Hit Man (2024), directed by Richard Linklater, stars Glenn Powell, Adria Arjona, Austin Amelio, Retta, Sanjay Rao, Evan Holtzman, Molly Bernard, and Gralen Bryant Banks. The film follows the story of Gary Johnson (Powell), a sensitive psychology professor who gets roped into working as an undercover hitman. Gary soon finds that his various alter-egos provide him with a newfound sense of excitement and discovery. It all goes smoothly until the recently divorced Madison (Arjona) seeks his “services.” Instead of turning her in, he takes pity on her and the two begin a heated romance. The thing is, Madison still thinks Gary is a contract killer while Gary works tirelessly to keep his secrets from both Madison and the police. But things become even more complicated when a mutual acquaintance ends up dead, sending both Gary and Madison into a spiral of distrust and bad decisions. 

Powell and Arjona are fantastic leads with a deadly amount of chemistry, but I’m most impressed with Powell considering this is his second rom-com within a year where his performance is the main draw. I became a fan of Powell after director Richard Linklater’s Everybody Wants Some! (2016) so it’s nice to see the two finally reteam. That film featured my favorite performance from Powell, but I think his performance in Hit Man has taken that throne. I guess he and Linklater are a match made in movie heaven. With films such as his “Before” trilogy and his various team-ups with Jack Black, I consider Linklater to be one of the prime directors of actors working today. Powell is convincing as a dorky philosophy professor who moonlights as an undercover hitman. That may sound odd, but the way in which he finds himself in the situation fits the character well. Gary begins to find strength in his various fake personas which provides him with an entertaining duality that balances the character. This is a character that the audience can connect to in the sense that he can only fake who he wants to be instead of truly becoming that person. The film works as great wish fulfillment in that sense. We can’t just go outside and decide to be a different person every day, but we wish we could. This role also allows Powell to show off his range in a way that feels natural to the script/character. On top of all this, his obvious fears and willingness to drop his charade as soon as things go south ground him in ways that allow the audience to truly connect with and therefore fall in love with the character. 

Where Powell mainly provides a lot of dorky fun, Arjona provides a majority of the pathos. That being said, she’s still able to match and sometimes even exceed his monster screen presence. It’s just such a well-rounded performance that I was even impressed by things such as her delivery of seemingly normal lines of dialogue. She’s seductive and smart in all the right ways and her chemistry with Powell just pops off the screen (and that’s when watching from home). I previously gave a shoutout to Powell for being the common denominator in two high-chemistry movie couples, but I don’t think he would have succeeded this time without Arjona as his co-star. 

The film has a surprisingly original setup that subverts its seemingly face-value title in all the right ways. If you’re expecting a dark and violent crime thriller, you will be sorely disappointed. If you’re expecting something tonally in line with Linklater’s previous films or for example, Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), you’ll go in with more appropriate expectations. That being said, I loved the film’s controlled use of darkness amid its mostly light tone. I love it so much precisely because I DIDN’T initially love it. These moments challenged me and I didn’t know what to make of them, but I eventually landed on the opinion that these moments are the perfect fuel for discussion in the film’s aftermath. 

The film is essentially a heartwarming exploration of who people perceive us as versus who we want to be perceived as. It’s a theme most of us can connect to, but even better, it’s a theme that surprisingly isn’t completely overused in the modern scriptwriting zeitgeist. Tangentially, the theme of people not liking danger but instead the idea of it is also explored. This all relates to the impressive way this film is able to find such breezy and feel-good themes within a premise that would traditionally be serious to the point of occasional annoyance. This laid-back feel is also achieved through aspects such as Gary’s infectiously positive voiceover and a fast-paced editing style that’s fun and sometimes even funny. 

Overall, this a fantastic film for anyone who’s looking for something light and smart. It features great characters and doesn’t waste time on unnecessary and boring exposition. The film’s two hours fly by, this proving to be a much-needed win for Richard Linklater that confirms he still knows how to craft an endlessly entertaining film. Even with all the fun, the film is still able to form some fantastic tension in the second half, which just seems so impressive considering its constant tonal balancing act. Not only is this a great movie, but one of the best date-night movies I can think of. The only knock I can give it is that I would’ve liked just one or two more twists/surprises. A–