hit man - MOVIE REVIEW

We saw Hit Man last night.

Walking down the driveway, my youngest son asked why I was so keen on seeing it — I’d passed on Planet of the Apes and Furiosa, and I said: you know I have a thing for hit men.
My middle son threw in: Mom literally wrote a book about one. Remember?
It’s true — coming out June 2025.

So we bought our popcorn and peanut M&M’s and buckled in. And we all liked it. It’s funny and smart — hands down my kind of movie.

In a world where most theatre outings are blanketed with CG, pyro, and acrobatics (Fall Guy — big disappointment) it was fabulous to see a movie about people. Mind you... interesting people doing crazy s*** - but people.
Even better, it’s based on a real person as written in an article in Texas Monthly (thanks to my oldest son’s girlfriend for turning me on to that publication last summer).

Gary Johnson is a dorky college prof with a side hustle. His proficiency with electronics - hidden cameras, microphones and such - has landed him a gig with the police department’s surveillance team. They specialize in taking down people about to hire hit men. A surprise opening propels Gary into playing the fake hitman at the meet up — and he’s good at it. So he does it again and again — in real life he ended up with around 60 arrests — until he advises one potential customer to take the money and start a new life. Then things get complicated.

Co-written and directed by Richard Linklater who brought us Dazed and Confused, Boyhood and School of Rock. And co-written and starring @glenpowell who we saw in the Top Gun remake and the rom-com resuscitator Anyone But You. Also my fave @Jasonbateman has a producing credit. I’m wondering why I haven’t seen more about it. I remember reading about it at The Toronto Film Festival, so I’ve been watching for it , but I never even saw the trailer — it’s coming on @netflix @netflixfilm but it’s worth a trip to the theatre.

If you like a movie without a 20 minute car chase that makes you laugh and think — catch this.