The Hit List (2011)

A disgruntled man creates a hit list with a stranger during a drunken night out and must then race to try to save those he marked for extermination as the bodies begin to pile up and all fingers point to him.

Director:

William Kaufman

Writers:

Chad Law, Evan Law

Stars:

Cuba Gooding Jr., Cole Hauser, Jonathan LaPaglia

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cuba Gooding Jr.	...	Jonas Arbor
Cole Hauser	...	Allan Campbell
Jonathan LaPaglia	...	Detective Neil McKay
Ginny Weirick	...	Sydney Campbell
Drew Waters	...	Mike Dodd
Sean Cook	...	Brian Felzner
Michael Papajohn	...	Special Agent Drake Ford
J.P. O'Shaughnessy	...	Lieutenant Ben Harp
David Andriole	...	Detective Ray Lowery
Brandon O'Neill	...	Dom Estacado
Daniel Brockley	...	Drew McAllister
Katarzyna Wolejnio	...	Victor Rosen's Secretary (as Kasia Wolejnio)
Tracy Schornick	...	Bartender
Holt Boggs	...	Officer Turnkey
Stephanie Vigil	...	TV News Reporter #1

Storyline

In Spokane, an elite government killer goes rogue on the day that engineer Allen Campbell loses a promotion and finds his best man with his wife. Allen goes drinking that night and chats up a stranger who turns out to be Jonas, the hit man. Jonas asks Allen to give him a list of five people he'd like to see dead, so a drunk Allen lists his boss, the guy who got the promotion, a nasty bookie, the best man, and his wife. By the next morning, the boss is dead, and Allen realizes Jonas is for real. Can he stop Jonas?

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Plot Keywords:

scene of the crime | engineer | die hard scenario | held at gunpoint | race against time | 

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Taglines:

Who's on your list?

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence and language

Did You Know?

Trivia

Cole Hauser has talent for working with acting legends more than once, to name a few are the following; "School Ties, 1992" & "Good Will Hunting, 1997" with good friend Matt Damon. "Tigerland, 2000" & "Harts war, 2002" with Colin Farrell. "Harts war, 2002", "Tears of the Sun, 2003" & "A Good Day to Die Hard, 2013" with Bruce willis. "Dirty, 2005" & "The Hit List, 2011" with Cuba gooding Jnr "Dirty, 2005" & "Pitch Black, 2000" with Keith David.

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Goofs

As Allan is driving to the Rosen building he pulls up at the lights to turn left, behind a black Honda. The camera then pans out to view him behind a white truck instead.

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Quotes

Detective Neil McKay: Now what the fuck is going on here, Campbell? You got ties to two of these vics and possibly a third. I got one dead cop and you at the scene waving a gun.
Allan Campbell: Look, I tried to tell you...
Detective Neil McKay: No, you told me a joke. Two guys walk into a bar. Fucking hilarious.

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Connections

References Shaft (1971)

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Soundtracks

Honky Tonk Barstool
Written by Zach Selwyn
Performed by Zachariah and the Lobos Riders
Courtesy of Papago Records

User Reviews

Could have been worse... but not that great

I've come to the conclusion that Cuba Gooding Jr. has accepted his downfall to direct-to-DVD movies, because he doesn't seem to be trying to pick good projects anymore, including this one. In fairness, this project isn't as bad as some of his other turkeys. For a low budget direct-to-DVD project, the production values are okay, though there are signs of cost-cutting throughout (such as a number of close-ups and very few wide shots). The police in this movie don't come across as dumb as they do in other B movies, and the movie did interest me enough to wonder how the situation would be wrapped up in the end - though honestly, it wasn't worth the wait. The screenplay has a number of other problems, with some decisions by the hero to be so idiotic that I was groaning out loud, and some implausibilities by others that make no sense when you think about them closely. (For example, think about the way Gooding's character kills the second person on the list.) Gooding is simply unconvincing as a ruthless hit-man, and Hauser has to somehow make his stupid and spineless character sympathetic, which sees far beyond his abilities. If you ask me, more thought and planning went into the fancy opening credits sequence than with the rest of the movie.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

The List

Filming Locations:

Riverfront Park, Spokane, Washington, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Stage 6 Films, RCR Media Group, March On Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (5.1 surround)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1