Hitman was one of the first films that I ever got on DVD, along with "Drive" (I have a review on it also).
Since buying the dvd, i've watched it a few times, and it isn't too bad...but it isn't entirely what you would come to expect from the now worldwide famous Jet Li.
As always, there are great action scenes in the film as you would expect.....but my gripe is that they far and few between, and when you eventually get to one they don't really last that long.
Granted, you can't base your opinion of a film like this entirely on it's action, it has to have a good story.
The premise of the film isn't bad, you have a hitman (Jet Li) who deliberately misses his intended victims because of his 'sense of justice', so that in itself makes for interesting viewing...... as how else is he expected to earn a living if he doesn't do his job?
Well, all becomes apparent later on when he hooks up with his new agent, Sam (Eric Tsang) who helps him get the right jobs.
However... without going into too much detail on the whole story, as you are better seeing it for yourself... Jet looks really uncomfortable in the role, and you can tell it doesn't suit him. He was much better suited to "Once upon a Time in China" and "The One" than he is here....and when it comes to scenes of long dialogue, it only becomes more apparent.
After all, we all like to think of Jet Li as the hard hitting action hero....and in this film he comes across as a little bit feeble.
Ultimately, the final fight scene is redeeming somewhat, but still so lack lustre.......especially after seeing a lot of his other more recent films.
Also, the 'comedy' if it can be called that, doesn't help at all in my opinion. Eric Tsang is a comedian in his home country...but it just seems as though his slapstick humour doesn't translate too well.
Normally this would work, as you may have seen in "Lethal Weapon", "Drive" and "Rush Hour", the actors are able to bounce of one another and create a very humourous relationship throughout the movie.....but in this case, Jet Li is just too flat when it comes to acting, he's too serious for his own good.
I'd like to be able to say something nice about the movie, but it's difficult to praise it when its got some really heavy competition......and ultimately it is overshadowed by Jet Li's other films such as "Romeo must Die", "Black Mask" and "Once upon a Time in China"
But as always, Hong Kong Legends don't fail to make a nice DVD presentation, good qaulity picture and sound, and its got a fair share of extras to boot.
-------------------- DVD special features -------------------- -Music Promo, Theatrical trailer -Interview gallery -Jet Li Biography and filmography -Photo gallery -Dual Language presentation (english and cantonese with subtitles) -16:9 Anamorphic version -enhanced for widescreen TV's
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Oct 12th, 2002
(Oct 15th, 2002)
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