Hit List (1989)

Best movie ever!

A different way of telling a story

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Film-maker William Lustig had made a sleeper in the shape of "Relentless" in 1989, but also that year he did the worthwhile 80s low-budget revenge thriller "Hit List" which kind of went by unnoticed between the "Maniac Cop" features. A mafia boss Luca organises for his hit-man to get rid of a witness Frank who's under police custody, but the guy takes out the wrong people and kidnaps the wrong son. The husband Mark comes home to find his friend dead, his pregnant wife injured and his son gone. The FBI wants Luca to believe he has the witness's son, so their witness can testify, but this means putting Mark behind bars until that happens. Overhearing the plans, Mark flees and kidnaps Frank in the hope of tracking down his son."Hit List" is a gritty urban action thriller that is as systematic as you can get, but director Lustig does a competently slick job and the mouth-watering cast he had at his disposal simply aimed up. Jan-Michael Vincent, Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Ken Learner and Harold Sylvester. Henriksen is ultimately unforgettable as the deadly hit-man, who also happens to be a shoe salesman by trade. Would you dare ask for a discount? Not when you see this guy in his grove. Vincent goes about things in very hardened manner and Rossi is in good form as the humorous wise-guy. An excellent Napier gives a crusty turn as the FBI agent and Torn gives his Mafia boss plenty of fire and weight. The cast are excellent and they needed to be, as the pulpy plot was too basic and somewhat unspectacular even with its calculative suspense and tough brutality (a shootout in a kid's laser zone, where everyone just goes about their business?!). It doesn't entirely go all-out, as the hardy script does take its time for the character's to some degree open up with a bit of drama. Lustig's taut style suited the inventively agile photography and the go-for-broke stunt-work and stunt-car driving provided some fatal excitement in its absurd climax. "Hit List" is a gratuitously neat little action joint, which doesn't ask much of your time."Maybe it's your world, but it's my kid".

William Lustig certainly knows how to direct a gritty city based thriller; he succeeded admirably with the fantastically entertaining Maniac Cop series, and while Hit List isn't quite as memorable - it's still more than entertaining enough, and I'm sure any fan of Lustig's work won't regret tracking it down. It's slightly more serious overall than the majority of the rest of Lustig's filmography, although the director still manages to find time for some humour, and while the action isn't exactly groundbreaking - the film is, at least, not boring for a minute. The basis for the plot focuses on Vic Luca; a big-mouthed mob boss who is set to appear in court for his crimes. However, given his powers as the head of a criminal organisation, it's not difficult for him to track down and kill all the witnesses; much to the dismay of hard-bitten cop Tom Mitchum, who wants to see Luca rot in jail. The plot thickens when Luca's assassin Chris Caleek goes to kill witness Frank DeSalvo and ends up getting the wrong house, and kidnapping ordinary man Jack Collins' son...William Lustig has put together a good cast for this film, with the likes of Lance Henriksen standing out the most and getting good support from memorable actors such as Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Jan-Michael Vincent and Leo Rossi. As he showed with the Maniac Cop films, Lustig certainly has an eye for atmosphere and this film revels in the same gritty urban feel as the earlier films did. I've got to say that I'm surprised this film isn't better known really; it may not have quite the same appeal that Maniac Cop did, but it's great fun and makes for easy viewing. The characters are all drawn in an intriguing manner, as no two are similar and thanks to the cast of character actors - all manage to be memorable in their own right. The film obviously had budget constraints as there's not a great deal of action sequences, and the ones that do feature aren't exactly over the top; but Lustig makes good use of his assets, and Hit List could have been a lot worse. It all boils down to a conclusion that isn't hard to see coming, but its good fun getting there and overall, I won't hesitate to recommend this film to anyone who can find it.

It's too bad that a solid cast of character actors working with a decent genre director can't quite improve upon, or merely disguise, their lead's mumbly, slurring performance. I remember seeing the film and wondering why so much of Jan-Michael Vincent's acting was dubbed, and why there were so many single shots of him by himself, the other actors being cut in for individual lines of dialogue, etc.According to director William Lustig, Vincent was so inebriated they oftentimes had to just prop him up in some of the master shots and let the other actors "act around" the poor guy. One scene he's even lying down on a backyard bench.If anything, it gives Lance Henriksen more room to chew up a lot of scenery, and then, of course, there's the stunts. Lots and lots of them. This is one movie that doesn't necessarily make you disappreciate dynamic car pursuits, but the tire squealing is enough to make you don headphones and listen to good heavy metal for the duration of the chases, especially the parking structure one.All in all, it's a watchable movie. I especially like one of Vincent's decipherable lines (one that he repeats quite a few times) "But he's got my kid!!" because he says it with about as much despair as if he'd just ran out of cigarettes.

A very good movie, Airwolf's Jan-Michael Vincent totally redeems himself, along with Alien's Lance Henrikson!