HITMAN: AGENT 47 [2015] [Blu-ray + Digital HD ULTRAVIOLET] [UK Release]
Action-Packed and Stylish!
Rupert Friend stars in this exhilarating action adventure based on the award-winning video game series. A genetically engineered assassin with superhuman abilities, 47 [Rupert Friend], and an equally gifted young woman Katia van Dees [Hannah Ware] turn the tables on a sinister organisation that’s out to create and army of unstoppable killers. Also starring Zachary Quinto, in this spectacular film, filled with breath-taking effects, and will keep you on the edge of your seat from start to finish!
FILM FACT: Filming was originally set to take place in Berlin and Singapore in summer 2013, but was later postponed to March 2014. Principal photography began on the 18th February, 2014. ‘HITMAN,’ a 2007 film based on the same video game series, was also written by Skip Woods.
Cast: Angelababy, Dan Bakkedahl, Charlene Beck, Michael Bornhütter, Melissa Broughton, Nils Brunkhorst, Michaela Caspar, Alvin Chan, Michael T. Corcoran, Manuel Depta, Andrew Di Bartolomeo, Georg Ebinal, Jörg Ellmer, Rupert Friend, Waye Leon Goh, Matthias Günther, Jesse Hergt, Ciarán Hinds, Jerry Hoffmann, Florian Hotz, Sebastian Hülk, Tomas Jester, Rolf Kanies, Michael Knese, Felix Koch, Alrik Kreemke, Thomas Kretschmann, Daniel Michael Nelson, Peter Paes, Helena Pieske, Mona Pirzad, Jürgen Prochnow, Zachary Quinto, Markus Ranglack, Kira Smidt, Daniel Stockhorst, Johannes Suhm, Eskindir Tesfay, Asuka Tovazzi, Hannah Ware, Janice Koh Yu-Mei, David Akinloye (uncredited), Vienna Ash-Simpson (uncredited), Melanie Benna (uncredited), David Brückner (uncredited), Lance Eminger (uncredited), Ricardo Ewert (uncredited), Dennis Heath (uncredited), Jessica Lois (uncredited), William E. Morris (uncredited), Emilio Rivera (uncredited), Derek Joseph Sun (uncredited), Gillian Tan (uncredited), Chris Theisinger (uncredited) and Joe Toedtling (uncredited)
Director: Aleksander Bach
Producers: Adrian Askarieh, Alex Young, Arno Neubauer, Daniel Alter, Charles Gordon, Fran Borgia, Freddie Yeo, Little Suzy Yeo, Marco Mehlitz, Michael Hendrickson, Mike Wiluan, Paul Deason, Skip Woods and Steven P. Saeta
Screenplay: Michael Finch (screenplay) and Skip Woods (story/screenplay)
Composer: Marco Beltrami
Cinematography: Óttar Guðnason (Director of Photography)
Image Resolution: 1080p
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Audio: English: 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
Spanish: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
French: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Português: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Russian: 5.1 DTS-HD Surround
Czech: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Hungarian: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Polish: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Turkish: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
Ukrainian: 2.0 Digital Stereo Audio
English: 2.0 Dolby Digital Stereo Audio
Subtitles: English SDH, Spanish, French, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Russian, Swedish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Croatian, Czech, Estonian, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Korean, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovenian, Turkish and Ukrainian
Running Time: 96 minutes
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Andrew’s Blu-ray Review: Say hello to Agent 47 [Rupert Friend], the eponymous killing machine in this adaptation of the popular videogame. During a rare moment of quiet amid the glass-smashing, brain-bashing mayhem of the ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film, a character offers the wise observation that we are all a bit more complicated than our internal circuitry might suggest. Applying this logic to the movie itself, it’s fair to conclude that while Aleksander Bach’s directing debut is indeed in this shoot-’em-up film.
For those of you who have already been to see the film ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47,’ will have no idea that it is a reboot of the original ‘HITMAN’ [2007] film, where we had the forgettable EuropaCorp-produced first film adapted from the IO Interactive videogame about a chrome-domed, genetically engineered contract killer. Ruthlessly precise in his targeting and virtually invincible, the first Agent 47 was played by Tim Olyphant in the first film ‘HITMAN’ and is embodied here by the steely-gazed Rupert Friend, who coolly donning the character’s familiar black suit, white shirt and red necktie. He also sports a back-of-the-head barcode tattoo that serves as a continual visual reminder that Agent 47 was cooked up in a government laboratory way back in the 1960s, and that he is a cold-blooded killer devoid of such ordinary human qualities as fear, compassion and love.
In the new film, however, Agent 47’s mission is not to preserve and uphold his murderous order, but rather to destroy it, or at least keep it from being permanently reinstated. To do that, he must head to Berlin and track down Katia van Dees [Hannah Ware], a guarded young woman who’s spent her entire life looking over her shoulder, and not without reason. As is revealed soon enough, Katia van Dees possesses both a mysterious ability to foresee the immediate future and a mysterious connection with Dr. Piotr Litvenko [Ciarán Hinds], the scientist who first devised the Agent program. Also in the mix is John Smith [Zachary Quinto], a highly skilled fighter who early on assumes the role of Katia van Dees’s protector, giving her fair warning about exactly what kind of danger she’s up against. Together they will reinforce the well-known cinematic truth, that if you’re looking for a place to hide, you should really steer clear of your nearest U.S. embassy, where Agent 47 stages an audacious, foolhardy assault on Katia van Dees, John Smith and the laws of probability.
‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ plays like a high-production Hitman fan-film during its action bits; and like the film school project of an untested director, in this case, first time feature-film Aleksander Bach. Director Aleksander Bach tries to use exotic locations, high-concept architecture or sharp interior design as substitutes for actual skill and confidence behind the camera, but it’s not nearly enough camouflage to cover his inexperience at the helm. Virtually every one of the scenes in ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ takes place in some kind of interesting settings and very different locations around the world.
When the action does kick-in, fans do get the sort of John Wick-style of “Gun Fu” that is satisfying on a visceral and totally fantastical level. ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ makes a point of emphasising the brutality of its violence, which is more hilarious than shocking, given how the kills are staged with the hyper-real feel of video game virtual reality, complete with bloody traps and savage executions that are dutifully crafted in emulation of the Hitman games. Indeed, the most praise-worthy aspect of ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ are the flickers of brilliance and it shows when staging certain sequences that actually capture the look, feel, and player interactivity of the games, but these flickers are few and brief when they do appear and worthy of the anticipation.
Hannah Ware provides a good enough performance, it’s just a performance suited for a different film. Her on-the-run and mentally rattled character is supposed to be moving and captivating, but in the context of this film, there’s not enough quality material for the story-wise or in dialogue to support that gravitas. Things grind to an agonizing halt whenever Agent 47 moves away from the mayhem of its namesake, in order to focus on Katia van Dees’s dramatic story of self-discovery. Meanwhile, Zachary Quinto’s “John Smith” floats somewhere between these warring sides of the film, never quite taking shape until the very end. To be fair, both Hannah Ware and Zachary Quinto, and of course their stunt doubles, look convincing enough in the film’s action moments.
In the end, ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ does have some missed opportunity to translate one of the more adaptable video games into a satisfying film experience, but it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of this brilliant shoot-’em-up film. Like “The Punisher” it is also a comic book transferred to films, the conundrum of why a popular game character so basic in premise, who is a great hitman, can’t make it to the screen intact, after multiple tries, is almost more interesting than the film itself. Hopefully, the upcoming wave of developer-led gaming films have something better to offer, because if ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ is almost certainly going to be too much of a generic action film for those heavily invested in the game franchise, and too video game-like for those who aren't. For a group somewhere in the middle, however, those who just want to see some fun stunts and a bunch of fairly good action sequences strung together with more than a little flair, the film provides enough to sustain its brief runtime. That is, provided one doesn't think too much about why any of the action takes place. All in all, it is a film you must leave your brain outside and just sit back for an amazing rollercoaster ride of your life, as it is not a film you have to be pompous and intellectual about.
HITMAN: AGENT 47 MUSIC TRACK LIST
DAYBEU (Written by Maxwell Young) [Performed by Maxwell Suited]
DB VICE (Written by Ted Caplan) [Performed by Hot Toothpaste]
GIRL FROM UGANDA (Written by Les Baxter) [Performed by Les Baxter]
NIGHT PATROL (Written by Colin Halliwell) [Performed by Two Wounded Birds]
JUNGLE (Written by Alexander Grant, Michael Gonzalez, Jamie N. Commons, Adam Levin, Casey Harris, Noah Feldshuh and Sam Nelson Harris) [Performed by Jamie N. Commons and X Ambassadors]
Blu-ray Image Quality – 20th Century Fox exciting action packed ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film, and if you’ve ever seen an action film, then choosing this one for your Blu-ray Collection, then I can tell you that it definitely rings a bell, and I will say that the visual presentation is pretty awesome and it does embody what we’ve come to expect with this Blu-Ray disc. With an impressive 2.35:1 aspect ratio, and an equally stunning 1080p encoded image, is sharp as a knife, offering up detail so realistic you’d feel as if you can reach out and touch it. Of course the film has meaning, so some of the more stylized scenes rely on some camera tricks, but do give a very unique look and feel. Black levels are solid, contrast is fine and but some people out there have complained to the contrary and have said to have been left out in the cold. Well that is there personal opinion of the film might be low, but to me it looks totally amazing images.
Blu-ray Audio Quality – 20th Century Fox brings us this exciting action packed ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film that accompanying the visuals is kick ass 7.1 DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack. And to get the best out of this film and I can say that this is one that you can turn up the volume, sit back and be totally amazed. The experience is an aural orgasm with sounds creating a dizzying experience that certainly fits the theme of the film and gives all your speakers a good workout. Vocals are pure; surrounds play a big part as do with your speakers working overtime with the dynamic surround sounds that hit you and the film definitely earns their keep here. The sound of a bullet through flesh and the screeching of tyres never sounded so good. Like the visuals, this is totally amazing.
Blu-ray Special Features and Extras:
Special Feature: Deleted Scenes [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [4:03] You have a choice of three separate titles to view and they include “Fabian Hanging;” “Warehouse Wrecking Ball” and “Construction Fight.” You can either watch them separately or Play All.
Special Feature: The Hit Counter [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [96:00] Admittedly this is kind of neat, where you get a running commentary of sorts with a Picture in Picture window panels appearing in different parts of the TV screen throughout the full length of the film and at the start you are informed that ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ was first brought to our attention with the first film ‘HITMAN,’ but it was originally conceived with the release of the a computer game entitled ‘HITMAN: CODENAME 47’ which first exploded on the scene on the 19th November, 2000, which required two years of development. But of course this is only the tip of the iceberg and you will have to view the rest of the film to find out more in-depth information. What you also get to view is artist’s impressions and computer simulation at certain parts of the film. But I suggest giving this a view another time when you feel up to watching the film again. Anyway this is very tongue in cheek and it shows the film doesn’t take itself too seriously.
Special Feature: Re-Imagining Hitman [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [6:02] This feature has the cast and crew talk to us about the film, complete with some in-depth behind-the-scenes footage and short excerpts from the film. Contributions include: Rupert Friend [Agent 47]; Zachary Quinto [John Smith] and Ciarán Hinds [Dr. Piotr Litvenko].
Special Feature: Ultimate Action: Staging the Fights [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:54] We get a look at the set and how some of the “action” scenes were choreographed. You also get to view lots of behind-the-scene filming and the actual film sequences related to show you what it looks like in the actual film. Contributions include: Rupert Friend [Agent 47]; Hannah Ware [Katia van Dees]; Aleksander Bach [Director]; Zachary Quinto [John Smith], Jonathan Eusebio [Stunt Coordinator]; Adrian Askarieh [Producer] and Jon Valera [Stunt Coordinator].
Special Feature: Hitman: Agent 47 Comic [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [2:20] This special feature is composed of a series of 28 still images from the official ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ Boom!! Studios comic book and the images are absolutely stunning. To view the images you have to first select “Auto Advance” to launch the slide show where the images will change every five seconds. Press || on your remote if you want to pause on an image. Select “Manual Advance” to step through the images individually. Press >> on your remote to step back to the previous image. Press “Top Menu” or “Disc Menu” to exit the gallery.
Special Feature: Making of the Comic Book [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:49] Here we get to see ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ Official Movie Prequel Comic. Contributions include: Adrian Askarieh [Producer]; Stephen Christy [Boom! Studios]; F. E. DeSanto [Comic Book Writer]. What is discussed is how they wanted to transfer the action sequences in the comic book, to what they wanted to appear in the actual ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film, to try and make it look as just as good as the images in the comic book, but in some cases where words appear in the comic book “speech bubbles,” they felt that the words were superfluous and instead they felt the action sequences would speak for themselves.
Special Feature: Promotional Featurettes [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [6:28] Here you get to view five separate features, which consist of “Agent 47: Around The World;” “Agent 47: Ultimate Hitman;” “Who is John Smith;” “Creating Katia van Dees” and “Iconic.” Contributions include: Aleksander Bach [Director]; Adrian Askarieh [Producer]; Rupert Friend [Agent 47]; Hannah Ware [Katia van Dees]; Zachary Quinto [John Smith], Alex Young [Producer] and Jon Valera [Stunt Coordinator]. What you also get to see and hear everyone talking about the character Agent 47 in the film, plus you get clips from the ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film, to show you where the action sequences appear. Again you can either view each item separately or Play All.
Special Feature: Gallery [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:03] With this special feature you get to view 12 stunning images from the 20th Century Fox studio promotional photos from the ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film.
Special Feature: Poster Gallery [2015] [1080p] [1.78:1] [1:03] With this special feature you get to view 12 stunning images from the 20th Century Fox studio promotional cinema posters from the ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film and you get to view some fantastic designs.
Theatrical Trailers: Here you get to view four Original Theatrical Trailers which are spectacular and they are as follows:
Theatrical Trailer 1 [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:26] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47.’
Theatrical Trailer 2 [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:26] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47.’
Theatrical Trailer 3 [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:26] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘THE REVENANT.’
Theatrical Trailer 4 [2015] [1080p] [2.35:1] [2:26] This is the Original Theatrical Trailer for the film ‘VICTOR FRANKENSTEIN.’
Finally, this Blu-ray is well put together; and what a shame they could not have added an audio commentary or even more actual behind-the-scenes documentaries. For example, how they made the ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ film etc. Other than that, the bonus features are very nice additions to an action or video game fanatic fans. You won’t be ashamed to have this on your shelf next to ‘Resident Evil’ and other films of this genre. The film’s saving grace is that it does have some brilliant stunning outstanding action sequences. Here, director Aleksander Bach shows a real ability to provide heart-stopping moments. The fact that these characters have special abilities allows them to pull off some incredible stunts that would kill ordinary humans. Agent 47’s gunfight with the forces of the Syndicate International in downtown Singapore is quite spectacular. The final shootout upon the rooftop of a high rise building was also my highlight viewing. If you clamour for the very definition of shoot-’em-up action, without wondering what it is all about, then ‘HITMAN: AGENT 47’ certainly foots the bill and hits the mark every time and do not take any notice of all those critics who moan it is a totally mindless film, well I totally disagree as it was a fantastic shoot-’em-up action film that hits all the right buttons. Highly Recommended!
Andrew C. Miller – Your Ultimate No.1 Film Aficionado
Le Cinema Paradiso
United Kingdom
