Review of Hitman: Agent 47 (2015) by John D — 21 Aug 2015

This movie does get the big key things of action right. However, it gets too many of the details wrong to be truly enjoyable. The plot is predictable, but does have the traditional twists and turns we have come to expect from a "man against the system" style action movie. The big action is wonderfully over the top, and there are plenty of cringe worthy bad guy death moments to pull you right in.

However, the minor details it gets wrong will be enough to pull most people right back out again. CGI is used too liberally and in places where no CGI should actually be used. When Agent 47 was fighting on the train and train tracks with John Smith for example, the fall that lead up to that fight was cartoon-esque CGI. The actors monumentally turned into play-do people. Was hiring a couple stunt men to fall onto a train that expensive? Also when the men where firing hooks into the car (you know, the scene from the trailer?) they where anchoring their cables to the building with, you guessed it, CGI hooks and rings. How expensive would it have been to actually hook a line to a building in that scene? You don't even need to show the entire cable. Just one side hooked to a building in one scene, and then the other side hooked to the car in another. That way it doesn't look like we should expect Scooby Doo to burst onto the scene at any moment.

The Hannah Ware's acting is just bad enough to continually remind you that you are watching a movie and not actually in the action. Her deadpan delivery of lines is just this side of emotional many times, and occasionally left me wondering how she got the job. I shouldn't go see a movie and feel like I can act better than the guys on screen, especially a leading part. When that happens, no matter the genre, you've failed at your job.

If you can over look these two flaws than you will definitely enjoy this movie. However, if you prefer a plot that's not as predictable, better acting, and less CGI use, you might want to spend your hard earned cash elsewhere.