Hit Man (2024)

[SeanC]

After its rapturous reception on the festival circuit, Richard Linklater's Hit Man being sold to Netflix produced a mini-crisis among online cinephiles, mourning what this says about distributors' current perceptions of the theatrical marketplace for films like this. One wonders if things would have been different if it had been put up for sale after the success of Glen Powell's Anyone But You last Christmas.

Very loosely inspired by the career of educator and undercover cop Gary Johnson (Powell, the model of a modern romantic lead, who also earns a co-writer credit with Linklater here), we follow Johnson as he becomes a skillful fake assassin, used to lure people stupid enough to think that contract killers for hire are actually a thing. Then prospective client Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman looking for a way out of a bad marriage, causes him to balk. Complications ensue.

Hit Man is an interesting film to classify in terms of genre. It opens with elements of a comedy procedural, shifts into romantic comedy territory, and then at least dips its toes in film noir. What it is perhaps more than anything is an advertisement for the movie star charisma of Powell. Linklater's mostly-forgotten-about 2006 film Fast Food Nation was one of Powell's earliest roles, leading to a larger part in the director's Everybody Wants Some!! in 2016; along with his most widely-seen supporting part in Top Gun: Maverick, he has become a romantic staple in recent years both on Netflix (Set It Up) and in theatres (Anyone But You), and Hit Man is his best vehicle yet. Arjona is terrific opposite him, and one hopes and imagines this will lead to more prominent parts for her as well. 

[SoMuchTV]

Just watched this on Netflix. Not exactly “must see” but I’m not mad that I spent a couple hours on it. I definitely see what the OP was talking about with the genre shifts. 

[Irlandesa]

I've seen four Glen Powell movies off the top of my head and I'd rewatch any of the other three again over this one. 

I see the genre changes but I don't know if I felt they all worked together.  I don't think they built up each part to fully justify the next and where the journey goes.  Maybe it's because I'm more used to TV where shows can luxuriate on each step. 

I also felt it was lazy/unfinished towards the end. 

Spoilers for the ending.

Are we supposed to believe no one is going to care or get suspicious that Gary ended up dating Madison? 

[SeanC]

1 hour ago, Irlandesa said:

I also felt it was lazy/unfinished towards the end. 

Spoilers for the ending.

Are we supposed to believe no one is going to care or get suspicious that Gary ended up dating Madison? 

If he left the police department (which one imagines he did), that's not terribly implausible. But even if they did hear about it eventually, after a certain point, what would they even be able to find?

[cpcathy]

Enjoyed it, my husband had issues with Gary going from nebbish to super hot and suave, and he lost faith when Ron threw the football perfectly.

I’ve only seen Glen in one other film, Anyone But You, which I hated, but I like him so far. He really shined as the Tilda Swinton-ish character.

[shrewd.buddha]

On 6/8/2024 at 10:31 PM, Irlandesa said:

I also felt it was lazy/unfinished towards the end. 

Things did get a bit sloppy towards the end. 
But, it was an easy watch.  

What stuck with me the most was how the movie, using the college lecture scenes, slow-walked the audience into becoming comfortable with the idea that it is okay for a "good person" to commit murder to remove obstacles in order to become "their best self". 

[Milburn Stone]

Believe it or not, this was my first exposure to Glen Powell, although I'd been hearing lately about his being the next big thing as a result of Hit Man. Little did I realize that the rest of the world knew he was the next big thing at least five years ago! Anyway, I agree he was immensely appealing in this. I'd say that the "third act" (if that's the right way to break the movie down) did more than dip its toe in film noir, but shapeshifted into a really good full-out film noir.

[Raja]

7 hours ago, Milburn Stone said:

Believe it or not, this was my first exposure to Glen Powell, although I'd been hearing lately about his being the next big thing as a result of Hit Man. Little did I realize that the rest of the world knew he was the next big thing at least five years ago! Anyway, I agree he was immensely appealing in this. I'd say that the "third act" (if that's the right way to break the movie down) did more than dip its toe in film noir, but shapeshifted into a really good full-out film noir.

We were lucky that the COVID and striking pauses weren't as long as the WWII generation faced.

[Anela]

On 6/24/2024 at 5:47 AM, shrewd.buddha said:

Things did get a bit sloppy towards the end. 
But, it was an easy watch.  

What stuck with me the most was how the movie, using the college lecture scenes, slow-walked the audience into becoming comfortable with the idea that it is okay for a "good person" to commit murder to remove obstacles in order to become "their best self". 

Was the guy at the end, still alive? I know she got away with killing her husband.  That was weird.  

[Raja]

38 minutes ago, Anela said:

Was the guy at the end, still alive? I know she got away with killing her husband.  That was weird.  

They watched the former decoy cop die together and used his hit man skills to make it look like suicide 

[Anela]

4 minutes ago, Raja said:

They watched the former decoy cop die together and used his hit man skills to make it look like suicide 

Okay, thanks.  I thought his feet moved, so it meant they hadn’t killed him.  

[Raja]

14 minutes ago, Anela said:

Okay, thanks.  I thought his feet moved, so it meant they hadn’t killed him.  

They were letting us know that they could have stopped and try to save him.