User reviews

Wahlberg plays a contract killer who wants no more than to be liked in "The Big Hit"; a solid three star flick which features good action, stunts, pyro, CGI, camera work, etc. Protag Wahlberg juggles two difficult girl friends, a double cross, and a cute kidnapee (Chow) with the demands of his profession in this not-to-be-taken-seriously film with a spritz of romance. A fun and kinetic watch for those into the crime/action/comedy/romance genre mix. (B-)

This movie is about a day in the life of a hit man played by actor Mark Whalberg. Melvin (Mark Whalberg) has good life thanks to his talent as a hit man, but has very working class mentality going about his life. But none of the girls he associates with shares his work ethics, but just sees him as a cash cow, and a guy to dump all their troubles on to, until Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) kidnaps a Japanese mogul Jiro's (Sab Nishi) daughter Keiko (China Chow) and dumps her on to his lap. Keiko is the first to sympathize with Melvin and hits it off with him.

There are three stories going on simultaneously in this movie: One with Cisco and his boss Paris (Avery Brooks) who's a friend of Jiro's and wants the guy who kidnapped Keiko dead (not knowing that it's actually Cisco who did it). Second with Melvin's girl friend Pam (Christina Applegate) who's Jewish, and has a mother who is against her marrying this Irish Catholic guy. Third with Melvin and Keiko who's being kept at his house. All three converge at Melvin's house at lunch, and pandemonium breaks loose.

The story line is one of the most original, and is a feel good movie '90s style where the under dog anti-hero gets the good he deserves in the end. The riot is seeing all the other materialistic people around Melvin all trying to take advantage of him showing how nice of a guy he is despite his choice of profession.

Was this movie great ? Yes !! And is highly recommended.

This film was thoroughly enjoyable! Yes, it was unbelievable and the characterization was not so great, but who cares? The movie's humor comes from the very fact that it is completely absurd and way over the top. It was fun to watch, good for a laugh, had a lot of action, and the nice guy wins out in the end. What more do you want? Besides, Mark Wahlburg and China Chow are about the two best-looking people on the planet, so even if you don't like to movie you can still enjoy it.

I've been a fan of this film ever since catching it on the bigscreen. I'm actually surprised to find the low scores. The film is fun and borderlines slapstick style humour. Great character chemistry, with an effective Phillips scene chewing role.

The film that took Marky-Mark out of the funky bunch. This one was done before all of the fancy cgi that you see today. All of the action scenes were done using old school double takes and makeup. The action scenes were well done and acting was decent. The plot was solid also.

A sequel should have been done already to build on the characters and the relationships they have. At times Wahlberg outshines his co stars, but not too much. It's a fun movie despite being grim. This one should bring back fun memories for Generation Y. I still enjoy it to this day. I would for Hollywood to produce more dark comedies like this one.

Is the film flawed? Oh YEAH!! Are there ridiculous lapses in logic? You bet!! Is it fun? I think so.

I'm not quite sure how to describe this movie. It's about a likeable hitman, who kicks serious ass and racks up a huge body count, but he's the only person we care about in the movie. His co-horts are untrustworthy and (gasp!) lazy, and his two girlfriends are both horrid in their own special ways.

The movie is an action comedy...but not in the way we might expect (a la Rush Hour or its ilk). It is obvious the budget was low, so the makers of the film obviously decided the whole tone of the film should be cheesy.

But almost everyone in the movie gets into the style of silliness, and thus a non-finicky viewer has an amusing 90 minutes. Here's one example of the ever-shifting tone: Mark Wahlberg (our likable hit man) is coming home to his fiancee (Christina Applegate...a jewish princess with an over-the-top accent and really tight pants). He is driving with a chopped up body in the trunk, and pulls into his suburban driveway...except its not his house, just one that looks exactly like all the other houses in the neighborhood. Someone yells out "Wrong house!" and Wahlberg pulls back out and into the right driveway. The scene takes about three seconds, but it's funny because it's incongruous. How many hit men live in suburbia...at least in movies?

Everyone in the movie is WAY OVER THE TOP in their performances. Lanie Kazan actually seems reserved...if that gives you an idea. Elliott Gould is totally gross and very funny. Bokeem Woodbine is amusing in the role of a thug with a fixation on masturbation. Lou Diamond Phillips is totally unlikeable as a character, but gosh darn it, he sures seems to be having fun. The whole film is a lark.

It also plays right into Mark Wahlberg's strengths. Wahlberg seems to have the "nice guy" act down very well. It's why Boogie Nights worked so well...he was just so innocent and likeable. In PERFECT STORM and THREE KINGS, it was his innocent nature that worked for him. As soon as he starts getting serious or pensive or angry...it stops working. And in FEAR, with Reese Witherspoon, he tries sinister and comes off silly. He takes the "aw shucks" nice guy attitude to the nth degree in THE BIG HIT, and we really root for him.

This is not a movie for film "criticism." It would totally fall apart under scrutiny, whether for logic, continuity or artistry. But if you're in the mood just to have a little fun, and like guns going off, and cars crashing, and a bit of satire while you're at it...you could do worse.

An action-packed comedy that's neither very thrilling nor funny. This sophomoric romp follows hitman Mark Whalberg through a kidnapping scheme that gets him into big trouble. I guess the moral is plain and simple: killing is better than abduction. There are a few genuine laughs, but not enough to balance out the moments of utter frustration as testosterone-fueled characters strut about uttering self-important bull. Antonio Sobato Jrs' (very underused) body is worth the price of admission.

Indeed Mark Wahlberg is a bit cack in most of his films, but The Big Hit is a masterpiece of comedy. The action is fun, but is not meant to be taken seriously. I think that some people might have watched this film expecting a standard action film, in which case I can understand their disappointment. It's just good fun and Lou Diamond Phillips is brilliant. His over-the-top performance is perfect and is something I'll never forget.

The Big Hit is one of those films where you either get it or you don't. If you don't then I can understand how it might seem a bit two-dimensional. However, anyone who hasn't seen it should take a chance.

The 90s was a weird time for action where it was a giant mix of pop culture, sarcasm, and violence. This movie has all of that.

And Mark Wahlberg's acting has not changed. For the most part he is still a misunderstood nice guy trying to make people like him.

Spoof or no spoof, this movie was incredibly painful to watch. I found no humor in the outlandish gun fights or car chases, and the dialogue was utterly reprehensible. And that cooking scene...ugh, I did not need to see the stuffing of a bird used as foreplay. What a great big pile of crap.

I had absolutely no idea that this movie was supposed to be a silly, spoofy action film when I saw it at the theater. The first 10 minutes makes this perfectly clear. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie for just being "guilty pleasure" escapist entertainment. Yes the movie is silly and corny - but that was the intent of the film.

Its more than understandable that this movie isn't for everybody, either you love it or hate it. However, if you watched the movie and took it seriously (ie the breakdancing during the first 'hit'), then you definitely missed the point. 8 out of 10.

Is it a farce? A blood-n-guts gangster flick? A romance? A comedy? An action film? That's the problem: The Hit doesn't seem to know what it wants to be, and as a result isn't much of anything. Even Christina Applegate (God, she's a fox!) can't save this one.

Great Drama, Comedy and plenty of slap stick killings with Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips. The Hit Man in this fill loves to kill, but has a heart of gold and is a sucker for women and especially Gold Diggers who rob him blind. The Hit man does anything his buddies in crime demand of him and even gives back $25,000 dollars which he gets cheated out of his bonus money. Christina Applegate,(Pam Shulman) is one of the Hit Man's girl friends and is Jewish which proves a problem for Pam's mother, who wants her nice Jewish daughter to marry a nice Jewish man. Elliott Gould,(Morton Shulman) gives plenty of comedy and lots of laughs. However, there is non-stop intense action through out the film and it will keep your interest right to the bitter end.

This movie is just that, not bad. Its action sequences are well done and very entertaining. The comedy is generally amusing and fun (although some of it is very subtle and the rest pretty low-brow). Don't expect too much from this movie and you won't be disappointed. If you want a light, fun, action movie with some interesting characters, give this film a try. I would have to say that the cast, on the whole, does a fantastic job considering the absurdity of their situations. China Chow does well in her film debut, fortunately the part only requires her to be cute and Asian which she does very well. Mark Wahlberg also makes a good attempt at being a kind-hearted killer. I gave this a 7/10 because it's fun, not because it's a clever movie.

This movie gets dumber by the nanosecond! Now, I understand its intention. It's supposed to be a tongue-in-cheek action-comedy that requires you to check your brain at the door. So it's a trashy film. There's fun trash and there's dull trash. This is dull trash.

There's lots of humor, lots of high-energy action. But neither works out. The humor is so low-brow, awfully timed and delivered. The action sequences seem straight out of a video game. As Roger Ebert said, "This is the kind of flick where the bullets have read the screenplay." The only ones who get shot are the ones who HAVE to get shot. Mark Wahlberg busts in, in the first sequence, facing an army of baddies--every one armed--yet he manages to nail every one of these b*****ds with his magic machine gun. Not once does a bullet even brush through his hair. The action is so stylized it's like a ballet. I'm waiting for MarkyMark to get into his tutu and do a couple of pirhouettes, as he flamboyantly fires bullets left and right.

The storyline doesn't make a bit of sense, and if this were an entertaining action piece I would excuse the weak storyline. People come back to life after getting caught in the midst of massive explosions. I've seen tons of action and horror flicks where people come back to life after being virtually mutilated, but this movie takes the cake.

The characters are completely one-dimensional, and not the least bit interesting. Wahlberg is a mild-mannered hitman (what a cool oxymoron!) who just wants to be liked. Awwww, such pity. Lou Diamond Phillips is a trash-talker who will do anything for the buck. Bokeem Woodbine is a chronic masturbator (yes, you heard right) who's addicted to smut. And there's another dude who's...an utter dumbass who can never get his words right. Christina Applegate plays the stereotypical Jewish girl with stereotypical Jewish parents (Elliott Gould and Lainie Kazan). But Lainie Kazan, as the mother who bashes his daughter for dating a non-Jew, has some amusing moments and I actually got some chuckles. "You seem like a good...German-Catholic fellow," she says sarcastically in the middle of a card game. And Gould has some funny moments as the alcoholic father. Sure, the two characters are alarmingly one-note, but at this point I don't care about artistic integrity. I just want to be entertained!

Mark Wahlberg is not EXACTLY a terrible actor. I thought he was good in "Fear" and fairly good in "Boogie Nights," though I can't understand why he was even considered for an Oscar nomination. In this movie, he has absolutely NO expression whatsoever!!! A piece of cardboard could've played this role better than him. I've seen Wahlberg in interviews and he seems to have virtually no personality. I think he should've stuck to being a rapper/underwear model. If he didn't have the looks and the body, he would've been tossed out the movie biz in an instant. He could easily be replaced by any other young, good-looking actor--with more talent. Lou Diamond Phillips has showed off his talent in several early films including "LaBamba" where the played rocker Richie Valens. But recently, he's sunk into the direct-to-video circuit. And he lets his talent be even lesser known in this hammy performance. Avery Brooks is also extremely hammy as the villain Paris.

You can say this is a guy flick, but the chicks will probably love it too and overlook all its flaws as the sight of the gratuitous male locker room nudity takes over their psyche. Yes, women will probably appreciate this flick because there's no female nudity. So there ya go, chicks. You got your wish.

Even the soundtrack is lame. I was wondering why I saw the soundtrack for this movie on the discount rack, selling for $3.99. The title song is "I'm the Man" in which that's the only lyric you hear. It's goes like "I'm the man, man, man, man, man, man! The man, man, man, man, man!" You think with a big-budget like this they could afford some real artists.

No, I didn't take this movie seriously. But I wasn't laughing either. It's just stupid, stupid, stupid. The kind of film that caters to the lowest common denonimator of movie audiences. If you're under the age of 17, ignore my comments. But if you have a shred of maturity, please avoid this clunker at all costs!

My score: 3 (out of 10)

Watch Melvin Smiley's more than complicated life erupt in chaos. His fiancée's parents are coming for a visit, his (other!) girlfriend is to blame that he's kind of out of money, he really ought to return the tape of King Kong Lives... On top of all that, Melvin soon gets problems of an even worse kind. A professional hit-man, Melvin suddenly finds himself in terrible danger of getting killed by his own co-workers when a kidnapping turns out to have been a bad idea.

It's crazy. Exaggerated, chaotic, full of somehow weird characters, often unrealistic action scenes, fun. I'm surprised this movie is so little known, and I am even more surprised that so many people hate it. Sure, if you expect a serious, realistic action movie, The Big Hit isn't the movie for you. You really need a sense of humour for this. Expect an action comedy, almost a parody, and you'll be entertained for sure.

I remember watching the news one night and seeing an article about a man being murdered while walking his dog in his own neighbourhood and after seeing it just wondering what's going on in the world. Seeing that there are far more people who deemed this film better than the "1" it so sorely deserves has left me shaking my head and wondering the EXACT same thing. To be fair, I'm sure there are movies that exceed (and not by much, I'm sure) The Big Hit's level of utter sh*ttiness, but there aren't many of them. I think what did it for me was when Marky Mark and his band of fools stormed the hotel room and actually moved SO quickly that their clothing left streaks in the air. This however, was only the tip of the iceberg, as I was left sitting in front of my television completely dumb-struck by what looked like Mark Whalberg break dancing AND shooting bad-guys.

After the first "action" sequence I had to collect myself and wonder "What is going on here?" Is The Big Hit a sick joke? No. I have a theory. It has come to my attention that there are far more bad movies than need be in the world, so there has to be a reason for this. Therefore, I have decided that these movies are merely money-laundering schemes organised by crime syndicates and various other groups of unsavouries. Alas, The Big Hit is one such film. Owing to the movie's purpose in the world, such aspects as story, direction, diologue and basically everything else were overlooked and it was the finished "product" that they were looking for. This has helped me sleep with a clear conscience ever since. What Lou Diamond Phillips was doing here is still beyond me, I don't think I've ever found a movie character more outrageously annoying and I don't think I ever will. And finally, the turkey stuffing scene should have prompted some form of legislation to make it illegal in each and every country this film was distributed to in order to spare everyone foolish enough to rent the film of their own sanity. This film is SO BAD, I didn't even want to buy it for the sake of laughing at it. IMDB should develop a negative scale, or at least a "0", because the "1" I gave this film has left me feeling far too generous.

There are some movies that you just watch to relax and enjoy some great one-liners, and some movies you watch for the hilarious plot. This is one of both of those types of movies. A situational dark comedy, watch this one when you just want entertainment that makes you laugh. This is the story of a hit-man who is trying to get ahead by doing the dirty work all of his friends create. Turns out he is very talented at what he does. If you would like to see Mark Wahlberg in an early role, I'd recommend this one. He plays the straight-man so well. The characters are so well-casted. I enjoyed the humor. To like this one, you can't take life too seriously. If you've ever seen "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", this has similar humor, but it's like "L, S and TSB" on Prozac. Tame enough for most of your friends, but still funny enough to get a belly-laugh. I bought it sight-unseen and have been very happy with it!

I wish she was mina. Sorry. I know - bad pun. The first thirty minutes was horrible. Then came Christina Applegate, and especially China Chow. She is such a natural. Unfortunately for the movie, it's not enough.

Well it has the John Woo flair with the explosions and the classic dual Berettas but this mish-mash of a comedy/action really falls flat when it's trying to be silly. It's sort of like some screwed up manifestation of a Tarantino-flick. I don't know. It might have tried to parody hit man movies in general with the cheesy dialogue and out-of-the-blue romances between overly-cliched characters. However, all this really produces is an unfunny bore-inducing dribble that should have been shelved from the start.