TriStar Pictures, Rated R
Directed by Che-Kirk Wong, Written by Ben Ramsey

When I saw the trailer for "The Big Hit," I had high hopes. It was produced by the great John Woo, and looked like a witty action film. It's been a long time since I've been so disappointed. The first action sequence is okay, but I've seen that stuff before. The jokes I've also heard before, except they weren't that good to start with. The idea of an action movie not taking itself seriously is great, but the execution is poor. It was painful to sit through that first hour. The movie was trying so hard and failing at every turn. The story concerns Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg), a hit man who just wants to be liked. His rival Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) tells him that he doesn't think the families and friends of all the people he killed like him that much. That's one of the funniest parts in the film. Later Cisco betrays him and his boss Paris (Avery Brooks) goes after him for kidnapping his goddaughter (China Chow), whom he, of course falls in love with. There's a completely uninteresting subplot about his fiance (Christina Applegate) and her disapproving parents, as well as another about his mistress (Lela Rochon) who, early on, steals money from him. It just seems like these aspects of the story might as well be written out, but then I guess the film would only be an hour long. The last half hour is the only part worth seeing. The jokes which have been set up through the rest of the film finally become amusing and the non-stop action is truly intense. The serial-esque replay of previous action sequences that show how certain characters are still alive when they seemingly died 5 minutes before are a nice touch. The movie indeed redeems itself towards the end, but that's not enough to make it a good film. Wait for the video release and fast-forward to the last scene with Elliott Gould and watch from there. The movie will end up being 100 times more enjoyable than if you saw it at the beginning, and you'll have spared yourself most of the horrible acting and jokes. **

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