All pie is good pie

Continuing my trip up Empire's top 20 films of 2024

#14 :  Hit Man

After putting in eye-catching performances in Top Gun: Maverick and Anyone But You, Glen Powell went full movie-star with his magnetic turn — or, more accurately, turns — in Richard Linklater’s true-story-inspired Hit Man, a smoking hot rom-com with an intoxicating noir edge. Here, Powell plays philosophy-lecturer-turned-fake-assassin Gary Johnson, whose unlikely side-hustle gets complicated when — whilst disguised as smooth talking contract killer Ron — he meets Madison (Adria Arjona), a woman trying to escape an abusive marriage, during a set-up. Sparks fly between the pair, the sting collapses, and a whirlwind romance ensues. From there, the heat turns up in every possible way as Gary attempts to keep up his double-life without rousing the suspicions of the feds — or his new girlfriend. Smart, sexy, slick and quick-witted, this is fiercely original filmmaking of a kind that feels increasingly rare. What else can we say? It’s a hit, man!

I've seen several reviews of this and they all mention Glen Powell's great performance and how it's a kinda weird but kinda true story.

And it is indeed a kinda weird story but, while it's based on real-life character, it plays fast and loose with the truth (amusingly telling you at one point "we made that bit up"). And you certainly don't need to know anything more about it than Empire has alreaady told you above.

This is the type of film that people don't really make so much of any more - it just tells a story in an entertaining fashion. In a lot of ways, the film is secondary to the story - as long as the style and performances don't get in the way of your enjoyment then all is good. And they certainly don't, with everyone doing their bit to contribute to a great ride - it's funny, sexy and surprisingly tense at times, with it taking some unexpected twists along the way to finishing with a very satisfactory conclusion. However, having said that, the film also has some interesting things to say about, identity, being yourself and people's capacity for change - but you're perfectly fine if you just want to enjoy the ride and not think about things too much.

It is indeed a good performance from Glen - he's acting as someone who's acting as a load of people he isn't as part of his job as well as a person he isn't in "real life"  and he manages to balance things well - it would be easy for the whole thing to be a complete mess. He's also, and I'm sure this will come as a surprise to the ladies, quite good looking. The chemistry he has with Adria Arjona is impressive and they make a great on-screen couple - I was reminded of George Clooney and Jennifer Lopez in Out Of Sight, which is indeed a compliment. Austin Amelio, Retta and Sanjay Rao provide amusing support but I think it's fair to say this film doesn't generally stray too far from the central pairing.

All in all, this is a very well done film - engaging and entertaining with a couple of great central performances (and I suspect we'll be seeing more of Glen over the next few years). It's a strong recommendation from me so check it out on Netflix if you're looking for something fun to while away a couple of hours - you won't regret it.

#15 - Utterly inventive bonkers
#13 - Good-looking European whimsy