Release Date: March 11, 2007.
Film Rating:  /
Starring: Timothy Olyphant (Agent 47), Dougray Scott (Mike Whittier), Olga Kurylenko (Nika Boronina)
Written by: Skip Woods
Directed by: Xavier Gens
Based on the popular computer game, Hitman has been imagined for the big screen. Written to stay true to the game and yet given some breathing room for a blockbuster film, it’s a wild shoot-em up with tonnes of action and a nanoplot (ok, I made that word up, but it sounds good). Agent 47, as we know him, is a genetically engineered assassin with emotions so dormant you could have better conversation with a rock. Not only does he kill people without blinking an eye, but he turns down any intimacy of women including the stereotypical tall and beautiful, long legged Russian girl he ends up protecting. While on his killing spree, he’s chased by Interpol investigators as he’s trying to find out the purpose of his previous mission and why others are out to kill him. I guess he didn’t think his job as an assassin would create enemies?
This is the "unrated" edition of this film featuring moments not included in the theaters. It's 94-minute runtime is only two minutes longer than the German cut, but six minutes shorter than the 100-minutes specified on IMBD.com (typo maybe?) What more is included? My guess is more blood and guts as the film is fairly graphic. This disc also includes a few forced trailers when the disc is put in. I'm not a fan of this practice; I think trailers are best left in the special features on the disc.
Hitman is a ruthless film with violence and exploitation as its selling point. Pros at the game will probably get a kick out of watching it, but for the rest of the population this one’s best left for the bottom of the pile.
 VIDEO QUALITY: 4/5
Hitman is a good example of telecine tweaking that is not overdone to the point of looking golden airbrushed like a model on a magazine cover (see Live Free or Die Hard). The ranges of colours suit the daylight and interiors each scene is placed in. It’s never too aggressive nor is it underwhelming. Contrast is good although a few scenes at the beginning of the film are a bit dim and shadow detail was a bit difficult to see. Black levels were mostly very good and resolution is excellent. The picture always seemed in focus and there was no distracting edge enhancement. Film grain looks natural and appears to be used as an intentional effect as it appears a bit more aggressively in some scenes more than others. The aspect ratio is 2.35:1.
AUDIO QUALITY: 3.5/5 
Loud. In your face. That’s the best way to describe the sound design of this film. Encoded with DTS-HD Master Audio, the 5.1 delivers a soundtrack that is too heavy for home theatre playback. Bass in the main channels is too intense and thick sounding, and thus muddying up the sound in the midrange and treble. In fact the bass sounded very detached from the rest of the mix. While it gives the impression of a very powerful and dominant front soundstage, the result is somewhat unpleasant. Surprisingly, the LFE channel was used sparingly only for the most intense moments in the film.
Furthering the criticism is the dialogue. First, it’s so out of sync with the lips I just couldn’t bare to watch the film beyond the first 20 minutes. The dialogue has obviously been re-recorded but not all of the words seem to match on cue. Actually, there are a few instances that appear like different words were said entirely – but you must be quick to see those! I was left shaking my head at this poor ADR integration; it’s almost rarely ambient with the room/surroundings and it’s too loud and too dominant. I don’t like the idea of center channel information being insanely loud and on par in volume with the music and sound effects. It doesn’t sound right. It may be good for a movie theatre as it pulsates insane sound pressure levels for the huge auditorium, but this trick doesn’t work for home theatre.
I didn’t find the score particularly pleasing; I found it repetitive and much of the time it didn’t seem to fit with the actions on screen. On the positive side, the strings and synth are recorded well and sound good across the front channels. The opening Ave Maria sounds great in surround as it fills the room with a nice ambience. Sound effects are also utilized effectively, although I thought that dynamic range for the loud sounds was compressed with other elements in the mix. Surround usage is great and the volume levels in the rear are used in an engulfing manner. While a matrix EX soundtrack is credited for theatrical playback, no such dedicated center surround is flagged on this disc. One can easily create a center surround channel by activating the appropriate functions on the surround processor. My preference is not to do that.
TACTILE FUN!! /
TACTILE TRANSDUCER ON/OFF?: ON
Kicks and punches are far more effective when using a bass shaker connected to the dedicated LFE. You’ll believe you are the one that is being punched! This is a good soundtrack to use with one of these things as it makes the experience a bit more engaging.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 2/5
A good amount of special features are found on this BD-25, all delivered in SD16:9 from a variety of HD and SD sources. The first is a 25-minute making of titled In the Crosshairs. It features interviews from the director, producer, as well as actors, intermixed with scenes from the film to support their conversations. It’s a somewhat “polished” featurette rather than raw behind the scenes footage, but it still gets its points across without being boring. As someone who wasn’t familiar with the background of this film, it provided some good clarity.
To further the gaming history of the film, this disc also includes Digital Hits (16:36), a collection of interviews of people from various parts of the gaming industry, including those of the company that created Hitman. Basically, games are created with Hollywood stories in mind. In return, Hollywood finds a way to create a movie out of a game that was designed after it. Funny how the world works.
Hitman wouldn’t be what it is without the guns in the film, so the featurette Instruments of Destruction (14:26) is narrated by the weapons organizer for the film. There are six parts to this featurette with each one focussing on a different gun; how to hold it and fire it is all explained.
Setting the Score (5:17) features the composer as he talks about scoring the film, and there are five deleted scenes (7:57) that can also be viewed (4:3lbx) including an alternate (and unfinished) ending. A gag reel (4:33) and the theatrical trailer (HD) can also be viewed.
As a move to counter piracy, this Blu-ray release includes a second disc that includes a digital copy of the film approved for portable media devices. Since the audience of this film are probably the computer savvy, this is a copy approved release.
IN THE END...
Ok, so I’m not a gamer and I’m not a fan of this film. But my opinions were outnumbered 2:1 as two others I watched this film with thought it was entertaining. But then, both are gamers so maybe there is an appreciation for it I’ll never quite understand. Despite the film’s shortcomings, the Blu-ray disc is good demo material for home theatre nuts who like things loud.
Michael Osadciw
March 10, 2007
Review System
|
