capsule : suprisingly more of a comedy than a straight action flick , which is n't necessarily a bad thing .
not exactly oscar caliber , but
one helluva bullet - riddled good time .
extended review : you know , i remember when hitmen were evil , murderous scum .
alas , the times are a - changin ' .
in a recent string of movies , hitmen are suddenly wise- cracking , fun - loving killers - with - hearts .
this brings us to hong kong director kirk wong 's first american feature , the big hit .
oddly enough , about the same time last year a similar film , grosse point blank , was released .
advertised as a quirky comedy with hints of action , it turned out to have a suprising dosage of it .
the big hit is quite the opposite .
it was hyped as " the new film from producer john woo " , so one would it expect lots of stylized killing and action .
however , there 's a sore lack of it , which is about the only thing wrong with the big hit .
the film starts out with mel smiley and his cohorts doing a job on a white slaver .
mel , played by mark wahlberg in a dopey , milquetoast role , is a killing machine ; he flips , spins , even breakdances whilst popping caps .
sadly , he does n't get a chance to do much of it . except for the beginning set piece and the last 20 twenty minutes or so , the film is in comedy mode .
the action , at least what there is of it , is prime cut stuff .
wong , after numerous hong kong features , makes quite a nice u . s .
debut
.
however , his pacing is a bit off , with the action sequences only bookending the movie and not lasting long enough .
they start off electrifying and fresh , but just kinda stop .
normally , this would hamper a movie to the point of being unenjoyable .
luckily , we have ben ramsey 's screenplay , a bitingly funny piece of work .
the only problem is there might be too much humor , one joke makes you laugh so hard you miss the next few .
some of best gags include an oriental film maker down on his luck and one of mel 's hitmen pals that has just discovered onanism .
the only problem is how some of the minor characters are handled , some being there only for a laugh , which sometimes works , sometimes does n't .
overall , the big hit may have it 's flaws , but it makes up for them in a stylishly directed , gut - wrenchingly funny joyride .
definately one of the better ways to spend two hours .
a stylishly directed , gut - wrenchingly funny joyride some of best gags one helluva bullet - riddled good time the action , at least what there is of it , is prime cut stuff luckily , we have ben ramsey 's screenplay , a bitingly funny piece of work they start off electrifying and fresh makes quite a nice u . s . debut one of the better ways to spend two hours