Explosive “Hit Man” Movie Review – A Must-Watch Thriller on Netflix!

Hey, what’s up, everyone? Today, we’re diving into Hit Man, It’s the latest from director Richard Linklater, who co-wrote the script with the star of the movie, Glenn Powell.

Hit Man Story Overview: A Snapshot

Powell plays a guy named Gary Johnson, a professor at a New Orleans college who helps out the local police from time to time with surveillance work. When one of the officers is put on suspension, Gary soon discovers he has a talent for playing a fake hitman. But his life veers into dangerous territory after meeting a woman who wants to enlist his services.

Director: Richard Linklater
Writers: Richard Linklater, Glenn Powell

Cast:

• Glen Powell
• Adria Arjona
• Austin Amelio
• Retta
• Sanjay Rao

Hit Man is loosely—and I mean loosely—based on a Texas Monthly article about a real guy named Gary Johnson, who was a college professor turned fake hit man. The movie itself takes a lot of creative liberties with the story. But at the end of the day, no matter how truthful the movie may or may not be to the source material, what you end up getting is a very funny, interesting movie about passions, identity, and what could cause someone to do something so seemingly out of character.

Character Analysis

Gary Johnson / Ron

Glen Powell plays a character named Gary, and Gary is this mild-mannered, unassuming kind of guy. He’s nerdy; he’s a college professor who likes bird watching; and he has cats named Id and Ego. They do this thing in the movie where they dress him down to make him nerdy—they give him glasses, his polo shirts don’t quite fit correctly, and he has shaggy hair. They’re really trying to play up the fact that he’s nerdy and awkward, and he’s not charismatic at all.

Having seen Glen Powell play characters that are self-assured, maybe even a little cocky, in movies like Top Gun: Maverick or Anyone But You, it is interesting to see him play this type of character. He’s playing this guy, Gary, who sometimes helps out the police with surveillance work, and then he is sort of thrust into this really dangerous world when he begins to play this fake Hit Man. To do that, he takes on a lot of different identities. One of the identities that he assumes, an alter ego that really kind of takes hold, is named Ron. Ron is cool, Ron is self-assured, Ron is good-looking, and Ron is also very dangerous because Ron is a Hit Man.

If anything, watching this movie showed me that Glen Powell has a lot of range. I always liked him as an actor, but seeing him play this type of character—or characters—really showed that he has quite the acting chops. He can do comedic roles, he can do dramatic roles, and he can do both of them at the same time. It’s really funny to watch him take on these different personalities and identities throughout the movie because, basically, his character is helping the police set up these sort of sting operations where people are trying to hire Hit Man to take out someone. He takes on these different personalities based on the case and operation that he’s doing. Ron is this character that really takes hold; this is the alter ego that he really, really attaches to. He does such a great job and gives such a great performance in this movie. He’s funny, he’s charismatic, he’s awkward, he’s all these different things with all these different characters, and I really enjoyed watching Glen Powell play these roles in this movie.

New Face, New Trouble: Madison Needs Ron’s Help

Adria Arjona plays Madison, a pivotal character who reaches out to Gary’s hit man persona, Ron, for help out of a dire situation. Madison’s introduction marks a significant turning point in the narrative. Once she and Ron (Gary) meet, the story takes a very interesting turn, and things start to spiral, especially for Gary. Madison is not just a plot device but a fully fleshed-out character whose interactions with Ron add depth to the story. Her desperation and subsequent involvement with Ron bring to light the complexities of Gary’s dual life, pulling him deeper into the dangerous world of deception and crime.

Themes and Psychology

This movie is also tackling the psychology of that—what happens when you take on these different personas, take on these different identities, and what happens when there’s one particular identity that you really like that’s not necessarily a good kind of person, but it’s one that is interesting and exciting. What do you do with that when you discover that you kind of like being this person? It’s exploring this idea of identities in terms of whether you choose your identity or if an identity is just something that you have innately. There’s also a love story here as well. It’s an interesting kind of love story, but it also plays with the idea of what’s love, what’s real, and what’s fake.

Final Thoughts

I really liked how this story unfolded, and it took a lot of surprising turns for me. There were things I wasn’t expecting at all, and I was pleasantly surprised throughout. This is actually a Netflix movie, and it had a very short theatrical run. Thankfully, I was able to catch a screening of it at one of the theatres near me, and I had a blast with it. I really enjoyed it, and everyone else in my screening seemed to be enjoying it as well, all laughing out loud at certain parts, especially towards the middle of the movie where the story takes a lot of interesting turns and Gary’s life starts to spin incredibly out of control.

Conclusion

This movie was very interesting, and I really didn’t know anything about it before going to see it. I knew the name of it, I knew Glen Powell was in it, and I knew it was going to be on Netflix, but I didn’t know anything about the backstory or the plot. I was pleasantly surprised with what I saw, and I really enjoyed it. I kind of wish this movie would have had a longer theatrical run because I think a lot of people would have liked to have seen it. Either way, it’s going to be on Netflix really soon, so I hope people check it out because it’s really, really good.

So, this is my review of Hit Man. If you get a chance to see the movie and you want to share your thoughts, you can do so in the comment section below.

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