'Hit Man' Netflix Movie Review: Lame, Actually

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Netflix's new Richard Linklater film 'Hit Man' is a hit on Netflix, with both audiences and critics showering it with praise, and proclaiming Glen Powell the second coming of Brad Pitt (or something). Other than the always-gorgeous Adria Arjano, I'm not sure what all the fuss was about--and Linklater and Powell (who co-wrote the script) basically made her character little more than eye-candy, with no development at all. I expected a different (and far, FAR better) ending, and was disappointed by the whole thing. I remain utterly baffled by the reception this film is getting. I've never seen anything like it.
My review: www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain...
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7 июн 2024

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@abilitated Месяц назад

Woman kills husband for insurance money, guy helps her by murdering the guy who confronts them. They ride off into the sunset and are completely level headed members of society? With weak ass lectures of sociology and human behaviour in between. Like wtf. It reminded me of a woeful modern version of the whole none yards. I'm utterly confused by the premise of this movie. These people are perpetrated as heros somehow? If they admitted or observed their blatant sociopathic behaviour at the end that would be funny, but to play it off as the hero is bizarre.

@elgingaragegym Месяц назад

Okay... Movie was bad for the first half (2/5 stars) just kinda poorly done and hokey. Then kinda you begin to warm up to "Ron" and his new relationship, but still maybe 3/5 at best, but still just okay. The ending is kind of intriguing and takes more serious tone, which is honestly it's best part, but still marginally above average, and not a good movie. As for the moral implications... Madison is abused (on face value alone we accept that), and this drove her to thoughts of murder as a means of escape from her abuser but she didn't... She left him. This is the interesting part because this is where a great deal of the factual storytelling took place. The original undercover would be Hitman did encounter a woman that he felt was abused, and instead of incriminating her, turned her to social services and had her escape her troubled relationship. So to that and reading back on the historical context of things I will tip my hat say okay. The husband did the same thing Madison did (seek out a hitman), however he did this already being outside the relationship out of spite as an abuser and in true malicious intent requested that his would be Hitman make his wife's dying thought to be of him having her killed. So I will put stock in the fact that the husband in this tale is worse than the wife (villain/victim). So yes both are morally corrupt, but did she kill her ex, because Gary/Ron who has seen numerous would be murder for high plots and even he actualized this encounter with the husband as a very real threat to the woman he loved, and only after expressing that to Madison did she defend herself by killing the killer before she was killed (a very typical movie trope). I believe if you're a glass is half full person you would agree that she did. Gary / Ron told her that her husband may very well attempt to kill her himself after the failed hit man for higher scheme, and she then decided to defend herself and her new life by killing the man who overtly expressed a desire to kill her. And she being abused by said man, already experiencing first hand the malicious nature of him and acted on this threat. The insurance money I believe is a red herring and just something interjected into the movie in order to have the corrupt cop stage a second act of the plot twist, where otherwise the movie could have ended with the death of the husband. And yet again when faced with the moral repugnancy of the drunken abusive cop, who has overtly condoned murder for hire given the fact that he knew all the events and just wanted money. Gary and Madison decided to act in equal parts pragmatic moral retaliation by way of democratic capital punishment, where the two of them felt one crooked cop should be killed rather than two questionably better people (debatable) going to prison due to the unfair context of the events. Lastly the same corrupt cop fixated after abusing the teenage boys that "two out of every three" comments of him beating underage kids "were on his side", to then justify his morally repugnant actions they too acted in a two-to-one favor and decided to kill him. I'll go with it and say... Yeah... Husband dies (kill the killer) and corrupt cops should die rather then two misguided loving people. But again this is a very rosy and optimistic moralistic take on this movie that too has bias. The bias that Madison and Gary are in love and killed out of self preservation and true self defence. Legalistically and morally I don't know, but hey let's go with it. 100% the director could have easily written a more true to form moral out for these people that better maintained their nobility, and yet he didn't. This isn't a award worthy movie in any way shape or form so hey brush it off. But overall I do agree with the reviewers take on this RU-vid review that this movie isn't as good as everybody says it is. It is likable on a superficial level, it is very easy on the eyes, and it does make you laugh, so on an extremely shallow level it is a "likeable" movie, that both critics and viewers could enjoy. But it's not a good movie, and in no way shape or form is this quality cinema. 2/4... And on a good day 3/5. ✌️

@detroitcardbreaks9420 Месяц назад

I had the exact same thoughts. It wasn't funny enough to be a dark comedy and if you take it somewhat serious at all, the plot is pretty terrible.

@Hardveur7 Месяц назад

@@elgingaragegymfound the future(current?) serial killer

@elgingaragegym Месяц назад

@@Hardveur7 Troll when did you come out from under the bridge? Karen's gonna hate 🤣

@earlybird3668 Месяц назад

@@elgingaragegym this, your take is a very thoughtful review in of itself. Linklater, and I suppose Glenn Powel have seen all the Film Noirs, and Screwball romantic comedies. They make the specific point in the epiloge Gary "Ron" Johnson never murdered anyone, never hid murder from the authorities in real life. The third act murders: Maddie killing her husband is left off screen, to keep the audience sympathetic to her. Ron who is a fake assassin is straight up insulted, challenged when corrupt/blackmailing cop (who is willing to over look murder if he gets paid) says you can't do it, he does it. Gary/Ron does kill the guy. Corrupt cop is symbolic of anyone or anything that cock blocks a new relationship. Gary growing into himself through playing different "characters" in his relationship with different people, Maddie in a bad marriage needing to move on. If Hit Man is not literally symbolic, it is such the original Linklater style of mixing romantic screwball comedy, philosophy, and noir together that themuch of the audience know it is not something to worry over. Anyone strictly judging what happens in a fictional movie that has immoral plot, and actions usually stops watching them. 🙈🙉 And often are fundamentally rigid in some aspect of their lives. These type of people don't watch movies, or only religiously themed TV shows like The Chosen The success of Pulp Fiction, Blue Velvet, Trainspotting, Bullet Train, John Wick, Hit Man etc proves most people can watch movies, which are fictional, and art as not literal. A lot of people love Hit Man, some people don't. For me I feel they have the clear obvious right to not like anything they watch. But the bs claim that the movie is not moral doesn't fit with what the tone and goal of the film was. They lived happily ever after Once Upon a Time style. It is fantasy, and illogical, but it resonates. The corrupt cop was not about justice, he was about cock blocking for profit, and everyone recognizes that. ***** out of five. I could be wrong though. 🙈😁😇

@ssisson Месяц назад

I agree with the review. My issues were more ethical; she killed her (soon to be) ex husband (agreed that he was incredibly unsavory and a serial abuser, but not sure if it rose to the level of a capital offense, after she had successfully moved on). Also don’t think the police coworker in any way merited being killed. Does this not bother anyone else?

@wvjaybird5 Месяц назад

Yes, it does bother me.

@simplyamy4323 29 дней назад

I thought this exact same thing! It does bother me, romanticising a life of crime? Didn’t like that either.

@MrDe4dGuy34 Месяц назад

I enjoyed the film much better when it was about Gary tricking people into incriminating himself while wearing elaborate disguises. That was entertaining. However, once they dropped that about two-thirds of the way through and focused on the girlfriend killing her husband, I was left very disappointed by the sudden resolution of that. Right when the tension was seemingly building it was just done. Also, we have another film where they take a very good-looking person and try to portray that person as unattractive by making him wear glasses and then show he’s now hot when he stops wearing the glasses. Like if Gary is such a nerd that he doesn’t take any pride in his appearance, why does he have a six-pack and huge biceps? When does he go to the gym? Why? He was buff before he became Ron for Madison.

@Adam-yf3ss Месяц назад

I like the disguises part too but they needed to amp up the funny even more. Or the darkness. Or the danger.

@BlindTruths Месяц назад

@@Adam-yf3sstbh I wanted more darkness/danger with a touch of the funny like the first half. I genuinely was unimpressed with the last half because it suddenly became a romance. Why? She had as much depth and development as the back of a soup ladle.but also didn’t need to be and shouldn’t have been a slapstick comedy. At all. Especially since it was based off a real person in the 70/80s. The only fake part was the boring killer girlfriend and them killing the cop.

@ezekielgates1558 Месяц назад

I too got tricked by all of the hype. At the end of the day the two leads were just completely unlikeable. One kills her husband, the other kills his colleague, then they just live happily ever after...and the film just ends on that note?! The fact that Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a near perfect score shows just how wrong critics can be, it's insane that all these people are praising a film where the two "protagonists" are murderers themselves, and not even sympathetic ones at that. Thankfully this film will be forgotten by year-end; a week into its release and its overall worldwide box office is a measly $1 million.

@jw-ob1wv Месяц назад

It would make more sense if we saw him have an identity crisis due to his job and then start changing as a person and going to the gym because he prefers the Ron persona to his real self. But nope, we don't get any of that. Just two hot people having sex.

@earlybird3668 Месяц назад

Yep. See Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies.. 😂

@crujones5319 Месяц назад

The most disturbing thing about this movie is that it was directed by Richard friggin' Linklater. What the hell happened? Two hot people straight up murder two annoying people and live happily ever after. THAT's our morality bar these days?

@ramanasai6150 Месяц назад

Felt the same thing. This was the same problem i had with killing eve. She killed innocent people like the teacher a maid,yet people were rooting for to have a happy ending

@burdick729 Месяц назад

My take exactly. Kill two innocent people. That is NOT OK.

@lisakazmier9361 Месяц назад

I absolutely hated it!! I cannot understand the good reviews 0/10 for me..they are just HOT that is why people like it..they must be watching with the volume off.

@raymondsmith6870 Месяц назад

I had the exact same take when I saw this film and the people who told me it was great are defending it because the leads have great chemistry and they thought it a breezy rom com. I thought it an actual rom com masquerading as a fake film noir where the director is having the characters(and misleading the audience too) getting off doing sexy role play with Arjona as the femme fatale and Powell doing his hitman disguise thing to be the heavy to score with her. Then it all switches back again to become a comedy of misunderstanding and the obstacle that breaks the couple up and they get back together again to fool the police and take out the "real" heavy. A sexy romantic comedy noir where the sap wins and the femme fatale wins. Yuck. It works as long as you don't think about it even for a second that they murdered two people in a cold blooded and premeditated fashion. Forget the sting group would have to give the case over to the homicide department who would drag both Powell and Arjona into the interrogation room and grill them for 10+ hours till they cracked. Then a dead cop would lead to massive manhunt though Powell says no one will notice he's gone.(eye roll) What is more off-putting is the ending where the director says it is okay for beautiful people to kill losers in the world if that brings a happy ending. Perhaps the audience agrees with that and thinks murder is sexy and hot if done by an attractive couple.

@valleycat99 Месяц назад

When they killed the dude in her living room and then got all hot and heavy with each other with him in the background I was so grossed out. NOT SEXY.

@raymondsmith6870 Месяц назад

@@valleycat99 They actually stole that scene from season one of Sons of Anarchy. I found it yuck back then and even worse now in this.

@LocalLegend Месяц назад

You nailed it, Erik! Like you and others below, I can't comprehend the overwhelmingly positive reviews; it's like they idolize Linklater and Powell, similar to when Woody Allen could do no wrong even when he had a dud. The ending was a huge letdown, and a ridiculous one at that, Mumbo jumbo about changing your life. In addition to the inept police "work," one thing I was sure would happen is that her husband's friend, who witnessed Gary/Ron pulling a gun, would come forward and say, "I think I know who probably killed him!" That would have played nicely into the motif you suggested: the femme fatale disappears and we see the police arresting Gary. Okay, those two victims were not nice human beings, but did Linklater have to show the sadistic act of Gary slowly suffocating him? Body Heat was a much better and actually superb movie, but then we couldn't have emerging superstar Powell, who co-wrote the script, being the doofus that William Hurt allowed himself to be, could we?

@notraxxful Месяц назад

The movie lost me when she texted him for a date with animals. It just didn't make any sense. I felt like I was watching Prometheus...smart people making nonsensical decisions.

@Adam-yf3ss Месяц назад

100%. A woman so desperate to escape an abusive husband invites a contact killer out to see puppies? Stupid. And not treated satirically enough to be funny.

@michelehamilton961 Месяц назад

My great fear is that this gets award attention and we have to hear about it all year. Please no.

@thickener Месяц назад

fear not. nothing about this movie warrants award consideration.

@BarderBetterFasterStronger Месяц назад

The video and article are wrong. It isn't getting good reviews from audiences, only critics. Audience scores are predictably mixed. Some loved, some hated, some in between recognizing the good and bad. I like it overall but hated the bizarre terrible ending.

@ezekielgates1558 Месяц назад

Don't worry, this overhyped/overrated film will be forgotten by year-end, never mind be mentioned at any award ceremony.

@Seasonal-Shadow_4674 Месяц назад

@@thickenerdoesnt mean it won’t

@HenryThree Месяц назад

I think it's pretty clear that Adria Arjano's smokeshow status was enough to blind everyone to the obvious flaws in this movie.

@aubreyrstout Месяц назад

Omg THANK you, been discussing this film's flaws all morning with my husband. A lot of interesting ideas and possibilities in this film that fell flat. Glen's disguises and continued interjections of philosophy class lectures dragged on...the former weren't explored fully enough like you said, and the class lectures were boring and not a compelling backdrop to the movie's shenanigans. I agree that a more compelling ending would be Adria's character screwing Glen over, OR, as I was hoping for, Glen would actually have his mic on and turn her in at the last moment, save his scumbag colleague's life, and maybe then we could have a montage of their trial where they were let off the hook by the jury bc her husband was a menace, Glen/Gary got in over his head, and then she would forgive Gary for his betrayal and they could go home to Gary's cute little humble house where he makes her a cocktail and she falls in love with his cats and they actually have a real conversation. The end!

@BlindTruths Месяц назад

This genuinely would’ve made more sense. It might have actually been good especially since technically the movie should be taking place in the 70s/80s the real Gary Johnson left. But the whole romance with her and her being a killer and killing somebody to protect her absolutely did not happen Described as a much better idea, and I don’t know why they didn’t do it other than a man script kind of stuff some male writers like.

@clarencejones4717 Месяц назад

That is most predictable and boring ending possible. I genuinely don’t understand how that could have been better.

@MayTheOddsBeInYourFavor Месяц назад

That sounds better actually.

@clarencejones4717 Месяц назад

@@MayTheOddsBeInYourFavor why? I really don't understand.

@peterthayer1819 Месяц назад

I wish that they'd stuck with the fake hitman story, the wife killing husband story seems like it should be a dark comedy if you want to go comedy at all but that is also a storyline that's been done to death. I kept waiting for it to get good again.

@carolinacardenas2372 Месяц назад

I watched it because of the rave reviews. And then, as I watched, I kept wondering where the greatness was. Your assessment is accurate. I don't get what others saw. SMH

@Coco-zu9ob Месяц назад

I thought for sure it was gonna be a Body Heat type ending where she frames Gary/Ron for the husband's murder. She took him to that club knowing the hubby was gonna be there and so setting up the confrontation which would lead the police to Gary. She would take the insurance money and disappear. Instead two stone cold killers fall in love, get married, have children (God help them) and become model citizens. So lame and lazy writing. I would've liked it better if they both admitted they were psychos and maybe became real hitmen, but to just be like "oh lets kill 2 people so we can be happy" is so dumb.

@ron6781 Месяц назад

I agree that this movie was really awful. She was almost unwatchable.

@emuccino Месяц назад

My Jaw is dropped. I've been thinking about this movie for over a day and have had almost all of the exact thoughts you've presented here. I couldn't agree more with your analysis. The only thing more bizarre than the movie is the general audiences reception of it.

@dinoamf5866 Месяц назад

Spot on review IMO

@robertcomito4379 Месяц назад

I whole heartedly agree with your confusion. Either people don't like it andt the reviews are being manipulated, or I'm on another planet. There were some entertaining shenanigans in the beginning, but then it devolves to the point where the ending ... scoff-worthy? Apparently there is some real life story that they mangled, but none of it worked. I don't get all the glowing praise for Glen either-he's likable in other movies but miscast here. Felt more like an SNL sketch than anything.

@realworkoutsforrealpeople5041 Месяц назад

I watched it and was mostly bothered by it. I like Glen Powell and I was hoping he would get to stretch his acting wings, however it's clear he is on his way to getting boxed in, acting wise. The movie is oddly superficial (I figured out every plit twists pretty much without the first 15 minutes) and that ruined it for me. There really are no real stakes, to speak of. And when Madison kills her husband, well, that's when it lost me altogether. Its not that the movie was very realistic to begin with, but Gary killing the dirty cop was just...so out of left field (and I understand the parallel to that convo he has with his ex-wife in the beginning of the film, but...that's one heck of a lot of changing one's personally, going from meek/dweebie college prof to stone cold killer) that I ended up mostly repelled by his character, while I wanted to slap her and throw her in jail - Madison is a straight-up gaslighting psychopath, if you ask me. Here's to hoping Glen Powell can sink his teeth in juicier roles sometime soon.

@gareth4157 Месяц назад

Worst possible way to end a movie. How can someone knowingly defend another who has committed murder, then out of some notion of romantic love go on to murder another human - passing all judgement on him as Johnston is in that moment? How are we led to believe the leads were morally and ethically good people? They were anything but that. Murder scene when Jasper has the bag over his head, suffocating to death Johnson and Madison make out? Unnerving and sadistic. Dialogue was so clunky - particularly those I.T. support characters. That whole speech about 'bounty hunters aren't real' - is that meant to be funny? There's hitmen all over the (mostly developing) world. Plot was contradictory and had gaps missing - how does it make sense that a Psych teacher does additional 'tech work' for the police in his spare time, and just naturally steps into undercover police work? How does it make sense that the Psych 101 nerd is also ridiculously buff and good-looking? Madison's character - seemed to be a one-dimensional 'Bond' type character. The majority of her role in the movie served as a starved sex-figure and not much more. She then murders her husband off-screen. Seems like she gets a pass from being prosecuted because she's... hot? Only in 2024 would people think a story about 2 homicidal lunatics is cute - the whole speech at the end by Gary about being whoever you want to be bla bla just caters to the self-obsessed and shallow Instagram generation.

@egoborder3203 Месяц назад

it just goes to show how broken RT is as a way to measure reaction. Whether it's rated 10/10, 7/10, or 2/10 all that gets calculated is the tomato rating. Which actually makes sense for RT, because even if you didn't love the movie sure why not go ahead and recommend it? It's harmless, and you know most people can see it for free on Netflix. It just shows that RT is not a good way to get a picture of quality. Like the Acolyte. Is it bad? Yes. But if you're a Star Wars fan and have a D+ account and an afternoon free, should you avoid it like toxic gas? Well, yes, actually but I hope you get my point. Metacritic shows a much more reasonable reception to this movie

@MayTheOddsBeInYourFavor Месяц назад

FINALLY, some reviews that make sense! I don’t understand how other people are giving positive reviews of this; acting aside…the story made zero sense in the end. Spoilers; Like are we not concerned that a person who can kill her ex…won’t just kill this guy when she gets tired of him too? And yeah her ex came across as a dick…but besides him thinking of getting a hitman himself, I don’t know if he needed to be killed? Like it seemed like Gary/Ron had a handle on it till she went off on her own and killed the guy. Then in the end she’s gonna drug the cop because….? She had no plan. She seems to have glommed onto Ron because he’s dangerous and she wants someone dangerous in her corner as a bulldog to use. She showed herself to be very manipulative the whole time, especially with orchestrating that meeting at the club where her ex was at???? But no they have a happy life at the end with kids 😅

@janehudson6132 Месяц назад

So glad you wrote this review. I was totally puzzled by this movie as well. Was so awful I began thinking perhaps I was missing some advant garde nuance. In addition to the chaotic, not very interesting storyline, there was a stilted, robotic quality to all the acting. Almost as if the whole thing had been fed through some sort of AI filter to maintain lack of individual cadance. 1:04

@matthewcurry425 Месяц назад

Two comments… Compare this with 1998’s Soderbergh film ‘Out of Sight’. Almost identical RT and IMDB Meta scores. Also… could this just be something about our post Covid world?

@reluctantphoenix Месяц назад

This description made me think of a great film noir with a similar plot but a far different vibe - if you haven't seen it and are in the mood for femme fatales and clever twists, I recommend Body Heat with William Hurt and Kathleen Turner.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

It's been ages, but I need to watch it again!

@reluctantphoenix Месяц назад

@@ErikKain I think the use of wind chimes in that film is a wonderfully understated way of developing character - it's a small detail that adds so much. I love stories that make effective use of small details like that. I recently read The House of Doors, and it was full of such details, too.

@Coco-zu9ob Месяц назад

I can't believe the man who created/wrote/directed Boyhood made this movie. I understand the "one for me" movie and "one for them" (aka big paycheck), but this is unbelievable.

@Kate-fd5uw Месяц назад

Thank you for this! I actually stopped halfway through because I was so bored and then tried again when I read there was a "twist," (which made me furious). Poorly written and constructed, I have to believe the adulation is an emperor's new clothes phenomenon because the tsunami of publicity was so overwhelming. I echo everything you said about feeling crazy reading those good reviews. Also, beyond it being overlong and tedious, my biggest complaint is that his speech at the end was about how people can change, but he and his wife murdered two of them before they got a chance to do so. What a mess.

@timgrant0122 Месяц назад

Thank you. I felt like I was going crazy. The pacing was off. The character development was terrible. The music was kind of Snoopylike stock music. The love story made no sense. The lead characters are reprehensible liars. I just don’t get it.

@mattball2462 Месяц назад

I really wish I could disagree with you. I love Linklater and was pumped to see this because of him. Then all the praise it got from everyone, not just critics and not just audiences. I came out being very positive about it, but I think more because I wanted to be and felt like I should be. But you're right. It just felt...odd. It wasn't bad; it just wasn't particularly good. My big thing is that I think for the story, he shouldn't have been great at the personas until he got to Ron. To me, it would have made more sense for him to struggle with it until trying out Ron, and then he finds that unlocks something in him. I realize that would have made the montage of the other personas not as fun, though.

@italianriver8368 Месяц назад

I agree with your review. I was surprised to see audience and critics being so generous with movie. I thought it was half baked. Apart from Gary all the other characters were not established that you don't get time relate to.

@gw7120 Месяц назад

Hell i would have been happy with both of them becoming actual hitmen / hitowman , that would have been a more intersting ending and lead to even people wanting a part 2 couldnt it...

@tonyyayo2115 Месяц назад

Is it better than another hitman film Killer with the Magneto actor?

@ErikKain Месяц назад

That's like comparing an ice truck to an Orangutan.

@Ponakalaranjit456 Месяц назад

@@ErikKain😂😂😂😂

@mlongpre100 Месяц назад

@davefrage125 Месяц назад

@@ErikKain no it isn't, you can compare the quality of the filmaking, structure, writing, cinematography, acting etc. of two movies even if they are in completely different genres.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

@@davefrage125 what on earth would be the point of that? I can compare the merits of grilled sea bass and grilled cheese sandwiches also, but to what end? What is the point? Or are you just arguing for the sake of it?

@andyprice463 Месяц назад

You've made me realise that I need to watch the usual suspects again

@robin54733 Месяц назад

I watched because of the rave reviews. It was maybe 3/5

@manicmuffin Месяц назад

I'm also at a complete loss for how this movie was so lauded for being such a messy nothingburger. The "fish out of water comedy" bit at the beginning falls flat because Gary is effortlessly excellent at being an actor, so it just feels like a bunch of audition tapes that go nowhere. Why not bring any of these would-be hitman hirers back into the movie to insert a little conflict into the rudderless second act? Why not have Gary trying on these different personas outside of acting as a hitman in order to feel more confident, etc., and later he has to juggle all these different identities around Madison or his coworkers? Instead it's just a pointless montage to flex Glen's acting muscles but ultimately goes nowhere. All of the characters (but especially both of the leads) are SO flat, with no substantial backstory, motivation, or character arcs, they might as well be (sexy) cardboard cutouts. We have no idea how Gary was so good at acting (it could've been as simple as being a former drama kid who only felt "seen" when he was someone else) or how Madison ended up in her abusive relationship. The femme fatale "twist" where she'd been leading "Ron" along all this time to try to get him to kill her ex, or at the very least being the one to convince Gary to kill his coworker at the end (finally "hiring" him to kill someone and making him the eponymous hit man) would've actually given her some semblance of substance. Really, it was just such a lackluster let-down of a movie, and I'm only convinced it got such accolades because the bar for movie-making and story-telling is in hell at this point.

@nickrees4706 Месяц назад

Did you mention that this is based on a real person? I thought that was even more messed up that they totally invented the part about him actually killing somebody

@ErikKain Месяц назад

I did mention that. And it is a little odd! You wonder how his family would feel with such vile invention.

@bingparel5267 Месяц назад

I stopped watching when the story started focusing on the hitman hitting it off with the woman. I didn’t like the idea of me being dumbed down.

@scotthallgv Месяц назад

@erikkain So I went and watched HIT MAN and two things: Adria Arjona reminds me of a young Jamie Gertz from The Lost Boys but way hotter, and the movie kinda reminds of "Very Bad Things" in that it doesnt go where you thought it might and subverts expectations and all that. This is obviously not as off the shitpot crazy as VBT but tonally it kinda feels in the neighborhood a bit. I enjoyed it mostly but it felt a little long for what it is and it felt like it needed a bit more spice in terms of the crooked cop character and how quickly that got wrapped up. That thread needed to be a bit longer and a bit more intense to give it some weight because it felt almost like a throw away it resolved so quickly. Overall not bad for a Sunday time waster, could have spent that time doing much dumber and less enjoyable things.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

I actually thought about Very Bad Things also when I was thinking of movies that go off the rails and have pretty fucked up resolutions. But that movie works because the consequences for their actions are real, the stakes are real, and their human nature takes hold. This movie is so tame and easy compared to that.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

Notably, VBTs gets horrible reviews compared to this movie. And maybe it's not a great film, but it feels uncompromising where this film seems to bend into shapelessness.

@scotthallgv Месяц назад

@@ErikKain Tame, exactly. Theres never any real tension or stakes that gives you that "Oh fuck!" feeling.

@Scollsy Месяц назад

If they don’t fix how the score was stacked that could be the end of rotten tomorrows.

@thickener Месяц назад

I enjoyed it. it was terrible though. Seemed really cheap too, so I bet there will be a sequel.

@jwt-nu3ei Месяц назад

Spot on assessment. I didn't hate this movie. It was a 6/10, but I found it entertaining because I was waiting for the penny to drop the entire way through. By the time I realised it wasn't coming, there was a brief epilogue remaining. The film certainly flirted with a gritty twist revolving Adria's character to a point where it almost seems like it was an intended subversion of expectations that she wasn't a Keyser Soze figure.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

I just don't think it earned that.

@matrix35 Месяц назад

@@ErikKain You are acting like you are rating a academy award nominated film. Take this movie for what it is. " Forget your worries for a hour and a half". Also appreciate how good Glenn Powells performance was! The ending waa perfectr, they got away with it which isnt common in most films!

@ErikKain Месяц назад

@@matrix35 alternatively you could stop telling me how to do my job or how I should enjoy or not enjoy a movie. My opinion is my own. You're allowed to have yours. Never ever tell someone how they should think. It's as condescending as it is stupid.

@lmcfigs4874 Месяц назад

I would've preferred if he was an actual hit man. but i'm also not the target audience i guess.

@Rancor1182 Месяц назад

I was looking forward to watching this movie based on the overwhelming reviews and the director, but I could not get through it. Got 30 minutes in before I waved the white flag and watched something else. It was boring as watching paint dry. No humor, just as bland as white bread. I am still incredibly baffled by all the reviews of this movie. I should just stick with my personal rule that Netflix makes horrible original movies.

@NTelling Месяц назад

The review ratio is so unrealistic I'm wondering if there was some astroturfing or paid reviews leading up to Netflix pushing the movie to the front of everyone's recommendations. On Reddit threads there are a tonne of glowing reviews from when the thread was created, then almost entirely negative after the first 24h. I'm so baffled by the praise this movie received that I've turned into a conspiracy nut.

@Marcus007 Месяц назад

I agree with yr take with maybe some slight twists. I coincidently just watched this earlier the same day you released this review. My impression is it was going for a dark and comedic tone with a Woke ethic version of fem fatal “girl power.” I wouldn't say it was a Dark Comedy or a Black Comedy because I don't think the story was intended as cynical, pessimistic, macabre. The ending IMO was intended to be spicy but unironically a happy ending, at least from the Woke ethic. I think the film's ethic is: Madison didn’t like her husband, she vaguely alleged that he was controlling, and he started an angry fight with her in public where he as "scary", so of course we believe all women - there is no other side worth acknowledging let alone investigating. So her near attempt to have him killed is ‘like justified’ to the Woke ethic. Likewise her ultimately killing him to get his insurance money is “fine bc he’s a toxic jerk.’ And the detective too bc “he’s a bad cop and like gross compared to hot Gary.” I think that is the literal ethical view of the story. I don’t think any of that is film noir bc it lacked the cynicism, and the ending wasn’t intended IMO to be bleak, pessimistic or tragic, hence the addition of children. I think it was Woke ethic driven female fantasy that was also trying to be spicy, dark and funny, without really appreciating how difficult it is to merge dark and funny without the tone coming off as jagged and clunky. It reminded me of the series Barry only that Black Comedy story ultimately reflected traditional ethics, the comedy was far better and more intelligent, and the merging of very dark and comedic tones was masterful IMO. Plus, the casting/acting was first rate across the board. So I agree with yr 2/4 stars. Overall, it was mediocre in most respects from story, to acting, to direction, etc with the glaring exceptions being the inconsistent tone and misguided ethics. This was certainly not something I would think of as a ‘film’, or even a ‘movie’ but rather a ‘made for tv movie.’ For a free Netflix movie, it’s fine, but if I paid to see it in theaters I’d feel burned. As for Rotten Tomatoes, I think it's clear that those numbers are often purchased and rigged. Cheers!

@lustrazor44 Месяц назад

Take 2 rising “hot” in both ways actors stick em in a “dangerous” romcom and modern day audiences and critics are going to eat it up. So long as the actors are charismatic these days, seems to be enough for a lot of people. Even critics.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

And a popular director. It's not enough for me.

@lustrazor44 Месяц назад

@@ErikKainit’s not for me either. I need a well written story. Even visuals don’t do it for me. I need to be stimulated by intrigue.

@ClydeLerner Месяц назад

You are so right. There is nothing redeeming about this show. I turned it off halfway through. It wasn’t really funny and it wasn’t clever.

@nenettegreeno6853 Месяц назад

There's a lot of humor in it, and although it doesn't all make sense, and would not go that way in real life, it was not as bad as a lot of other Netflix movies out there to be honest. It was a film noir of sorts, with some dark twists. The ending wasn't really as plausible, but it was still sort of enjoyable in a weird sort of way. I really liked all of Gary's characters. I liked seeing what he was going to do next, how he was going to handle each situation. I liked the interaction between Gary and Madison. Some of the antics overall were corny and goofball types of thjngs, but it made me laugh. Also, no one had mentioned that this was based on a true story, a real person. At the end there are real pictures of a Gary Johnson. Maybe that's why so much doesn't make sense?Because some of it is true? How much if it, Idon't obviously know. Another thought-maybe I also liked this because of how awful so many other movies are right now. I wouldn't say it was bad. There are plenty of other movies that are horrible.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

The only thing true about this story is a guy named Gary Johnson caught bad guys by posing as a hitman. Literally nothing else in this movie is even remotely close to the actual story.

@nenettegreeno6853 Месяц назад

@@ErikKainInteresting! Thanks for that revelation!

@katmossa3503 Месяц назад

I’m concerned about the state of the world because how is this movie getting this much hype and good reviews

@kimgirard8455 Месяц назад

Dreadful film. I think someone hijacked the tomatometer.

@clarencejones4717 Месяц назад

The plot is entirely reasonable for message that they are trying to relay, which my opinion is normal is a construct. In this world you either become normal or find people who love who you are. This might be wild to say, but people that don’t appreciate this movie probably don’t understand what it’s like to have a fluid identity in a way some would frame as manipulation. Believe it or not, there are people in this world that identify deeply with the story being told here. I feel like if you don’t understand, it’s not for you, but if you do, it’s a beautiful and gripping statement on the nature of identity.

@erinrachelcat Месяц назад

Thank you! My husband and I walked out angry we wasted our time and money on seeing this in the theater!

@Coco-zu9ob Месяц назад

I didn't even realize it was a theatrical release. It's on Netflix.

@atfreres Месяц назад

I was also incredibly baffled at this movie and why it was so highly regarded. I didn’t find it funny or entertaining. It was a rom-com but with zero dark comedic satire. The main characters murder people and then live happily ever after with no consequences.

@BarderBetterFasterStronger Месяц назад

Not sure why your article says it's scoring great with audiences. Rotten Tomatoes currently has it at a 61% audience score. Meaning somewhat more than half of people are giving it positive reviews and the rest are negative reviews - 2.5 stars or worse. If 40% of people that watched thought it was 2.5/5 or worse... Yeah, I wouldn't call that "rave reviews." My partner and I enjoyed it well enough until the nonsensical ending.

@sunainagowda6129 Месяц назад

What an absolute waste of a time. I wish I had read some reviews before watching it. The character writing and acting, especially the girlfriend, was so confusing. There were so many scenes that I thought were leading us to believe that she is the bad guy but then it turns out it was just bad acting/or it was supposed to be funny and I just didn’t get it!!!

@evlondocooper7318 Месяц назад

Spot on review! Just watched and the critical and audience adoration for this movie is inexplicable.

@claremiller9920 Месяц назад

I feel exactly the same. Baffled by reviews.

@normie1970 Месяц назад

I enjoyed this, actually. and I'm really starting to like Glen Powell, I think he has a lot of charisma. but I agree with your points, the ending is all over the place

@owenenobakhare9964 Месяц назад

One of the most dastardly, ridiculous movie that came out this year. Don’t know what the hype about? Truth be told I regretted streaming it. Thought I was the only one who loathe it. Totally agree with you👍

@MoietyVR Месяц назад

I liked it? but I also had to fast-forward through half of it because it was so bad...

@grouchyface4827 Месяц назад

Lame is the perfect adjective. Mix of styles that fell flat.

@evezimmerman1299 Месяц назад

Oh boy, not good. The premise is entrapment, the characters are morally bankrupt . . .it goes from bad to worse. And the professor quoting Nietzsche, please, spare me that at least!! The review, however, is great!

@rngkushner Месяц назад

Thanks for ruining the ending of "The Usual Suspects"!

@ErikKain Месяц назад

Sorry, the spoiler window for that 1995 film has passed ;)

@rngkushner Месяц назад

@@ErikKain 😆

@mcnater Месяц назад

100 nailed it with your review. Instant subscribe.

@CheeseWorks-vj4yi Месяц назад

Every seems to be loving this film. Interesting to hear a dissenting opinion!

@74357175 Месяц назад

Maybe people are dying to get some decent rom coms, and these are the only offerings?

@johnedward8352 Месяц назад

I found it entertaining and worth a watch on Netflix while eating Chinese food. It's not a film (like many of Linklater's resume), rather a movie that is fun and easy and enjoyable. Not every movie has to be super deep to get good ratings.

@Spark1221 Месяц назад

Couldn't agree more...glad someone said it!

@tomipale Месяц назад

So like 95% of the Netflix movies

@Dierkenzee Месяц назад

It was hard to watch. It was three different movies. The writing was bad.

@WhoOnEarthAreYou Месяц назад

I just read your Forbes review and oh my god! I felt like I was going mental with all of the rave reviews! Me and my boyfriend walked out about an hour in. The story was stupid, the dialogue was so flat and her character was just a pair of stockings!! And the stuff with the philosophy just kinda thrown in for "depth". It's been driving me mad since I saw it!!

@marinicolas8629 Месяц назад

I think the "rave" reviews were all shills. Never been a fan of Linklater but wow...this was a new low! :(

@scotthallgv Месяц назад

This is how I felt about AS ASTRA. It was a really dumb movie trying to make you think it was smart. It was 2001 for dummie or Interstellar for dummies, pick your poison. I'll admit you got me curious about this though.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

Everybody's curious after the Adria Arjona screenshots

@scotthallgv Месяц назад

@@ErikKain I was on that train since Andor haha!

@gw7120 Месяц назад

Since everything with maddison is made up , why couldnt they make Gary capture her , realzie he has fallen in love with a murderer and have him achieve actual growth , instead they get off scott free , with zero consequences

@s.slater3132 Месяц назад

OMG 😳 thank you. This is a horrible movie. Netflix doesn't give a "👎" option so I appreciate your review. Terrible acting. Why is this receiving such amazing ratings? It's a mystery to me. Talk about brainwashing by the industry.

@kellylozano6933 Месяц назад

I agree with your assessment. Hit Man did not live up to its ratings or reviews. The movie was segmented and all over the place. As you mentioned, it had its opportunity at being good, and even a chance at redemption, and it took neither. Sadly, haven't you noticed that many people will convince themselves that a movie is great because so many reviewers and viewers told them it was? I think many average viewers are stuck in a mentality of "The Emporer Has no Clothes" mentality. This movie was hyped a ridiculous amount. Potential audiences were TOLD how great it was, therefore, it was great. Once she didn't "take the money and run" and leave him holding the bag, there was zero hope at redemption for this film. Like many movies, one can set aside so many plot holes and just enjoy a cute, witty little movie with good looking characters, as long as it at least knows what it is, and like you emphasized, this film did not. But never mind that. Netflix can continue to hype their movies through their own advertising, and glowing, early reviews, and the masses will continue lapping them up because they were told ahead of time just how great they were.

@yanzhao5673 Месяц назад

I like jte movie, it is just simple stupid fun, no need for twost or anything.

@risha_dan_port7030 Месяц назад

I agree with all of your points. I don’t get it. This film is not that good. The first half was great but the second half was clearly “this is what we 100% made up”

@jamesparks2375 Месяц назад

I just watched "Hit Man" after reading the glowing New York Times review: "If I see a movie more delightful than 'Hit Man' this year, I’ll be surprised. It’s the kind of romp people are talking about when they say that “they don’t make them like they used to”: It’s romantic, sexy, hilarious, satisfying and a genuine star-clinching turn for Glen Powell, who’s been having a moment for about two years now. It’s got the cheeky verve of a 1940s screwball rom-com in a thoroughly contemporary (and slightly racier) package. I’ve seen it twice, and a huge grin plastered itself across my face both times. That’s why it’s a shame most people will see it at home - Netflix is barely giving it a theatrical release before it hits streaming even though it’s the sort of movie that begs for the experience of collective gut-splitting joy. " Actually, it's none of those things. It's a mess. The old cliche "That's two hours I'll never get back" is really apt here. Could this be a bid by Netflix to become a star-making machine (the leads are very appealing) on top of it's pre-eminece as a content generator? In any case, I am likewise mystified by the enthusiastic response.

@Coco-zu9ob Месяц назад

That was seriously the NYT review? Wow. I take all reviews of any content, movies/tv shows/ books, with a grain of salt because these people all get the same paycheck. I literally fell asleep watching this on my couch in the middle of the afternoon that's how boring it was. 😊

@juacopaz Месяц назад

Great take, agree 100% with all, I didn't know your channel and expected another woke movie critic review (my own bias) and was impressed by your objectiveness and leveled take!

@bianadeyru4498 Месяц назад

Totally agree. With all the hype, I was expecting a wow experience. So disappointed! Just meh

@ECUCHRIS904 Месяц назад

Probably not the best movie of the year but far from the worst. True stories are always a plus.

@myazmah Месяц назад

This movie was a missed opportunity! It was quite frustrating to watch how it takes fundamental facts about police investigations to comedic lengths. Netflix perhaps paid the critics for a positive spin?

@Rhino1931 Месяц назад

I can tell your problem with this movie, you wanted it to be far more cliche. You talk about how they could’ve done more with the costumes and stuff, or Gary gets in trouble with the cops or something. Thank Christ it didn’t go in a direction like that. As for Madison, the entire theme of the movie is being someone you’re not. We are following Gary, so we see Madison how Gary sees Madison, that’s why when what happens happens, its effective. The film jumps genres with ease, and that’s why everyone likes it. You can like it as a rom-com, you can like it as a thriller, that’s why everyone likes it. This is so very in the vein of Linklater’s other film Bernie (2011). Everything you say about how “Well, I think it should’ve gone in this directional.” And then you say something cliche. You’re trying to bunch this into a single genre (which it isn’t) and judge it on the merits films that are solely of those genres. This isn’t Chinatown, this isn’t 50 First Dates, it isn’t The Usual Suspects. Comparing them is apples to oranges. You didn’t like the movie, that’s it. It was a perfectly good film, you just didn’t like it. And that’s okay!

@ramanasai6150 Месяц назад

You are wrong. Its a terrible MOVIE and that's ok.

@malindarayallen Месяц назад

I thought it was just me. Also, the movie doesn't pass the Bechdel test, which speaks to her lack of character development.

@ashleymarie3593 Месяц назад

This!

@jcmaes12333 Месяц назад

Yea the score is baffling to me. The murder reveal made me think I got duped, and it might actually stick the landing. Couldn’t have guessed how poor the end would be. Not sure if this will resonate with anyone, but one word comes to mind with this film for me: unearned.

@kathyimbruno2689 Месяц назад

It was soooo bad, i couldn't watch the whole movie. Bad, bad, bad!

@nolu0000 Месяц назад

This movie had a darker ending than you think. She kills one man, and together they kill another. Neither shows remorse, and are presented in a glowing, happy light as good parents, as good, caring people. I don’t know the correct psychiatric term for these sort of delusional people, is it psychopath?

@themikelee 25 дней назад

Worst movie of the year for me, so far. I can't believe this is the only negative review I can find anywhere.

@TheMaverickMaps Месяц назад

I thought I was the only one. I turned it off about half way through.

@wvjaybird5 Месяц назад

This movie was booooring and morally reprehensible. I think Rotten Tomatoes is getting paid off? What a waste of my time!

@houston-coley Месяц назад

I'm a little perplexed at how "complaining about the Rotten tomatoes score for a movie you didn't like as much as everyone else and offering no real insights beyond that" is what passes for film criticism these days.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

I'm pretty confident you either A) didn't pay enough attention which is why you're perplexed or B) have no interest in making a good faith argument. Maybe all of the above! Of course I said a great deal more than that but why should I expect honest interlocutors on the internet when something they like is being attacked? We must defend the products!

@houston-coley Месяц назад

@@ErikKain okay, I’ll engage in a good faith response: I think it’s a little disingenuous to frame this $8-million budget Linklater movie as a “product” just so that you can think about the people who liked it as corporate shills; it was only acquired by Netflix after being funded by a bunch of indie studios. It’s no more “product” than anything else.

@ErikKain Месяц назад

@@houston-coley I think I encounter fanboys every day who would rather never ever make an actual argument defending the thing they love when it's so much easier to either attack or deflect or distract. But you do you. Linklater certainly has a lot of fanboys!

@chrisnorniron Месяц назад

To begin with, I quite enjoyed the movie late on Saturday night. It was easy to watch. Glen Powell was really engaging and Adria Arjona is rather pretty. However, it didn't make any damned sense. It was not remotely plausible enough on any level to be a film noir or thriller of any kind. The fact she actually murdered her husband was a glaring example of why it couldn't really be a goofy comedy or a romcom. This was compounded by them casually killing the cop and getting it on like a couple of psychos whilst he drew his last breaths. By the time we got to the ending I was disappointed that they had inexplicably got away with it. The final scenes really didn't elicit the response that they were expected to. I enjoyed it on a pretty superficial level while I could root for Gary, but it lost me in the end.

@marinicolas8629 Месяц назад

You are 100% correct...this was a major letdown and snoozefest. I played half of it as background noise while I cooked dinner, then I turned it off. Glen and Adria had zero chemistry. She had no acting skills. I gave it 3 stars on IMDB and that was being generous. My DH saw the trailer and immediately said it was going to be lame. I should have listened!

@cnscool76 Месяц назад

Goes to show you can’t trust critics. I was expecting one thing and got something subpar. To say I was disappointed would be putting it mildly. The one thing that was entertaining is the chemistry between the couple.

@MattInDC Месяц назад

Thank God for this review! I was starting to think I watched a different movie from everyone else, so I'm glad I'm not alone. If anything, I think you were TOO generous. There was no "com" in the rom-com, and I barely got a chuckle out of the alter ego parts. If I hadn't known ahead of time, I would have predicted a 25-30 RT score, and maybe double that from the audience... although who knows. I'm finding that the audience gets things right more often than the critics these days.

@evans6886 Месяц назад

You're right. The humor was bland and the characters have no depth to explore. The main character pontificates to his class about identity but he never is challenged with any morality of his dishonesty. When he is challenged by the other detective, it is 3/4 of the way through the film and he just haphazardly fumbles his way through. There is no tension at all. Also, leaving the female character unexplored makes the story so hard to swallow. I believe her as the abused spouse, but then she pursues a person she believes to be a serial killer? Her boyfriend also attempts to hire a hitman? Red flags abound, Gary! But this is all kind of ignored. Then the twist of the third act is revealed and it's just kind of played out cutesy like. Blegh.

@scottmuhlbaier1945 Месяц назад

I agree. This is a 2-hour waste of time. When I call it is Fletch on acid...but not nearly as charming or funny. None of the characters were particular likable either. The third act I thought was going to be a major plot twist and as you said it was a total dud. And then the ending just suddenly wraps up where they're all in the clear just like magic and they're living a carefree life. Oh I forgot to mention this has like the dumbest police squad in history investigating the crimes. The only funny scene in my opinion was when the kid gives him video games to off his mom...which is apparently a true scenario!

@gregwasik Месяц назад

Glad I'm not the only one! Thought it was kinda boring.

@peabody757 Месяц назад

Currently watching this horrible movie on Netflix, wondering how in the world it got so many great reviews and I'm scanning the RT Critic reviews and I see yours and I'm like thank goodness. I'm not crazy for thinking this movie is trash. Erik thought so, too. Your reviews are always spot on. Everyone else must be paid off? But I can always trust you for an honest review. Thank you!!

@EdwardCasper-lz6or Месяц назад

Thank you, thank you, thank you Erik. You summed up exactly how I felt after watching Hit Man. The film had great pedigree and attractive cast. I was really looking forward to seeing this film, even convincing my wife to see it with me based on the reviews. It turned out to be the kind of film that has put her off Hollywood films. We can't believe they get to live 'happy ever after'.