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Netflix review: Hitman

pgjacksonpgjackson Posts: 18,951 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

This review will include several spoilers, so if you are planning to watch it you might want to read this later.

My overall impression is that it's an enjoyable comedy ruined by a dark, sinister ending that is masked as romantic. It's based on a true story, and the ending credits they note that the murder did not happen. They fabricated the worst part for some reason.

Anyway, the story centers on a mild-mannered, nerdy philosophy professor named Gary who moonlights with the police in surveillance. One day the undercover officer is not available, so he is quickly thrown into action. Turns out he is a natural undercover "hitman" agent (named Ron) and becomes one of the best at securing arrests of people attempting to hire him to kill people. Eventually he meets his love interest who is in an abusive relationship with her husband and wants to hire him (Ron) to kill her husband. He recognizes that she is not a bad person and adviser her to take the money and leave the situation. She takes the advice and leaves her husband, and later contacts Ron again to thank him….and of course they fall in love (her believing that he is an actual hitman, and him not wanting to reveal who he really is).

They entire relationship is based on sex, but it's framed as true romance. Eventually her husband tries to hire Ron to kill her. He has no idea that Ron and his wife are a couple. Ron tells her what happened and the next thing you know the husband is dead. She confesses to Ron that she killed him thinking Ron, being a hitman, would approve. But he's an undercover officer who has never killed anyone. For some reason, probably the really good sex, he covers for her and lies to the police about his knowledge of the situation. I mean, she really is a psychopath. She is attracted to the fact that he's a contract killer, and has actually murdered a guy. But her character is portrayed as lovable, cuddly, and sympathetic. Eventually, another officer cracks the case and confronts them about their dealings….and they both kill him. In the final scene we see both of them living wonderful, happy lives and madly in love. Happy ending.

What a load of crap! They are both murderers. It's not romantic. It really was a quirky, funny, clever movie till the producers added in the murders. They really ruined it at the end. In the final credits they make clear that the real Ron/Gary never killed anyone. To me, it just came off as one of those twisted morality shows that makes you cheer for bad people. The ending was completely unnecessary and disappointing.

Comments

  • donniemdonniem Posts: 7,083 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Thanks for the description. You've saved me from spending several of the diminishing # of hours I have left on this particular planet.

  • CigarDawgCigarDawg Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Very much like Ozark, The Sopranos, Queen of the South, and myriad others in regard to framing the truly evil characters as somehow sympathetic because they were either born or innocently/inadvertently drawn into their circumstances and actions, and thus convincing the audience to pull for them.

  • pgjacksonpgjackson Posts: 18,951 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Exactly. I gave up on Ozark and Sopranos. Breaking Bad is another one of those twisted morality shows that was a big disappointment.

  • CigarDawgCigarDawg Posts: 3,126 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate
    edited June 14

    Do you find it ironic that Hollywood and the rest of the entertainment machine love to crank out these "redemption" stories were the evil can change, or just avoid punishment and live happily ever after, or the vile "rich" get their comeuppances through some inane plot line but still get to keep their wealth after learning their "lessons" (The Family Man, for instance) yet they still claim to hold the moral high ground to "cancel" those who transgress against them and demand "justice" when they are wronged? Where is their real-life forgiveness and restoration? Can Weinstein or Spacey not be saved when Polanski and W-o-o-d-y Allen are considered icons?

    Edit: W00dy is apparently a naughty word.

  • KaseyKasey Posts: 29,806 mod
  • BigDawg888BigDawg888 Posts: 1,626 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I didn't finish Breaking Bad either. A lot of garbage on tv/streamin now. The stuff Hollywood is putting out is so bad. Hard to watch most of it. At least Tom Cruise still knows how to make a great movie. Disney has destroyed everything they built with Walt. Ruined the Star Wars franchise. The problem is that it is hard to get financing for big movies and stuff that is wholesome and well written now because they want to insert alot of programming into it. Tom Cruise had to go to an independent Billionaire, Larry Ellison, to get his Maverick movie financed and put into theatres because the traditional Hollywood finance routes were blocked to him.

  • KaseyKasey Posts: 29,806 mod

    breaking bad was a great show. I could see where some might not like the subject matter, but it was still a good show.


    Sopranos is arguably the best tv show of all time. I catch something new on the writing every time I re-Watch it. If someone doesn’t like the sopranos, I would take any media recommendations with a shaker of salt.

    The problem with Hollywood is there’s no DVD market and streaming can’t make up for the loss. George Lucas ruined Star Wars long before Disney got their paws on it. There are no movies made for adults these days. Good Will Hunting couldn’t get made today. King’s Speech likely couldn’t get made today. It has to play overseas and that means big and dumb action or comic book movies.

    I loved Maverick, but let’s not confuse it with some kind of high brow, artsy type of movie.

  • wpony714wpony714 Posts: 553 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Not a fan of Hit Man. It was mostly boring IMO. I couldn't connect through confusion over whether it wanted to be satire or modern film noir.

    It was only loosely based on an actual case so I had no expectation of outcome or presentation.

    Part of the problem is Madison. There is no back story, no history. Other than the appearance of a seemingly abusive husband, she is not convincing as an abused wife. In fact, among all the would-be customers for contract killing, she stands out as having a soft, vulnerable, intelligent side. The rest are all dumba**es. Then she does in fact become a killer, kicks out her fake-killer boyfriend, then drugs and kills a cop, only to be a happy homemaker in the end. Schizo.

    Jasper's murder isn't even problematic ….he was a bad cop, totally unlikable. But the entire movie is filled with people whose death is sought for reasons which were largely unknown or unconvincing. Murder is no big deal, you can get it for as little as $5k.

    Film noir aesthetics for the entire movie whose theme is deceit, betrayal, killing and yet in the end, it's bright, white indoors house, little kids, blah blah blah. Just not a good movie.

  • wpony714wpony714 Posts: 553 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    I would argue that **** Allen and Roman Polanski are not considered icons other than be a very few, Polanski in particular. Are either Weinstein or Spacey asking to be saved?

    All of them are emblematic of the worst of Hollywood. They are all predators and other than Allen, most are about out of money. Poor Kevin Spacey, lost his waterfront home. Boo hoo.

    As for the Star Wars franchise, Kathleen Kennedy killed it, Disney dragged it straight to Beelzebub's lair.

  • pgjacksonpgjackson Posts: 18,951 ✭✭✭✭✭ Graduate

    Excellent analysis. Madison really is the only person in the movie who is a true menace. But because she is beautiful and screws Gary's brains out constantly, she is portrayed as lovable. Maybe this is all part of the dark comedy aspect. Gary probably knows she is crazy (he's a psychology professor and should be able to recognize mentally unstable behavior), but she is way out of his league so he goes along with it. Men will do dumb things for the V…

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