Film Review – Hitman: Agent 47
2 min read
Based on the popular video game series, Hitman, Rupert Friend stars as Agent 47, a genetically engineered assassin tasked to infiltrate a terrorist organisation that plans to create an army of assassins even more powerful than him.
Created as the ultimate perfect assassin, Agent 47 executes all orders by the International Contracts Agency, an organisation that performs high profile assassinations. With strikingly sharp looks – a bald head and an unmissable barcode in the back of his neck, Agent 47 is a force to be reckoned with. His mission – to stop the organisation and program that created him.
With a significant following from its video game series, the next chapter in the Hitman: Agent 47 series was a dream come true for all fanboys. Unfortunately, the film fails to live up to the expectations. The film contains an overwhelming heap of action scenes, from car crashes, bomb explosions to fight scenes and heavy gunplay, Agent 47 is a constant bombardment of actions scenes that fail to impress. This may due to the neglect of the storyline in favour of simulated action scenes to please video game enthusiasts. Furthermore, Hitman: Agent 47 seems more like an advertisement than a plausible action film due to the amount of product placement.
Taking over the role from Timothy Olympiant (2007’s Hitman) and the previously attached Paul Walker after his death, Rupert Friend stars as the new Agent 47. As the new assassin, Friend provides the character with a sharper, visceral look and gives the film a ruthless portrayal of assassins. He’s strong and basically invincible, Agent 47 is emotionless and detached, until mysterious Katia (Hannah Ware) comes into play. Unusually strong and unmistakably possessing powers, Katia is in search of something that she doesn’t quite know. After discovering her connection to the wanted man Dr. Litvenko (Ciaran Hinds), Agent 47 and Hannah join forces to uncover the secrets surrounding the mystery of the program.
Unlike the recent wave of the superhero genre i.e. Marvel Cinematic Universe, video game based films often have a history of under-performing at the box office as well as critically panning. This doesn’t bode well for the future slated films such as 2016 releases Ratchet and Clark, The Angry Birds Movie, Warcraft, but of course, only time will tell. However, at this time Agent 47 has not generated enough publicity and positive acclaim for the video gaming world.
An unfortunate launch for the video game transition to film, Hitman: Agent 47 provides generic entertainment for action lovers.
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