★★☆☆☆

I am a massive fan of the very first “Hitman” movie. Did not know it was based on a video game, but was not surprised to learn that fact. Timothy Olyphant was absolutely perfect in the role. Naturally I was really excited to learn there would be a sequel and couldn’t wait to rent Agent 47.

Sequels suck.

It is like someone who never bothered to watch the first one was put in charge of this one. You can be forgiven a great many things with a sequel or a franchise, but you cannot both break the storyline and swap out the main actor.

Rupert Friend wasn’t up to the task of this role. He couldn’t sell it like Timothy could. While I’m at it, did they off-shore this writing to the lowest bidder on upwork.com? Not even a cameo from Nika (Olga Kurylenko), the woman Agent 47 protects from the roof tops. According to the initial movie she is the woman he will always watch over.

If this was an attempt to reboot the franchise around a different actor (really??? one movie in??) they should have sold it as that instead of as the next franchise installment. It’s not a franchise if you don’t have most of the original actors.

Agent 47 Needed Continuity

Doesn’t anyone in Hollywood learn from the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise? Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was a different director, different studio and only Freddy himself came forward. As far as the fans were concerned it was a mega flop. This installment isn’t the complete and total mega flop Nightmare on Elm Street 2 was, but, it’s not far off.

The only way you could enjoy this movie is to have never seen the first one. I suspect you will then have one thing in common with the entire writing and production staff of this movie.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.