Hit Man - Movie Review

The Movie: Hit Man

The Director: Richard Linklater

The Cast: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Retta Claudette, Austin Amelio, Molly Bernard, Evan Holtzman, Sanjay Rao

The Story: A professor moonlighting as a hit man of sorts for his city police department, descends into dangerous, dubious territory when he finds himself attracted to a woman who enlists his services.

The Rating: 8 / 10

The Review:

Glenn Powell is becoming quite the expert playing the lead in comedy films that are genuinely entertaining and his star seems to be rising every single day. Hit Man is the perfect movie to keep that train rolling as it allows him to showcase multiple characters in one and he really does a great job with all of them. The role Powell takes on is based on an actual person name Gary Johnson who cons his way into being an undercover hit man who creates a new persona for every client he takes on.

This is where a lot of the comedy comes from as the personalities he comes up with are all pretty wild and they play off of different sterotypes in really fun ways. Pairing him up with the fiery Adria Arjona, you may remember her as Bix Calleen in the Andor series based in the Star Wars universe, was a brilliant and inspired casting decision as the duo have all the chemistry you could ever ask for and charisma to spare.

The story itself is a little hokey but when you consider it's based on something that really happened, you just sort of sit in awe of how a person could get away with everything he did for so long. Sure, director Richard Linklater changes a few things for added drama and comedy but from what I understand the basic idea is intact. Also, it's just fun. It's pure entertainment and I think everyone involved totally understood that. Linklater is a brilliant director and it's nice to see him take on a story like this and come out with something really special.

Even though it's a Netflix release, it did have a short theatrical run which I was happy to take advantage of although I don't think it would lose much watching it at home. There are a few fun action sequences but they're all pretty grounded and nothing that requires big special effects or anything like that. Ultimately, this movie is a star driven vehicle that is just fun to watch so grab your favorite snacks and chill out to this wild ride that is sure to be a hit.