The Rocket

Issue date: 11/30/07 Section: Focus

Media Credit: MCT Campus The film "Hitman," staring Timothy Olyphant, is based on the video game franchise featuring the games Hitman: Codename 47 (2000), Hitman 2: Silent Assassin (2002), Hitman: Contracts (2004) and Hitman: Blood Money (2006). [Click to enlarge]

Video-game cut-scenes of the next-generation gaming systems have become detailed and lifelike to the point that some games have become borderline mini-movies.

This could be the reason that film adaptations of popular video games always seem like an appealing idea. What could possibly go wrong with adapting a story that has already captivated millions of sore-thumbed gamers?

Well, what usually results is an over-stylized disappointment that was made with very little regard for things such as dedication to the original characters and plot.

With very few exceptions, film adaptations of video games have been unsuccessful attempts to capitalize on the ever-growing gaming market.

"Hitman," the latest video-game adaptation about a stealthy super assassin, is no different.

In the video games, the assassin known only as Agent 47 was raised to be a killer with training in every form of human combat. Gamers covertly guide 47 through various environments, killing anyone and anything in 47's path.

In order to complete most of 47's missions, gamers must find an outfit that will help them through secure areas.

This means there is very little room for mercy in 47's line of work. Everyone from cooks to doctors can be strangled with a piano wire or blown away with a silenced pistol in order for 47 to gain some new duds, so long as there is a place to hide the body.

This freedom to kill at will makes the "Hitman" games a disturbingly satisfying outlet for the stress of everyday life. However, 47's no-mercy nature is very poorly reflected in the film.

47 falls for one of the most overused plot devices in any anti-hero film: A woman that breaks through the hero's tough outer shell. The whole thing is way too trite and way too lovey-dovey for such a stone-cold character.

In the film, 47 (Timothy Olyphant) is being hunted down by Interpol for hundreds of murders all over the globe.

At the same time, 47 finds himself as the victim of a set-up orchestrated by the very organization by which he was employed. At least I think that is the plot, as so much story is thrown at you so fast that it is hard to keep up.

Olyphant is always good, playing likeable scumbags in films like "The Girl Next Door" and "Live Free or Die Hard," and he pulls off the emotionless, contract killer fairly well.

No one else in the film really matters. The other hitmen barely speak, the cops all have overbearing accents and the previously mentioned love interest provides little more than a peep show.

The pacing of the film is annoyingly varied as well. The film goes from scenes like a heart-pounding hitman showdown to those with sleep-inducing dialogue, which sends you from the edge of your seat straight into a mid-film nap.

But the film isn't without homage to the game. At times, Olyphant bears scary resemblance to his digital doppelganger and sometimes even mimics the stiff-shouldered walk 47 has during gameplay.

Also several of the devices in the game help live-action 47 to stay alive. He uses the piano wire and disguises, hides bodies in crates, pays meticulous attention to his surroundings, and when he's not distracted by the film's eye candy, spills lots and lots of blood.

"Hitman" would be a really good movie to watch on Spike TV on a lonely Saturday night, but is nowhere near worth your hard-earned dough.

If you have a desperate need to whet your appetite for assassination, track down a copy of the game and put 47's skills into your own hands.

Ivan Moore is a senior communication major and a regular contributor to The Rocket.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools