4 reviews
Just a few weeks after picking up Gooding's last film "Sacrifice", "The Hit List" was released. I picked it up because I am a pretty big fan of his. The film turned out to be pretty well done for a DTV thriller but just like "Sacrifice" it has it's flaws.
Jonas Arbor(Gooding) is a hit man and decides to go rouge. His reason unfolds throughout the movie but in doing this he runs into Allen(Cole Hauser) in a bar. Allen is having his own bad day by losing his promotion to a younger partner in his film and problems with his wife come to surface. Arbor and Allen meet in a bar and get drunk together. Jonas explains to Allen that he is a hit man and will kill five people for Allen free of charge. Thinking it is a joke Allen writes down names and laughs it off. It isn't long before he realizes its a joke and has to stop Jonas from completing the list.
The film has been compared to "Collateral" and while it is a fair comparison, the film does stand on its own. Its flaws lie in editing and lack of budget which is the same thing "Sacrifice" suffered from. The opening credits are done in almost a comedic or even a James Bond type of way and really turns the viewer away from what the tone is trying to be. The budget shows in the camera set ups and how rarely other angles are used. The DP obviously did not have the time or money to make the film look bigger. There is a car chase in the film that could have been much more exciting if the editing was better. All in all what saves the film is the performances by Hauser and Gooding. They do not play down to the budget level and they treat the film as if it is a big budget hit. Gooding assures the audience that he has still got it and reminds us of why he is capable of an award winning performance. He is deep and scary and really gets into the role more than he has in the last few years. The quality lies in the performances which is why this is an above average DTV Thriller.
Acting 9/10
Editing 5/10
Music 5/10
Directing 7/10
Fans of Gooding and Hauser should be pleased with this film.
Jonas Arbor(Gooding) is a hit man and decides to go rouge. His reason unfolds throughout the movie but in doing this he runs into Allen(Cole Hauser) in a bar. Allen is having his own bad day by losing his promotion to a younger partner in his film and problems with his wife come to surface. Arbor and Allen meet in a bar and get drunk together. Jonas explains to Allen that he is a hit man and will kill five people for Allen free of charge. Thinking it is a joke Allen writes down names and laughs it off. It isn't long before he realizes its a joke and has to stop Jonas from completing the list.
The film has been compared to "Collateral" and while it is a fair comparison, the film does stand on its own. Its flaws lie in editing and lack of budget which is the same thing "Sacrifice" suffered from. The opening credits are done in almost a comedic or even a James Bond type of way and really turns the viewer away from what the tone is trying to be. The budget shows in the camera set ups and how rarely other angles are used. The DP obviously did not have the time or money to make the film look bigger. There is a car chase in the film that could have been much more exciting if the editing was better. All in all what saves the film is the performances by Hauser and Gooding. They do not play down to the budget level and they treat the film as if it is a big budget hit. Gooding assures the audience that he has still got it and reminds us of why he is capable of an award winning performance. He is deep and scary and really gets into the role more than he has in the last few years. The quality lies in the performances which is why this is an above average DTV Thriller.
Acting 9/10
Editing 5/10
Music 5/10
Directing 7/10
Fans of Gooding and Hauser should be pleased with this film.
Sacrifice has a pretty solid story going for it. A haunted cop befriends a priest at a local church all while dealing with his next case. The story takes off with a drug dealer who wants out and is denied that option, so he steals a statue filled with drugs and hides it in a local church. Now the dealers are after him and Cuba Gooding Jr must protect the dealers little sister.
The direction shines in parts and in other parts it seems very dull. Without going into much detail of the story, the film could have been much better with different music and more solid editing. The film is edited as if it is a TV movie.
Pros: Solid Perormances from Cuba Gooding Jr, Christian Slater, Devon Bostick, and Kim Coates.
Good Ending Shootouts and very good emotional ties between characters.
Cons: The editing, it really hurts the films. The music does not fit and is quite cheap. Some supporting players are very bad in their performances as well. The statistics in the opening and end credits are boring and take away from the story.
All in all its fairly entertaining especially in the last 20 minutes, but editing may make you cringe in spots.
The direction shines in parts and in other parts it seems very dull. Without going into much detail of the story, the film could have been much better with different music and more solid editing. The film is edited as if it is a TV movie.
Pros: Solid Perormances from Cuba Gooding Jr, Christian Slater, Devon Bostick, and Kim Coates.
Good Ending Shootouts and very good emotional ties between characters.
Cons: The editing, it really hurts the films. The music does not fit and is quite cheap. Some supporting players are very bad in their performances as well. The statistics in the opening and end credits are boring and take away from the story.
All in all its fairly entertaining especially in the last 20 minutes, but editing may make you cringe in spots.
When reading the ratings and reviews of this film I believe that some viewers went in expecting something different. I can fully understand that it wasn't for everyone. The film surprised me as to how non typical it was in its plotting but it was the best character study in a long time.
Jack(Deniro) is about to retire but requests that he can finish his final convicts paroles. Stone(Norton) is one of those convicts. Stone starts as a character who wants out of prison but not for the reasons a parole officer would want. The plot is seemingly straight forward in its setup. Mila Jovavich gives a wonderful performance, most notably because the audience is never really clear on which direction she is taking in her motivation. Its not a trait to make her more of a suspenseful character, its to show how one dimensional her relationship really is with Stone.
The essential plot setup is Jovavich and Stone decide on a plan to seduce Jack so that the parole is a must. The problem is that once this starts, Stone begins to experience change. As does Jack. I will not go into it much more. The film relies on the characters emotions rather than intense cat and mouse games. The film sets the audience to follow the "good guy" (Deniro) but it challenges the audience later to decide really who to trust.
The most interesting aspect is that Jack is content when listening to Stone's problems but when Stone begins to change, Jack is not alright with it. The years of holding back his darkness cannot stay contained when he is not judging others.
The film is definitely one to be analyzed. This could be why the reception is severely mixed. It had a profound effect on emotion. No specific type except dread and in some cases, familiar motives.
The film cannot be reviewed without a depth of character discussion, so in this case check the film out. Just do not expect typical suspense thrillers Hollywood has given. Ignore the rating until you view it yourself. And if nothing seems to get your interest, just expect great performances for Deniro, Jovavich, and Norton.
Jack(Deniro) is about to retire but requests that he can finish his final convicts paroles. Stone(Norton) is one of those convicts. Stone starts as a character who wants out of prison but not for the reasons a parole officer would want. The plot is seemingly straight forward in its setup. Mila Jovavich gives a wonderful performance, most notably because the audience is never really clear on which direction she is taking in her motivation. Its not a trait to make her more of a suspenseful character, its to show how one dimensional her relationship really is with Stone.
The essential plot setup is Jovavich and Stone decide on a plan to seduce Jack so that the parole is a must. The problem is that once this starts, Stone begins to experience change. As does Jack. I will not go into it much more. The film relies on the characters emotions rather than intense cat and mouse games. The film sets the audience to follow the "good guy" (Deniro) but it challenges the audience later to decide really who to trust.
The most interesting aspect is that Jack is content when listening to Stone's problems but when Stone begins to change, Jack is not alright with it. The years of holding back his darkness cannot stay contained when he is not judging others.
The film is definitely one to be analyzed. This could be why the reception is severely mixed. It had a profound effect on emotion. No specific type except dread and in some cases, familiar motives.
The film cannot be reviewed without a depth of character discussion, so in this case check the film out. Just do not expect typical suspense thrillers Hollywood has given. Ignore the rating until you view it yourself. And if nothing seems to get your interest, just expect great performances for Deniro, Jovavich, and Norton.