Movie Review: Hit Man

Glen Powell has been having quite a moment lately. For a while he was only really known for playing the memorably obnoxious Chad Radwell in Ryan Murphy’s slasher comedy series Scream Queens, but that all changed starting with his turn as the foil to Tom Cruise’s character in 2022’s blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick, followed up by last year’s surprise rom-com success Anyone But You, and now a lead role in this Summer’s upcoming sequel / reboot Twisters. Further proving he deserves his newfound leading man status though is this classically entertaining blend of comedy, romance, and crime caper from renowned director Richard Linklater.

Powell nails the role of Gary Johnson, a mild-mannered philosophy and psychology professor at the University of New Orleans, who also helps with technology for the New Orleans Police Department’s sting operations on the side. Jasper (a perfectly skeezy Austin Amelio) is usually tasked by the NOPD with going undercover on these jobs, but when he is deservedly suspended at the last minute, Gary is roped into taking on the role of a hitman-for-hire in his place. Despite his apprehension, once he meets with the client he proves to be a natural, so much so that he is asked to do it again, and again, and again, becoming the force’s go-to for the surprisingly high number of similar jobs (this many people really jump right to murder as the solution to their problems?).

Jasper’s suspension eventually runs its course, and he wants to return to his job, but his boss Sergeant Hank (Gralen Bryant Banks) and coworkers Phil (Sanjay Rao) and Claudette (Retta) all think Gary is better at it (and nicer to work with) and so he is unhappily relegated to desk duty. When Gary meets one of his marks, Madison (Adria Arjona in a star-making turn), and feels sympathy for her, he convinces her to leave her husband Ray (Evan Holtzman) instead and use the money she was going to pay him to start a new life. When the two later begin an ill-advised romance, Jasper suspects something is up and senses a chance to regain his position.

To say anything more would only spoil the fun and Hit Man is a lot of fun. The entire cast are clearly having a ball and their enjoyment is infectious, but this movie is almost entirely Powell’s and he commands the screen, only ever ceding attention in his sizzling romance scenes with Arjona. The many different disguises that Gary takes on to help sell himself as a hit man to the different potential perps may only make brief appearances but he fully commits to all of them and gets to demonstrate a surprising amount of range. Likewise as his character comes to break out of his shell and discover who he really wants to be, a theme that is referenced throughout via philosophy quotes.

Linklater as a director has a more reserved style, which robs the movie of a little flash but also helps to ground the more unbelievable (and surprisingly mostly true) parts of the story. It’s a tricky thing to pull off a film that blends so many different genres while also executing a twisty and convincing plot, but co-screenwriters Linklater and Powell pull it off seamlessly. It’s a shame (though not a surprise) that Netflix didn’t give this more than a perfunctory limited theatrical run, because this is the sort of smart but breezy Summer fare that could have turned into a sleeper hit in cinemas and would have likely helped it get more of the attention it deserves. ★★★★