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