HIT MAN (2023) - Movie Review

Director: Richard Linklater
Starring: Glen Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay RAo, Molly Bernanrd, Evan Holtzman
Genre: Comedy, Crime, Romance
Writer: Richard Linklater, Glen Powell
Runtime: 115 min
Rating: Rated R for language throughout, sexual content and some violence.
Buy This Movie: Netflix

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Synopsis:

A mild-mannered professor moonlighting as a fake hit man in police stings ignites a chain reaction of trouble when he falls for a potential client.

Review:

Glen Powell is on a roll. After spending two decades trying to catch that big break, in the last two years, the 36-year-old actor has racked up big hits like "Top Gun: Maverick", "Anyone But You" and "Twisters". Richard Linklater's "Hit Man" is another breakthrough for Powell, offering him a chance to flex his acting muscles in a movie that is both mainstream-friendly (some might say it doesn't even feel like a Linklater film) and auteur-driven at the same time. Not only that, but Powell also co-wrote the script alongside Linklater.

First things first, although inspired by a true story and a real person, this is not a biopic. Roughly based on Skip Hollandsworth's 2001 Texas Monthly article "Hit Man", the film is a fictional account based on real-life college psychology professor Gary Johnson (Powell), who enjoyed a flourishing career as an undercover fake hitman for the police in the 1980s and 1990s, assisting in more than 70 arrests. The movie's premise is real, and the cases depicted are mostly fact-based, but everything aside from that is pure fiction, especially the part of the plot in which Gary falls in love with a suspect from one of his cases, played by Adria Arjona.

The film is a lively genre mash-up, oscillating between romantic comedy and neo-noir, and it manages to be funny without overplaying the humor of Johnson's wild undercover personas. The idea of a man undergoing an existential crisis, whose life becomes more interesting when he's pretending to be someone else adds mischievous depth and layers to this dark comedy that make room for some philosophical exploration into concepts like self, self-change, ego and identity. It's the kind of heady material you would expect from Linklater, and it's nice to see a movie that isn't afraid to be amusing and thought-provoking at the same time. It never goes overboard in either direction, striking a strong balance at all times.

This movie really is Powell's show, who shows tremendous ability as both a dramatic and comedic actor. He has a lot of fun transforming into all kinds of colorful characters for the undercover stings, and he has a playful, easygoing charisma that keeps us invested in his character even as the story enters much darker territory than you would expect. In fact, the third act goes really dark with a final twist that I still don't know how I feel about. Arjona is also well cast as the femme fatale, and there's a playful chemistry between her and Powell that lights the screen on fire.

It's not really a perfect film. Is there really such a thing as a perfect film ? In the end it's up to the beholder to judge for himself. I for one found the film to be a fun and entertaining noir comedy with a twisty and witty script as well as an engaging cast, and I appreciated Linklater's effort to deliver something new and different in today's dreary cinematic landscape populated by tired tropes and cliches, sequels, remakes and comic book CGI-fests. A big enthusiastic thumbs up for a rare original movie.

SCORE: 9/10