A review of the new movie “Hit Man”
A star is born and his name is Glen Powell. After a series of small parts in both television and film, he had a break-out appearance in “Top Gun: Maverick” but, in Hit Man”, he takes the eponymous role, where he is rarely off the screen and has to adopt a variety of personas, and he both co-wrote and co-produced the well-received movie, setting him up nicely for a higher profile in the business.
The story is loosely inspired by the recently-deceased Gary Johnson, who remarkably combined a career as a philosophy teacher with a side-line posing as a hit man for the local police force. Of course, the plot is embellished and it is sugared with both humour and romance, but the twists and turns make it appealing viewing.
The director is Richard Linklater who made three of my favourite films, the “Before Sunrise/Sunset/Midnight” trilogy. The supporting actress is newcomer, Puerto Rican-Guatemalan Adria Arjona, who shows real promise, reminding me of Marisa Tomei’s break-out role in “My Cousin Vinny”. I think you’ll be seeing more of her. Unfortunately, “Hit Man” received a very short run in cinemas and you’ll have to find it on Netflix.