Hit Man is the kind of smart, playful, steamy romantic comedy that (sadly) we rarely get to see any more.
Glen Powell, who has already starred in one of Netflix's best rom-coms ever (Set It Up) and is now one of the most in-demand stars in Hollywood, displays a ridiculous amount of charisma in this new movie. It's his best performance to date, as the Top Gun: Maverick actor embraces the mythical nature of the hit man through a story of crime, deception, sex and philosophical dilemmas.
Following a critically-acclaimed journey through film festivals last year and after a limited two-week theatrical release, Hit Man is now officially the best Netflix movie of 2024.
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Inspired by Skip Hollandsworth's Texas Monthly article of the same name, published in October 2001, the movie follows a Houston college professor, Gary Johnson (Powell), as he juggles teaching philosophy at university with his tech-support side job with the local police.
When troublemaking policeman Jasper (The Walking Dead's Austin Amelio) is suspended, Gary is asked to fill in for him. His task is to pose as a hit man in front of a potential client in order to get them to verbalise their intentions and exchange the money. That's the only way they can arrest them.
After a first incredibly successful experience, Gary is fascinated with the concept of embodying different identities. After all, that's his area of academic expertise. This new role with the police is, as he says, "like field research".
After thorough research, Gary shows up to meetings with increasingly ludicrous costumes, wigs, tattoos, scars and accents, every identity adapting to his clients' expectations so they have no other choice but to believe him.
However, when he meets with Maddy Masters (Good Omens' Adria Arjona) to negotiate the killing of her abusive husband, something changes in Gary — or Ron, the irresistibly attractive hitman identity he has carefully selected to wow the stunningly gorgeous client in front of him.
What if Gary wants to be full-time Ron? Can people change who they are? Is the notion of self merely a construction? Is identity really interchangeable? Is personality just a performance?
Hit Man explores these fascinating ideas and offers strokes of academic theory for those viewers who want to fall down the rabbit hole that is the construction of self in modern society.
Richard Linklater delivers thoughts on professional ethics and human morality in the most playful and non-patronising way, refusing to sacrifice complexity just because this is a funny comedy (very funny, actually) and choosing to be a humanist even when confronting highly problematic behaviour. The movie is not condoning toxicity, but inspecting it and having fun at its expense.
The filmmaker mixes this gripping philosophical frame with the classic traits of a screwball comedy (it's fast-paced, farcical, silly and ultimately deeply romantic) and the scenarios of a film noir (the plot echoes of Double Indemnity) to obtain a captivating hybrid of genres that creates a hell of a good time.
For any Glen Powell non-believers somehow still out there, despite his notable work in the box-office hit rom-com Anyone But You and what appears to be a stellar appearance as a "tornado wrangler" in the upcoming Twisters, Hit Man should be a turning point.
The Texas actor squeezes all his Southern charm into a terrific performance, even if you'd have a hard time believing he's not supposed to be attractive in those nerdy glasses, striped polo shirts and shameful Bermuda shorts. His physical comedy (particularly in one key scene involving mixed stories and phone notes) is masterful.
Much like his previous collaboration with Linklater, the excellent Everybody Wants Some!!, this new Netflix movie is a joy to watch — fresh yet nostalgic, accessible even if incredibly complex, transcendental in an unassuming way, and ultimately a delightful romantic comedy about living life passionately and finding someone that matches your freak.
Hit Man is now out on Netflix.
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Mireia (she/her) has been working as a movie and TV journalist for over eight years. Based in the UK, she is a former deputy movies editor at Digital Spy, and previously worked for the Spanish magazine Fotogramas. Mireia's work has been published in other outlets such as Esquire and Elle in Spain, and WeLoveCinema and GamesRadar+ in the UK. She is also a published author, having written the essay Biblioteca Studio Ghibli: Nicky, la aprendiz de bruja about Hayao Miyazaki's Kiki's Delivery Service.
During her years as a freelance journalist and film critic, Mireia has covered festivals around the world and has interviewed high-profile talents such as Kristen Stewart, Ryan Gosling, Jake Gyllenhaal and many more. She's also taken part in juries such as the FIPRESCI jury at Venice Film Festival and the short film jury at Kingston International Film Festival in London. LinkedIn
