Hitman: Agent 47

I remember when I went to see "Hitman" back in 2007 and I thought it was so fresh, slick and incredibly shot well considering the genre. The character was lethal, unpredictable, and unforgiving--the perfect assassin. So when I saw my first trailer of "Hitman: Agent 47", even though it starred a different actor, it looked as though it had that same edginess, slickness and unpredictability. Verdict...it sure does.

This story centers on an elite assassin, Agent 47 (Rupert Friend) who was genetically engineered from conception to be the perfect killing machine, and he is known only by the last two digits on the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. He is the culmination of decades of research and forty-six earlier agent clones-- endowing him with unprecedented strength, speed, stamina and intelligence. His latest target is a mega-corporation headed up by Le Clerg (Thomas Kretschmann) that plans to unlock the secret of Agent 47's past to create an army of killers whose powers surpass even his own. Teaming up with a young woman, Katia (Hannah Ware) who may hold the secret to overcome their powerful and clandestine enemies, 47 confronts stunning revelations about his own origins and squares off in an epic battle with his deadliest foe.

Others to round out the cast are Zachary Quinto as John Smith, Ciaran Hinds as Dr. Litvenko, Katia's father, Dan Bakkedahl as Sanders, an interrogating detective, Angelababy as Diana, the one who gives 47 is 'jobs', Michaela Caspar as Hall of Records Clerk, Rolf Kanies as Dr. Delriego and Mona Pirzad as Katia's Mother.

This was remarkably directed by Aleksander Bach (Music Videos and some Festivals). I say remarkable because he has no other work to his credit and this is simply unheard of. Obviously this guy is a natural, but we'll know more if he is a natural when we see his next film which he will undoubtedly receive. The photography coupled with the editing was executed slickly, which usually takes a seasoned director to pull off this well. It was written by Skip Woods ("Thursday" '98, "Swordfish" '01, "Hitman" '07, "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" '09, "The A-Team" '10, "A Good Day to Die Hard" '13, "Sabotage" '14) and Michael Finch ("Predators" '10, "The November Man" '14, "Interrogation" '15) based on a story by Woods. Certainly the writers here are seasoned at this particular genre, per their resume, especially Woods. In fact Woods wrote "Hitman", which made this story flow much better considering the fact that you also saw "Hitman". It had a couple of small slow areas in this, but nothing to take away from the grit and intensity this supplied us with. These writers and director worked very well together, so much so, I'd like to see them work on another project in the foreseeable future. Who knows, maybe a "Hitman: Agent 48" could be in our future.

As aforementioned, if you liked "Hitman" '07, assuming one saw it, you'll love this, however it is not a prerequisite to getting into or understanding this installment. Trust me, this is a roller coaster ride to beat none that will leave you thinking about it as you leave the multiplex.

Out of 4 Stars: 3                              Rated: R                                  96mins.