When mainstream Hollywood routinely chooses to make movies on the dangers of genetic engineering rather than on climate change, it is clear there is a scientific problem somewhere. The latest Hitman film, Hitman: Agent 47, inspired from a popular video game, is a basic action movie template infused with some paranoia about bio-genetics. The done-to-death plot has a killer machine taking on a rival syndicate which is on a manhunt to find a Soviet doctor specialising in genetic engineering. You think this is typical? Wait, I haven’t even mentioned that Agent 47 is protecting a damsel in distress and training her alongside. In short, this film is even more frivolous than the first film, Hitman (2007), which at least had some bite in it and was about a political conspiracy in eastern Europe.
Chiefly, there are a couple of problems with the film. First, the adaptation of a video game, which is interactive by nature, into a movie, a more passive experience in comparison, is a challenge. It becomes more problematic when the filmmaker borrows elements from other movies, like a liquid metal armour underneath the skin (The Terminator). At least, if there were engaging subplots that heighten the drama!
Second, the film trades compelling characterisation for high-speed car chases and knife fights. The video game was such a hit because the lead character was many things — resourceful, impassive, stealthy and, to make matters interesting, a man with a fragile ego. In this film, he is turned into a Rambo of sorts, who shoots people on a busy street in broad daylight.
The film, at best, can pass as an advertisement for automobile manufacturer, Audi.
Hitman: Agent 47
Genre: Action Thriller
Director: Aleksander Bach
Cast: Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto
Storyline: Agent 47 is out on a mission to find a geneticist before a rival syndicate does