HITMAN: AGENT 47
(director: Aleksander Bach; screenwriters: Skip Woods/Michael Finch; cinematographer: Óttar Guðnason; editor: Nicholas de Toth; music: Marco Belframi; cast: Rupert Friend (Agent 47), Hannah Ware (Katia van Dees), Zachary Quinto (John Smith), Michael T. Corcoran (Robert’s Dad), Thomas Kretschmann (Le Clerq), Ciarán Hinds(Livenko), Angelababy (Diana), Rolf Kanies (Dr. Delriego); Runtime: 96; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Charles Gordon/Adrian Askarieh/Skip Woods/Elex Ypong; 20th Century-Fox; 2015-USA/UK/Germany)
“Like previous robot hitman films, this one also sucks.“
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
It’s based on a video game series, with this the second adaptation. Aleksander Bach’s directing debut leaves a lot to be desired. Like previous robot hitman films, this one also sucks.
Besides the unappealing direction, writers Skip Woods and Michael Finch chip in with trite dialog, an incoherent script, shallow characters and a morally repugnant story.
The story takes place in Berlin. All the main characters are searching for the missing scientist, Livenko (Ciaran Hinds), who genetically engineered a killer assassin called Agent 47 (Rupert Friend). With second thoughts about his work, the scientist ditched both his family and the corporation that sponsored him. The scientist’s estranged daughter Katia (Hannah Ware) wants to see her dad again to get to know him better and find out more about herself. The manipulated immoral Agent 47 meanwhile has a corporation contract to kill her. Also wanting to kill her for reasons that become clear about halfway through this muddled film are John Smith and Le Clerq (Zachary Quinto and Thomas Kretschmann). Smith is the newest assassin model of the international high-tech criminal corporation headed by the evil Le Clerq, who wants the scientist’s knowledge again to create in the lab an army of more powerful robot assassins for him to use for nefarious purposes. Violence predominates, as gun fights, car chases and exploding airplanes fill the screen with this hokum.
The thin plot can’t hold our interest and the dull action scenes only annoy us with their loudness and vulgarity. It’s hard to imagine a film about robots being more robotic.
REVIEWED ON 7/1/2018 GRADE: C- https://dennisschwartzreviews.com/