Hitman — Corporate Scissors Snip the Barcode Off Xavier Gens’ Vision

Hitman: full review

At Claqueta Ácida, we don’t just hate cowardly cinema—we dissect it with the precision of a surgeon who’s had one too many. And few autopsies have been as revealing—or pathetic—as Hitman (2007), that corporate Frankenstein 20th Century Fox stitched together from the scraps of a promising film and the radioactive waste of its own greed. Studio executives, those mythical creatures who confuse "success" with "pasteurized product," saw in Xavier Gens a useful savage after the success of Frontière(s) (2007), his extreme horror debut that spewed blood and bile with the elegance of a drunken punk. "This Frenchman knows how to do violence!" they must’ve thought while signing the check. What they didn’t understand—or didn’t want to understand—was that Gens wasn’t a mercenary, but an auteur with a vision as sharp as the barbed wire in his own nightmares. The result? A train wreck where the director tried to smuggle his gritty, visceral style into a PG-13 action blockbuster, and the studio, like an overprotective parent, ripped out its fangs before it could bite anyone.

finalExplicado: "En el clímax, Agent 47 irrumpe en el teatro de la ópera de San Petersburgo durante la representación de Tosca y ejecuta al verdadero Belicoff (el clon presidencial) delante de toda la élite rusa, mientras Nika, convertida en cebo, es liberada. La Interpol y los mafiosos caen en una masacre coreografiada que culmina con 47 disparando a la pantalla gigante donde se proyecta su propio código de barras, destruyéndolo literalmente. Simbólicamente, el final significa la autodestrucción del clon como producto: al eliminar al último Belicoff y borrar su barcode, 47 rechaza su condición de mercancía corporativa y se declara libre. Es un acto de rebeldía contra sus creadores (la Agencia y la Fox), aunque el estudio ya había mutilado la película antes."

Agent 47: A Clone with More Style Than His Own Movie

The plot of Hitman is a half-baked geopolitical thriller that reeks of a script scribbled on a Starbucks napkin between marketing department meetings. Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant), that genetically engineered assassin with a barcode on his neck and an exquisite taste for Armani suits, is hired to take out Russian president Mikhail Belicoff (Ulrich Thomsen, wasted like a telenovela villain). The problem? Belicoff turns out to be a decoy, and 47, in a display of professional incompetence that would make Jason Bourne weep, gets dragged into a conspiracy where everyone—from the Russian mafia to Interpol—wants his head. By his side, Nika (Olga Kurylenko), a Russian prostitute with more secrets than unbuttoned shirt buttons, becomes his escape partner. Yes, you read that right: a hooker with classified intel who, for some divine reason, can’t keep her clothes on for ninety minutes. She’s not a character—she’s a plot device with curves and an accent that sounds like cheap vodka.

Olyphant, that actor who looks like he was plucked from a cologne ad for men who don’t sweat, does what he can with the material. His 47 is a silent type, but not by artistic choice—because the script denies him dialogue that doesn’t sound like a video game tagline. Still, the actor injects an androgynous elegance and a physical presence that recalls a steroid-enhanced Alain Delon. He’s the only element that saves the character from being a mannequin with a blonde wig. Kurylenko, meanwhile, fulfills her role as the "femme fatale who can’t button her shirt" with the emotional depth of a Windows XP screensaver. Her chemistry with Olyphant is nonexistent, as if both knew they were in a movie that didn’t deserve their talent.

Eastern Europe as a Gothic Postcard (and Other Visual Miracles)

If there’s anything worth salvaging from Hitman, it’s its aesthetics. Cinematographer Laurent Barès turns Eastern Europe’s landscapes into a neo-noir dream where Soviet buildings look plucked from an Andrei Tarkovsky nightmare—but with better lighting. The cold tones, metallic blues, and industrial grays create an oppressive atmosphere that contrasts with the stylized violence of the action scenes. It’s as if Blade Runner and Stalker had an illegitimate child in a St. Petersburg alley.

The train duel sequence, that chaotic choreography where 47 takes on four goons with dual pistols, is the closest the film comes to genius. Gens proves here that he knows how to shoot action: the shots are crisp, the movements physical, and the editing—in its original version—must have been ruthless. But alas, the studio gods decided the audience wasn’t ready for such brutality and trimmed the scene into a bullet-riddled blur that barely grazes the characters. It’s like watching a chef prepare a feast only for an executive to snatch the plate and serve it on a plastic tray.

And then there’s the samurai sword scene in Russia. Yes, you read that right. In the 21st century, in a movie about a genetically engineered assassin, there’s a moment where 47 fights a group of goons... with katanas. It’s not a dream, not a hallucination: it’s a studio executive screaming, "We need more Japanese action in this European thriller!" The result is so ridiculous it looks like a Kill Bill fan film shot in a garage. Gens later confessed the scene was an inside joke, but the studio kept it because "it looked epic." Epic, sure. Like a unicorn at a nightclub.

The Script: A Geopolitical Conspiracy Written by a Netflix Algorithm

Skip Woods’ (xXx, Swordfish) script is a hodgepodge of geopolitical clichés that reads like it was written by someone who learned about Russia from Rocky IV and Breitbart headlines. The plot revolves around a conspiracy to replace the Russian president with a double, a premise that sounds like a ’90s thriller reheated with leftovers from Air Force One and The Bourne Identity. But there’s no tension, no logic, not even a memorable villain. Robert Knepper, an actor who deserves better than playing an Interpol agent with the charisma of an insurance salesman, pops in and out like a ghost without purpose. Ulrich Thomsen, meanwhile, plays the villain with the conviction of someone who knows his character makes no sense.

The violence, which in the video game is cold and calculated, is reduced here to a rushed montage where gunshots sound like firecrackers and corpses vanish like magic. Gens wanted a gritty film with blood and consequences, but the studio forced a decaf version where the violence is as harmless as a CSI episode. The result is a movie that doesn’t know if it wants to be an elegant thriller or an unintentional comedy.

The Soundtrack: Opera and Synths at a Funeral

Geoff Zanelli’s score tries to be epic but ends up a pastiche of clichés. It mixes opera choirs with ’80s synths, as if The Terminator and The Mission had a lovechild in a corporate music lab. There are moments when the music works for the chases, but mostly it sounds like elevator music for a luxury mall. It’s not bad, but it’s so generic you could use it as background for a German car commercial.

The Editing: A Crime Against Cinema

If Hitman has one cardinal sin, it’s its editing. The cuts are so abrupt and arbitrary they seem hacked with a rusty axe. There are ellipses that leave narrative holes the size of Siberia, characters who vanish without explanation, and scenes that look like they were trimmed with gardening shears. It’s as if the studio hired an editor who only knew how to hit the "cut" button on his keyboard.

Gens fought to keep his vision, but Fox imposed a director’s cut we’ll never see. Instead, we’re left with this mutilated version, where the director’s personality dissolves like sugar in vodka. It’s a shame, because there are glimpses of what could’ve been: a violent, atmospheric thriller with a dry, Arctic-martini sense of black humor.

The Best

• Timothy Olyphant as Agent 47: A clone with more style than the entire movie combined. If the character had a decent script, we’d be talking about an icon.
• Laurent Barès’ cinematography: Turns Soviet concrete blocks into gothic art. Too bad the editing isn’t up to par.

The Worst

• The studio’s destructive editing: The cuts are so brutal they look like they were made by someone who hates cinema. Or coherence.
• Skip Woods’ script: A salad of geopolitical clichés that reeks of a script written during a bad bender.

The Verdict of Claqueta Ácida (5.8/10)

Hitman is the cinematic equivalent of an Armani suit stained with ketchup: it’s got style, but someone messed up along the way. Xavier Gens tried to sneak his visceral personality into a corporate blockbuster, but Fox ripped out its fangs and muzzled it with a PG-13 rating. The result is a movie that wavers between elegant thriller and unintentional comedy, with flashes of visual genius drowned in a sea of bad cuts and stupid decisions. It’s not a total disaster—thanks to Olyphant and the cinematography—but it’s a lost opportunity that stings worse than a bullet to the back of the neck. If you’re looking for competent action, watch John Wick. If you want a so bad it’s good experience, here’s your movie. But if you’re after something with soul, keep walking. 💀

🔓 EXPLICACIÓN DEL FINAL & SPOILERS Ver más finales explicados →

Ending Explained: Hitman

In the climax, Agent 47 methodically dismantles the shadowy corporate cabal that engineered him, culminating in a brutal, rain-soaked confrontation where he turns their own biometric scanners and genetic overrides against them, literally snipping the final 'barcode' of control from his body with surgical precision. The ending shows 47 walking away into anonymity as the empire collapses in flames. Symbolically, it rejects the illusion of free will under late-stage capitalism: the hitman doesn't achieve liberation, he simply becomes an untraceable ghost, proving that the ultimate act of rebellion is refusing to remain a product. Gens' cold, clinical style leaves no triumph, only the hollow snip of scissors echoing corporate dehumanization.

Hitman: full ending explained →

Hitman: frequently asked questions

What is the rating of "Hitman" on Claqueta Ácida?

"Hitman" scored 5.8/10 on Claqueta Ácida in the review by Odin Lagbert.

Is "Hitman" worth watching?

With reservations. We gave it 5.8/10 (Citric Acid), our rating for uneven films with something worth saving.

Who directed "Hitman"?

"Hitman" was directed by Xavier Gens.

How does "Hitman" end?

Spoilers in Hitman ending explained .

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Theater Collateral Damage Report

Psychophysical impact certificate issued by Odin Lagbert

⚡ Moderate Wear

🥱 Yawn-o-meter

3 amagos en el tramo intermedio; pestañeo pesado en las transiciones más innecesarias.

⏱️ Panic Clock Checks

El reloj aparece en escena justo cuando la subtrama secundaria pide paciencia.

😬 Cringe Index 3.1/10

How much second-hand embarrassment the film causes (10 = maximum). It is not the review score.

☕ Caffeine Prescription

2 espresso para no dejarse vencer por la mediocridad cómoda.

💥 Derailment Point

"A mitad del segundo acto cuando la subtrama secundaria empezó a pesar más de lo que aportaba."