I went into Richard Linklater's new movie Hit Man with low expectations. I'd seen the trailer — it looked like a fun, disposable Netflix comedy. Glen Powell plays a philosophy professor who goes undercover as a hitman for the police, then gets involved with a woman (Adria Arjona) who wants to hire him to kill her abusive husband. It sounded like a high-concept thriller with a rom-com twist. Fun, sure. But nothing special.
I was wrong. This movie is something special. I saw it at a packed theater last Friday and the audience was laughing, gasping, and cheering. It's the most purely entertaining film I've seen all year. Here's why.
The Chemistry Is Electric
Glen Powell and Adria Arjona have genuine, crackling chemistry. Their scenes together are playful, tense, and sexy. There's a scene where they're sitting in a diner, talking about whether she should go through with the murder, and the dialogue is so sharp and natural that I forgot I was watching a movie. It feels like two real people connecting in a bizarre situation. Linklater is a master of dialogue, and this is some of his best work.
It's Based on a Wild True Story
The film is loosely based on the real-life story of Gary Johnson, a Houston-area philosophy professor who worked as an undercover agent for the police, posing as a hitman. He helped arrest dozens of people who tried to hire him. The real story is even weirder than the movie — Johnson eventually fell in love with one of his targets, just like in the film. Linklater and Powell co-wrote the screenplay, and they lean into the absurdity of the premise without losing the heart.