User Reviews

In a world of Hollywood formulas and studio safe bets, there's something refreshing about Hit Man and it's quirky out of the box story.

It follows Glen Powell as the eponymous Hit Man who gets into a complicated relationship with one of his clients. I won't go into any more detail as there's lots of fun layers to unravel with this film which are best discovered in the moment, but as mentioned it feels quite fresh and unique. It has really solid comedy, drama and romance, and will keep you on your toes throughout.

Rising to occasion of the great story is Glen Powell who shines once again in a leading role. His charisma always shines through and there's an instant connection to him and his character that never wanes. Matching him perfectly is Adria Arjona, the chemistry between them absolutely electric.

My only real complaints with this film are that it took too long to get going and was over far too quickly. Aside from these pacing issues there really isn't much to complain about with this film.

So if you are in the mood for a funny, sexy and dramatic film that will draw you in to it's weird and mysterious story then look no further than Hit Man.

That is rare. Well, I often laugh at the movie, but this time I definitely laughed with the movie, which happens only once every blue moon.

For context, I'm not the biggest fan of Richard Linklater. I generally find his movies to be okay at best, but this one I did really like. We have a nerdy main character I can definitely relate to as a fellow nerd and a fellow educator.

I did not really know who Glen Powell was before this. I had seen some movies he has a role in, but as he has been more of a character actor, I wasn't really aware of him. Here, he can kind of use that. He is supposed to be forgettable and learn to be something else.

Powell also co-wrote the movie, his first feature as the writer. The story is nothing special. It's kind of obvious after the premises, but it does work nicely as something to hang all these jokes on.

It doesn't really fall into copaganda either, which is a rarity.

Hitman is definitely a film-lover's paradise but even the casual film viewer will thoroughly enjoy this brilliant new movie. Linklater's latest lovingly pays homage to film noir, screwball comedy, Hitchcockian black comedy and even the good old psychosexual drama but it still somehow manages to conjure up a fresh, witty and often uproarious confection that frequently teases, delights and occasionally thrills the audience with frissons of excitement, keeping them enraptured all the way to its deliciously razor sharp ending.

This is potentially a star-making turn for Glen Powell. Although he made a strong impression in Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky rival pilot, his role in Hit Man is easily more complex and, as the co-writer of the script, he has been able to add brilliant layers to his character, or should that be characters? In effect, Powell is playing more than one character - Gary Johnson, mild-mannered, cat-loving geeky Psychology professor and audio techie who moonlights as a surveillance expert for a Louisana-based police unit that targets and stings hapless ne'er-do-wells who are looking to hire a killer. Before the next sting operation, Gary's police colleague Jasper (Austin Amelio) who normally pretends to be the hired killer is suspended for brutally attacking two youths, which forces Gary's colleagues (brilliantly played by Retta and Sanjay Rao) into convincing Gary to take over from the universally loathed Jasper, much to Gary's dismay. Yet, within minutes of taking on the task, Gary suddenly morphs into "Ron" and during his first sting he is so convincing that his colleagues are shocked, even though they had believed he could do it having heard Jasper go through the rigamarole on previous occasions. It is a brilliant piece of acting.

Having created the killer persona, Gary soon finds himself becoming more and more immersed in Ron, adding further, chameleon-like layers of disguise and character traits to mirror whoever is about to be stung. However, things become really complicated (in true film noir style) when "Ron" is approached by a femme fatale, Maddy (beautifully played by Adria Ajrona who also adds a delightfully a kooky sexy edge as well as a tender vulnerability). As the sparks between the two begin to fly during a hilarious but flirty exchange, Gary, who is clearly enjoying himself as Ron, finds himself conflicted. Dare he. As Ron, continue with the sting and have Maddy arrested for plotting to murder her husband? Has the flirtatious exchange caused Maddy to betray some regrets about what she is doing? The chemistry between Powell and Arjona is a pleasure to witness. Both actors bring out the best in one another and it is thrilling.

Off-beat is an expression that would certainly apply to Hit Man - and it is a compliment. It is also one of the most enjoyable and fun 2 hours I've had in the cinema in the past few years. I absolutely adore this film.

I went to see this movie on a whim, mainly because I wanted to go to the cinema and had already seen everything else that was playing. With low expectations set by the unremarkable trailer and poster, the film pleasantly surprised me. Glen's performance was commendable; he effortlessly slipped into various character roles, eliciting genuine laughs along the way. The chemistry between Glen and Adria is fantastic. Although it includes some clichéd romcom moments that were a bit predictable, the infusion of philosophical insights provided an unexpected layer of intellect, elevating the overall experience.

Well we had some tough comedy movies in the past but this is one is good. It made me think about 'the millers', it has a little bid the same comedy vibe. Just good jokes and even better acting. It just all fits. Not only the lead but also the crew around it.

Besides comedy the movie is also a little bit mysterious. You keep wondering what got the lady to do with it and can she be trusted?

Plot was decent too! Not some unrealistic without idea just to end the movie script.. no it actually fits with the whole movie and is original.

Maybe there was more possible with the teaching scenes on school.. that was sometimes a little bit duff but argh.. i didnt mind it that much.

So yeah.. had some good laughs.. i go wild and give it a 8.

Hit Man delivers a funny and entertaining movie that is more than your average rom-com. The movie ultimately is great for anybody looking for a nice movie to watch. While I don't exactly find it really good and just find at a good rom-com flick, Hit Man offers a more respectable approach that is a nice change of pace of various "Based on a true story" movies. Instead of trying to make it seem like all the events in the movie happened in real life in a deceiving manner, Hit Man, based on a real person, openly states the inaccuracies in the movie that are much different from real life events. I find various movies these days don't offer this type of respect to real people or events and the idea of adding fantasy elements and blending them with reality results in some people believing it entirely. This results in a different view towards certain real people and events, which is all just very manipulative and upsetting. While this isn't really that big of an issue (except when it's done a problematic way, such as disrespecting loss of life, tragedy, etc.) but I really do appreciate Hit Man's honesty about it. I absolutely recommend Hit Man as a fun watch and I do love how respectful it is to the real people it's based around.

The hitman is already for a long time a popular character in crime and (neo) noir films. For me the ultimate hitman-film is "The day of the jackal" (1973, Fred Zinnemann). In this film Edward Fox plays a hitman that is professional, emotionless and a typical loner.

Only the last description does apply to Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) in "The hit man". He is however not a real hit man but an undercover hit man. He meets people looking for a hit man and makes sure the compromising evidence is on tape.

In order to do this he changes outfit all the time and this leads to a comic costume parade, including an imitation of Anton Chigur (Javier Bardem), the hit man from "No country for old men" (2007, Ethan & Joel Coen).

Being partly a comedy, "Hit man" is an odd one in the oeuvre of director Richard Linklater, who is mostly known for his "Before .... " relation trilogy (1995, 2004,2013) and his coming of age film "Boyhood" (2014).

"Hit man" really takes of when Gary Johnson falls in love with one of his clients (Maddy Masters played by Adria Arjona). It is the starting point of a roller coaster of numerous unexpected twists and turns.

One of the themes is losing sight of the difference between your undercover "me" and your real "me". It happens in numerous film, but it also happens in reality. In an investigation from 1994 - 1996 the Dutch parliament studied how it happened by the police while combatting organized crime.

The fact is however that Gary Johnson has two real "me's", one as a part-time police officer and one as a professor in philosophy. The last one delivers the philosophical theme of the movie of how to find a satisfactory balance between ratio and discipline (represented by the Greek God Apollo) and feeling, emotions, instincts and living dangerously (represented by the Greek God Dionysus).

Remarkable is that where his most famous films (The "Before" trilogy and "Boyhood") are typical for an Apollonian world, "Hit man" descends to the depths of Dionysus.

By the way, "Hitman" is in my opinion not very flattering for women, showing how they prefer the sex appeal of a hit man to that of a "dull" police officer (let alone a nerdy professor).

This was billed as a quirky, clever Rom-Com by both its trailers and critics. The trailers looked fantastic, like a spirited passion project between Linklater and Powell that would parody the whole Rom-Com genre in witty fashion. The reality is this is just another Rom-Com film with critics falling head-over-heels with Linklater (as they always do). The most interesting part of the film is actually the first act, when Glen Powell gets to shine in a diverse portfolio of characters, including a long, gritty dialogue exchange. By the time the love interest appears in the second act, the film has already fallen into just another collage of good cop/good person/bad circumstance entanglement. Unfortunately the film never really redeems itself, nor its characters in unforgiveable acts. Its story feels mundane and outcome certain. While I had hoped for more, it was at least an easy viewing.

Hit Man was such an interesting and welcomed departure from the projects usually led by director, Richard Linklater. It's the kind of story that, much like Edgar Wright's Baby Driver or Shaun of the Dead, would've made for a mediocre movie if directed by an amateur, but made for a great movie because it was directed by an experienced industry professional. All Linklater films are good films.

This film keeps you guessing from beginning to end and tells its story in a way that makes the audience feel like they are learning and growing along with the characters. A great example of this is when the film periodically cuts back to Glen Powell's character, Gary Johnson, lecturing students on the everyday behaviors of people. Gary casually and subtly uses his experience as an undercover investigator as the building blocks for these lessons. By doing this, Gary is also introducing and breaking down the overarching themes of the film. It truly is brilliant storytelling.

There will never be enough words to properly commend the actors in this film. They brought so much life and enthusiasm to their characters in constant battle between show stealers. In this battle, there were no winners or losers. The acting was balanced and cast members complimented their costars exquisitely.

Linklater and Powell's writing was entertaining, truly comedic, well paced, and extremely thoughtful. It is definitely a must see for film buffs searching for depth and those just looking for a fun surface-level comedy. It does both properly in all respects.

At this rate, Glen Powell is going to be able to pay Tom Cruise back for his flying lessons pretty swiftly! Here, he's a rather geeky teacher (Gary) who teaches philosophy at a college whilst occasionally helping out the cops with some criminal profiling. When one of their investigators "Jasper" (Austin Amelio) goes a bit too far and gets suspended, Gary gets drafted in last minute and proves quite effective at getting folks who want to bump of their nearest and dearest for $5,000 to admit their cunning plans to a well wired-up con. The more of these cases he does, the better he gets; the more fun he has dressing up and adept he becomes at assuming a range of identities. It's "Maddy" (Adria Arjona) who sets the cat amongst the pigeons when she asks him to get shot of her thuggish husband "Ray" (Evan Holtzman). He takes a shine to her and talks her out of her criminal ploy. Quickly the two are seeing each other - which is manna from heaven for the deposed "Jasper". When her husband is found dead, he thinks he knows exactly who did what and how best to exact his revenge... It's quite an entertaining romantic thriller this, providing Powell with an opportunity to charm his way through an almost two hours of cinema that is light and fluffy, completely preposterous yet based on a true character. Arjona looks like she is having a good time here, too - and the last twenty minutes are quite fun. No, it won't trouble a BAFTA jury I suspect - but it's quite enjoyable summertime fayre.

Rotten Tomatoes gives this movie an unbelievable 98%. The first hour is slow and repetitive and completely unbelievable despite its being based on a real person. But that real person was a real investigator not just a tech guy who filled in unexpectedly one day. The legal stuff is ridiculous. As if multiple murder convictions would take place in a matter of months. And police witnesses don't sit in court throughout a trial. There was little chemistry despite the best efforts of the female lead actress. It did finally get a little more interesting a hour in but any originality was squandered by the trite ending.

Hit Man is a new action comedy directed, written and produced in part by Richard Linklater, director of Boyhood and Before Midnight.

Gary Johnson (Glen Powell) is a school teacher, but also secretly works for the police. At one point he has to play a fake hitman with the police. He is hired by clients to commit murders, but after clients confess their criminal plans to Gary, the police can arrest them.

When Madison Masters (Adria Arjona) wants to hire Gary, he falls for her beauty. This causes him to break his own rules and try to change Madison's mind so that she does not carry out criminal plans. The two fall in love, but Madison actually falls for the hitman Ron, who played Gary for her. On the other hand, Gary shouldn't show that he's broken his own code to Madison because it could get him in trouble with the police and ruin his career.

This film is based on a true story, where the real Gary Johnson posed himself to the police as a hitman who criminals could hire to commit murders. Only after sharing their murderous plans with Gary could the police catch them. The real Gary Johnson had to dress up so many times, wearing different styles of clothes and wigs to appear different to each criminal, so he couldn't be exposed as an undercover cop. Glen Powell also does the same at the beginning of the film. He wears different costumes and also acts in different ways. For example, the film starts off more like an action comedy, but when Gary falls for Madison, the film turns more into a romantic comedy.

Richard Linklater provides a comic action film, but with repeated events, where Gary, in different disguises, makes various criminals confess. When the film later turns more into a romantic comedy, this mainly works because of the good chemistry between Glen Powell and Adria Arjona, their characters. Glen Powell only plays a character who leads a double life and his character ends up in a relationship with the possible criminal. This creates complicated situations in which he has to continue working strategically, without Madison or the police realizing that he is actually lying to both of them. However, the film does have a somewhat abrupt ending, which does not seem to answer everything.

Glen Powell plays the lead role well and actually has to play the role in different ways. This gives him the opportunity to show different acting capabilities in this film. Adria Arjona also plays the role of a seductive, possible criminal well, because as a viewer, like the main characters, you do not always know whether she can be completely trusted. After his time in various Walking Dead series, Austin Amelio also gets the chance to act in a film. He plays a colleague of the main character, who may thwart his strategic plans if he is told too much.

If you enjoy quirky movies, director Richard Linklater is your guy. His latest is HIT MAN, which is a romantic comedy that's very loosely based on an article about a real guy, Gary Johnson. Gary (Glen Powell) is a college professor and part-time staffer at the New Orleans Police Department. He stumbles into a new role as an undercover hitman, arresting people who try hiring him to kill someone. It turns out he's very good at it. Powell really showcases his talents here, playing different characters for each arrest. When he meets Madison (Adria Arjona) though, he breaks protocol. I guess Powell has great chemistry with whoever he works with. He has an undeniable charm that seems like it spreads to the whole cast. I could tell they had fun filming this. It also has a very smart script, playing with ideas of identity and being your true self. The strong sense of humour actually changes as the movie progresses, which was fun for me, but might not work for some. I find it hilarious that they must've asked the real Gary Johnson for permission to go as far as they do here. The movie makes it clear what actually happened during the end credits. HIT MAN is quirky, unconventional, and very enjoyable. If you can't see it in theaters, don't worry! It'll be on Netflix June 7th. Make sure the algorithm doesn't bury it. Enjoy!

Rating: 8.2 Overall, a good romantic comedy that uses strong chemistry between Glen Powell and Richard Linklater to deliver an entertaining experience that tethers the line between humor and romance very well.

Direction: Good The direction on a macroscale feels very feel-good and comedic; the direction on a microscale is good as this is where the comedy and the romance comes out of the movie; the storytelling is pretty straightforward as it follows a simple story (but is still very entertaining to see how far it goes)

Story: Good The concept is very entertaining as it is an interesting premise about a fake hit-man and brings out the confidence in a character that is stuck; the plot structure is pretty simple; character writing is surprisingly good as the movie does a good job at tackling messages on identity and hiding behind a disguise to exude false confidence

Screenplay: Good The dialogue is good as it is both comedic, yet sexy; the humor is pretty strong and uses a decent amount of improv to build jokes up; the symbolism is surprisingly prevalent as it is about hiding behind disguises/masks to find the confidence you always had; the foreshadowing is pretty prevalent because the story is pretty simple (so you knew where the story was going)

Acting: Pretty Good Glen Powell: Good (Has a lot of charisma and comedic timing as he carries every scene he is in and builds strong chemistry with the cast (especially Arjona)) Adria Arjona: Pretty Good (Plays off of Powell very well as she develops a strong romantic connection with his character) Austin Amelio: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and acts as somewhat of a pseudo-antagonist) Retta: Pretty Good (Plays the comedic relief character well and works well with her castmates to build up the comedy) Sanjay Rao: Pretty Good (Plays his character well and has good chemistry in the police-unit scenes) Rest of the cast: Decent (The cast is relatively small, but there are some characters who are pretty good and do their job well and some who are over-the-top and inexperienced)

Score: Decent

Cinematography: Pretty Good For such a low budget, the movie felt very polished and well executed

Editing: Pretty Good For such a low-budget movie, the movie felt very polished and well-put together

Makeup: Pretty Good Acts a key symbol to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Costumes: Pretty Good Acts a key simple to help disguise Gary Johnson to be whoever he wants to be

Pacing Pacing is good as it doesn't feel too fast or too slow

Climax Climax is well executed as it is really about the relationship between the two leads and building on it even when it is falling apart (though there are some questionable decisions they made to make this movie safe and predictable)

Tone Tone plays to what the scenes are trying to accomplish as it is comedic when it is trying to be funny and seductive when it is trying to be romantic

Final Notes Saw Austin Premiere.

This film was a ton of fun - a smart script, witty dialogue, lots of laughs, lots of twists and turns, two incredibly watchable stars with great chemistry, and some interesting themes on who we are and our capacity to change. Glen Powell is on a meteoric rise and will be an A-lister in no time (he cowrote the screenplay?! Super impressive)

Honestly they don't make many movies like this these days - it's a clever screwball dark comedy with some whodunit elements that ropes you right in. Ever find yourself checking the time when you're watching a movie in a theater? Not with this one; it left me wanting more.

True stories usually carry a higher rating because it somehow portrays the truth in some manner, but this movie took an unpleasant twist on truth to make a statement on identity politics and hoped nobody noticed its hidden agenda.

If you break down the evolution of the main character and the final lesson, you will hear what the writer is trying to get across the audience. "There is no absolute or moral truth", which makes a seemingly entertaining movie to a dangerous propaganda tool - it is typical of Netflix to do this. If you want to be objective about this work, compare it to the series "Lesson is Chemistry"

Well, I'm a little shocked.

They tagged this as "Action Comedy Crime", and I think only the Crime label fits it. It's not entirely "hilarious", and I was just thinking about how a movie can be this engrossing with no action at all.. But what it is, it's a tremendously well written and executed script. With plenty of memorable lines, unexpected "commitment", and even psychological (add that label) lessons. Glen Powell is simply amazing in it. He's demonstrated a lot of charm, but we now got to see quite a bit of range as well. Even his disguises. The rest of the case help sell it.

And the ending was quite satisfying, even if I didn't entirely expected it!

But the great pacing takes you along and you start to accept the path you are walking alongside these characters. Haven't watched a recent movie that makes me want to recommend this to everyone I know.. kind of has a Mr Brooks vibe to it.

It's a little slow moving in the beginning, but necessary to develop the characters. But as soon as he meets his future wife, things become extremely interesting as the plot unfurls like a black and white film noir of the forties. Glen Powell is excellent as the conflicted Professor and the real star of the movie I think is the police offer he replaces. All the supporting characters are believable and have been excellently cast.

After the movie, you may be thinking about whether or not he was set up himself or not. In any event, it's a fun movie and the acting is superb, and I Hope It is a Big hit on Netflix. Because it should be.

Believe the hype: Richard Linklater and Glen Powell's Hit Man is awesome! It's a slick, sexy screwball comedy about identity that only a filmmaker like Richard Linklater could properly pull off! I'd say this might even be the must see romantic dark comedy of the decade! Hit Man is definitely a film-lover's paradise but even the casual film viewer will thoroughly enjoy this brilliant new movie. Linklater's latest lovingly pays homage to film noir, screwball comedy, Hitchcockian black comedy and even the good old psychosexual drama but it still somehow manages to conjure up a fresh, witty, and often uproarious confection that frequently teases, delights, and occasionally thrills the audience with frissons of excitement, keeping them enraptured all the way to its deliciously razor sharp ending. Go in blind - it's such a fun movie to experience with a crowd, knowing nothing of what's to come! I absolutely loved my experience watching this movie - it's a shame most people will experience it on Netflix for the first time. But because this movie is so unique and fun to experience knowing nothing about it - I'm gonna keep this short in order to preserve the experience of watching it for the first time! This film has been hyped up for months and yet it was still able to surpass everything I expected of it. This was some fresh, fun, effortless storytelling that works so well, and truly allows Glen Powell to ascend to a new level of movie stardom with such a charismatic performance! This is potentially a star-making turn for Glen Powell. Although he made a strong impression in Top Gun: Maverick as a cocky rival pilot, his role in Hit Man is easily more complex and, as the co-writer of the script, he has been able to add brilliant layers to his character, or should that be characters? His chemistry with the equally terrific Adria Arjona was dynamite, they both had true movie star energy! Both actors bring out the best in one another and it is thrilling! Hit Man is one of the most entertaining films of the year - a slick, cool, and hilarious crime film that deconstructs our notion of what a hitman is while simultaneously examining its lead character's ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO. This is Linklater at his most fun and effortless. A masterclass on direction, writing, and acting, Hit Man is a wild, entertaining ride that I can't wait to see many more times! I LOVED Hit Man, it left me with the biggest smile! It's a - hit, man!

Hit Man is an electrifying film. The movie is a blast from start to finish and has many of Richard Linklater's distinct directorial elements. All the performances are wonderful but the movie is really highlighted by the phenomenal chemistry between Glen Powell and Adria Arjona. The movie is edited with style and has some great music to go along with it. It's an upbeat and fun romance. It's also a really intriguing storyline that builds to some genuinely high tension scenes. This is everything that a Summer blockbuster should be and Netflix should've given Hit Man a full theatrical release. 8/10.