Hitman: Agent 47

Year: 2015
Director: Aleksander Bach
Cast: Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto, Ciaran Hinds, Thomas Kretschmann


Plot: Katia, a girl whose father created the Agent program that breeds perfect assassins, is hunted by a mysterious syndicate that wants to force her father to restart the program for them. Her only hope is 47, an Agent from the program sent after the syndicate.


Review: This is a reboot of the previous Hitman film starring Timothy Olyphant, with Rupert Friend taking over the lead role of 47. However this reboot is not much better than the original.

As the story goes, Katia, the daughter of Litvenko, who created the Agent program, has been looking for her father. She is hunted by two sides, one is 47, the other is The Syndicate (not very original for a name) led by Le Clerq. Le Clerq has been searching for her father too, hoping to restart the Agent program for his own benefit. 47 manages to rescue her, and subsequently gets her to realise that she too has abilities that came from the program.

First time director Aleksander Bach follows the same beats most action films take, but in a time when Mad Max and Mission Impossible are scoring high points in the genre, his efforts just aren't good enough. At the very least, it's a decent attempt and the film is somewhat competent. There is a solid chase sequence in a parking lot that ends on a street junction in Singapore, but every other action sequence suffers from shaky camerawork or too close shots.

Friend plays 47 well enough as an emotionless killer, and excels in the action sequences, but one has to wonder why he chooses to walk instead of run half the time. This is where style triumphs over logic. Hannah Ware is decent as Katia while Zachary Quinto is alright as Le Clerq's point man John Smith, who goes toe-to-toe with 47 a handful of times. Ciaran Hinds and Thomas Kretschmann are underutilised as Litvenko and Le Clerq respectively but it's not a huge issue.

As an action film, it's not too bad overall. But the half-baked plot and weak ending that sets up future sequels just drags the film down to being mediocre. Subplots about humanity and whether 47 feels anything are brought up but not followed through.

I'd say Hitman: Agent 47 is a decent way to kill time, but not much else. (6/10)