Hitman's Run (1999)

People are voting emotionally.

A Masterpiece!

I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Former hit-man Tony Lazorka (Roberts) (how do they come up with these names?) is now living as a happily married family man in the suburbs of L.A. He thinks he's far from his past, having worked has a hired killer for mob boss Dominic Catania (Miano), but when yet another "Disk" (as in, "we've got to get The Disk! - which we've all seen so many times before) surfaces that contains other people in the witness protection program, Lazorka must team up with annoying punk kid Brian (Powell) to save his father, and Lazorka's kidnapped family. And what do FBI agents Tom (Howell) and Randall (Huff) have to do with all this intrigue? Will Lazorka be successful? This movie is very, very dumb. That's not necessarily an insult - there are varying degrees of dumb. There's dumb dumb, there's just plain bad dumb, there's funny dumb, etc. Luckily, Hit-man's Run falls into the "yeah, it is very dumb but there are plenty of unintentional (probably) laughs" category...but there are some major caveats here - read on...Eric Roberts is definitely a major meathead in this one. His hair, clothing and demeanor are all very silly, and he strongly resembles Antonio Banderas, especially from Assassins (1995). Don't forget, Roberts also plays an assassin here. Why the filmmakers decided to use a dud like Assassins as their template for greatness is somewhat puzzling. During all the blow-ups and shooting, the bad guys constantly have terrible aim and Lazorka's is always right-on. Sure, that's fairly common I suppose, but there are a lot of just hilariously implausible scenarios on show here (again, not necessarily a negative).And while C. Thomas Howell looks like a young kid here, this was actually released three years after the great The Sweeper (1996), where he plays a macho tough guy. It really shows his range. This movie could have used more Howell. Brent Huff and Damian Chapa are also on display, and it's nice to see them, as well as fan favorite Robert Miano. Unfortunately, the movie makes a major mistake with the kid. Why, again, would the filmmakers use such poor judgment in thinking any audience any where would like this irritating punk, much less not want to twist his stupid head off like a bottlecap, remains unknown. All he does is spout grating clichés, or, when Lazorka is doing his action stuff, say "Whoa!" and things like that. Sure, the kid from American Ninja 5 (1993) did the same thing, but he was a kid. As an older teen, he has no excuse. We'd love to know what the writers were thinking with this Poochie-like decision. Importantly, he also wears a sleeveless sweater throughout the whole movie. A SLEEVELESS SWEATER. Who even knew they existed? Hit-man's run is fairly cartoony and could have used some grit. Then just dump the kid and have Eric Roberts go on a solo revenge mission to save his family. THEN Hit-man's Run would really have something. But the quality is junky, and the unnecessary addition of the stupid punk kid really sinks things.We all love Eric Roberts, and all the other names in the cast as well, and the aforementioned dumbness alone is no big deal, but, married to the addition of the kid, Hit-man's Run might be very trying to the patience of viewers. When the dumbness is the SAVING GRACE of the movie, there's a definite problem.For more action insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

I recently found this in the bargain used shelves at a local store and thought I'd give it a try. I was shocked to see its very low rating here. This isn't a piece of art mind you, but as an entertaining mindless action flick it does well. Its a standard Mark Lester film, nothing flashy, just a tough guy getting mad and killing all the bad guys. It has some great one liners and a great plot, it just doesn't do much with that plot. Eric Roberts has a great, albeit under developed, character in John Dugan. With a better writer I'd give this movie a 8 or 9. Even with its short comings, every action junkie should give this movie a viewing. It was definitely a worthy addition to my action collection.

This is a poor movie and the storyline is totally unbelievable. The action is thick and fast and enjoyable at the start, but becomes all to predictable in the end. Eric Roberts is invincible and never gets shot. The body count is incredibly high. Acting is atrociously bad. There's action but you can get better fare elsewhere.

Steer well clear of this so-called movie! No acting, the plot is as stupid as you'll ever see, disgustingly violent, sloppy production, the scriptwriter should be put behind bars... Well, you get the idea. "Hitman's Run" could well be the worst piece of (beep) I have ever been forced to watch.