Review Roundup: Rupert Friend is the Perfect Assassin in HITMAN: AGENT 47

Rupert Friend stars in the new action-thriller HITMAN: AGENT 47. The film was directed by Aleksander Bach and written by Skip Woods and Michael Finch.

HITMAN: AGENT 47 centers on an elite assassin who was genetically engineered from conception to be the perfect killing machine, and is known only by the last two digits on the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. He is the culmination of decades of research and forty-six earlier Agent clones -- endowing him with unprecedented strength, speed, stamina and intelligence. His latest target is a mega-corporation that plans to unlock the secret of Agent 47's past to create an army of KILLERS whose powers surpass even his own. Teaming up with a young woman who may hold the secret to overcoming their powerful and clandestine enemies, 47 confronts stunning revelations about his own origins and squares off in an epic battle with his deadliest foe.

Alongwith Rupert Friend, HITMAN: AGENT 47 features Hanna Ware, Zachary Quinto, Rolf Kanies, Jerry Hoffman and Dan Bakkedahl.

Let's see what the critics had to say!

Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times: Dumb as dirt and just as generic,"Hitman: Agent 47" trades brains for bullets and characters for windup toys. So it's all the more shocking that honest-to-goodness actors like Zachary Quinto and Rupert Friend have signed on to play the film's two leads; maybe the director, Aleksander Bach, told them they could have a lifetime supply of their smoking-hot suits. But do we really need another movie about a man who's a "perfect killing machine"? Or another evil corporation dreaming about cloning him into an army? Mr. Bach and his backers clearly believe that we do, going so far as to reboot the 2007 headache "Hitman"(based on the video game series with the same title) and adding more eye candy. But no amount of killer good looks can save a project with only an echo chamber of destruction where a story ought to be.

Justin Chang, Variety: During a rare moment of quiet amid the glass-smashing, brain-bashing mayhem of "Hitman: Agent 47," a character offers the wise observation that we are all a bit more complicated than our internal circuitry might suggest. Applying this logic to the movie itself, it's fair to conclude that while Aleksander Bach's directing debut is indeed the junky, incoherent shoot-'em-up we feared it might be, to dismiss it as just another late-August studio craptacular doesn't quite do it justice. But what to call it, exactly? The 47th best action film of 2015? A feature-length Audi commercial, or a promo reel for the Singapore Tourism Board? The most unnecessary artistic contribution ever made by someone named Bach? Fox is surely hoping that "surprise box office hit" might be a plausible alternative, though the best one will likely be able to say on that front is that where disastrous franchise relaunches are concerned, it's no "Fantastic Four."

Jordan Hoffman, The Guardian: This vaguely science-fiction action picture based on a video game (and not a sequel to 2007's Hitman) is an idiotic mess with a bafflingly dense prologue, an endless final battle, lifeless performances and anticlimactic twists, but it does have a degree of visual flair. When the characters finally shut up and get to shooting, one must give credit to the creativity of the kills. Heads pop like ripe grapes, bodies flail as they are sucked into jet engines and arteries spray all over white staircases. While there's zero to recommend about this film regarding its story or dialogue, it's worth appreciating that it all seems very well rehearsed.

Kyle Smith, New York Post: "Hitman" movies are proving as disposable as tissue. Only eight years after a film based on the "Hitman" video game appeared, "Hitman: Agent 47" assumes we've already forgotten the other movie. Good call, guys....Friend replaced Paul Walker after the latter's death, but whereas Walker might have brought some spark to the role, Friend seems not to understand there's a difference between being fierce and being dull.

Kyle Anderson, Entertainment Weekly: Before you consider anything about Hitman: Agent 47, before the story or characters or action set pieces or fast cars or copious firepower, there's one fundamental thing to remember: The movie is profoundly dumb. That's not always a death sentence, as plenty of airheaded movies provide adrenalized popcorn thrills without stopping to ask for directions or worrying about relationships or plot mechanics. Sometimes visceral thrills are more than enough. In fact, Agent 47 is at its best when it leans into its simple-mindedness and wears it like a badge of pride-something its predecessor, 2007's Timothy Olyphant-led Hitman, was able to nail more often than not.

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: "Hitman: Agent 47" is a by-the-numbers schlock action sequel that writes its own epitaph when a character mutters the dusty insult, "You're dead, too. You just don't know it yet."

Stephanie Farber, The Hollywood Reporter: A movie based on a video game that opens at the end of August does not exactly stir high expectations. And indeed, Hitman: Agent 47 turns out to be exactly the kind of fast-paced, mind-numbing thriller that studios churn out to fill screens during the dog days of summer. The producers convinced some classy actors to jump aboard this careening, nonsensical thrill ride, so a few fanboys may join the party opening weekend. But don't expect to see the movie in September.

Jesse Hassenger, The A.V. Club: Agent 47 is just slightly less dull than its disavowed predecessor-or at least its dullness seems less active, because it doesn't turn anyone as inherently interesting as Olyphant into a dour-faced killing machine. It manages a few tiny flashes of understated wit, like a silent elevator ride shared by Katia and Agent 47. But mostly it makes a clear, cogent case for why no one should ever make a Hitman movie ever again-just in time for an optimistic, barely-mid-credits tease for exactly that.

Katie Walsh, Chicago Tribune: If you see one movie about governmentally modified assassins this weekend, don't make it "Hitman: Agent 47." "American Ultra" is the far superior take on the unknowing superspy, because it takes itself far less seriously and can actually poke fun at the genre. "Hitman: Agent 47" was just never going to be able to keep up, especially with its overly serious take on the genre. It's so coldblooded, it's practically reptilian.

Mike Reyes, Cinemablend: Hitman: Agent 47 is a film so bad, I'm starting to wonder if Fox's record-breaking year in 2014 was merely a fluke. I hope Victor Frankenstein, and even next year's Deadpool, manage to prove me wrong, as the studio does hold projects that I find myself enthusiastic about. This film is most certainly not one of them though, and it was a bad enough experience that I find myself wondering if I'll be too gun shy to make it to either of those films, afraid that I'll be equally disappointed when the evening is over.

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