. The film starts with the beginning of that ending, with the remainder an implicit flashback (meaning only that the story is recalled and not repeated aloud). The ending is set up emotionally as our hit man is incapable of controlling the world so far as a mate, a family. We see him tortured about this. Yes, it is a juvenile portrayal of such an emptiness, but we get it.

So the only way he can get the pleasure of a family is the same way we get the pleasure of killing scads of bad guys: by watching. So while for 90 minutes our detective has been our surrogate watcher, giving us expected thrills and surprises, we reverse once again at the end: now the hit man is the watcher of love and family. We know he will never approach 'the girl' or the detective again, but that he will watch, which we see him doing through the only instrument available, a rifle sight.

This is good writing my friends, where the screenwriter understands the form well enough to manipulate it and us. He was able to give the fanboys something; he was able to give the studio bosses their key elements (boobs, explosions, creation myth, societal anchoring); and yet he was able to give himself a cleverly well ended story. Of how many films can you say that? I see he is working on the next Bruce Willis 'Die Hard.' Bet it is well written too.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.