Time: 115 Minutes
Cast:
Glen Powell as Gary Johnson
Adria Arjona as Madison Figueroa Masters
Austin Amelio as Jasper
Retta as Claudette
Director: Richard Linklater

I remember hearing about Hit Man, people had been raving about it since it premiered at the Venice International Film Festival last year. All I knew about the movie is that it involved a hitman, starred Glen Powell and was directed by Richard Linklater. A year later, it is finally able to be watched, now released on Netflix. It lived up to all the hype.

Hit Man is loosely based on a true story of Gary Johnson, a fake hitman. It has a clever script, and is entertaining from beginning to end. It blends together romantic comedy and crime thriller elements so well. It’s a really funny movie, from the dialogue to many of the scenarios, including the scenes in which Powell has to perform (mainly when pretending to be hitmen). One thing to note is that the first 30 minutes is just focussing on Gary and him doing his job of being a fake hitman. I enjoyed this, but it might’ve been a little unfocussed and people might not be immediately on board with the movie. When Adria Arjona enters the movie, that’s really when Hit Man picks up and becomes something great. Aside from that, I think that my biggest criticism is that while I appreciate the dark and twisted places that the story and characters go to (along with the dark comedy), it really felt like it could’ve gone a lot further than it did.

Glen Powell gives one of the year’s standout performances as real life fake hitman Gary Johnson, he’s very charismatic and funny, and particularly great when he’s pretending to be various different hitmen. Adria Arjona is equally great. So much of the movie relies on the chemistry and dynamic between her and Powell and they absolutely deliver, and they were enjoyable to watch. Honestly, it’s a shame that Arjona isn’t introduced earlier since the scenes with her and Powell are where the movie shines the most. Other actors do good work too, especially Austin Amelio who is a scene stealer, even alongside Powell and Arjona.

Richard Linklater isn’t known for having the most flashy direction, but this has to be some of the better directing work that I’ve seen from him. It’s very well shot and the editing is top notch, but for this kind of movie, I really feel like it could’ve been a little more stylish.

Hit Man is a very entertaining, witty, and hilarious romantic comedy, with fantastic performances from Glen Powell and Adria Arjona. It’s among my favourite movies of the year, and it’s honestly a shame that it was dumped on Netflix, it is the kind of movie that would’ve been an even better experience watching with a crowd in the cinema.