Opening 27 Aug 2015
Directed by:
Aleksander Bach
Writing credits:
Skip Woods, Michael Finch
Principal actors:
Rupert Friend, Hannah Ware, Zachary Quinto, Michaela Caspar, Michael Corcoran
Agent 47 is a kind of human robot, who goes out to eliminate people upon command, which he does enthusiastically. At the same time, people are trying to capture him and learn his secret in order to reproduce more hitmen, just like him. Others want to put a stop to this agent process. Then there are Katia van Dees, practically the only woman in the film, and Ambassador Sanders and Dr. Delriego, a scientist who worked on the creation of hitmen; he sacrifices himself for his daughter. And let’s not forget John Smith.
Hitman: Agent 47 is a remake of the Hitman film from 2007. Both are based on the computer game Hitman, which originated in 2000. As a complete newcomer to this Hitman mania, I found it difficult to follow the plot, or even to find a plot to follow, not to mention sorting out the cast of characters. Is everyone named John? Perhaps it is not necessary to search for some kind of reason. Perhaps it’s good enough to count the corpses, definitely more than 40, and sit back and enjoy the visuals from an artistic point of view. The men dressed in black suits fight in empty modern white buildings – very artistic: black on white. The hand-to-hand combats seemed to be choreographed and the good music completes the impression of watching modern ballet. A gorgeous red AUDI automobile also has a choreographed role.
My colleague Abby Myers says, “I found it engaging, the cinematography was great, the music complemented the flow and rhythm of the film – great production design, interesting stunt work.” We enjoyed discussing our impressions, because they were so different from those of our male colleagues, who were very negative. One colleague was upset because it did not follow the computer game and he wished that he had the joystick/keyboard/whatever in his hands, so that he could re-run the storyline into a different direction. One colleague was disappointed because there were no computer graphics. There seems to be a fine line between those who have played the computer game and those who see the film cold turkey. Definitely try it out, and see how your own background or lack of background determines your enjoyment. (Becky Tan)
