A crime romp from the spirited pen and directorial chair of Richard Linklater, and starring underrated character actor Glen Powell, Hit Man looks and behaves for three quarters of its length as a perfect comedy drama. The underlying idea is simplicity itself: a mild-mannered professor of philosophy moonlights with the police force as an entrapping “pretend” contract killer. When he falls for a beautiful wannabe client (Adriana Arjona is perfect in the role), events careen out of control and turn deadly. Powell mixes up earnestness and hammy playacting as a hit man with amazing aplomb, and much of the film’s pleasures revolve around watching him at work. Yet the final quarter of the film seems to involve a misstep or two, with the plot leaping into farce and fake tension. And the supporting cast is nothing special. The end result of a viewing of Hit Man is frustration: the filmic joy, then the clunky denouement.
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