After playing the games again I constantly sit there thinking this just wouldn't work on film a film about a single hit with little action just wouldn't sell.
Now I enjoy both films for what they are, much like the flood of Liam Neeson films we currently have they are just mindless action.
But Hitman is not about action. so how would you do the film and be specific in the plot ideas would love to hear how Hitman could work on the big screen l
If made right, it could become one of THE movie franchise too.
They should hire the original game script-writer and 47's original voice.
It is somewhat about action. Ain't nobody not gone on a rampage in that game after being detected.
It should focus less on the whole global spy thing the last two has been trying to pull off, and instead make it smaller.
Either make 47 the villain, and focus on someone that knows the victim, the victim iself or someone in a position to stop him.
Maybe have the first act be 47 doing one of those *beep* and killing a lot of people, but ultimately failing his contract.
Now the second act would be external forces contacting the would-be victim to use him or her as bait to lure 47 out again. Maybe a CIA-operator a la Josh Brolin in Sicario. Someone that sells one game, but is playing another.
Since a lot of people would be looking to kill 47, and our protagonist is his first unclosed contract, a host of opportunists present themselves in order to profit/kidnap/cooperate with victim to catch him the next time.
Right before the final act a massive Matrix lobbyesque sequence of gore and violence would ensue as a result of them thinking they've got 47 pinned, and after the dust settles it would be some sort of scheme which ultimately led to, like, the CIA sending in their SOG to target and slaughter a group of people that turns out to be unrelated to 47.
The last scene would be the CIA opertor that schemed the failure to become abusive towards the victim because he feels he/she could have done more. The protagonist is huddled up on the floor as the room goes silent, he/she looks up as CIA collapses, and behind him stands 47 with his classic wire-strangle-thingy.
They look at eachother for a while, as 47 turns and leaves.
Turns out 47s endgame was getting to the CIA dude, by making him think he was *beep* up a mission, because that was the only way to make him reveal himself, and then luring his security detail off to where they though he would be, and ultimately find him alone.
Sort of. Would probably add some foreshadowing to the whole thing, having 47 not take a shot at the protagonist and something that would make sure the CIA dude would seek protagonist out, etc.
This was a *beep* movie.
The real good Hitman movie should closely follow story of the first game and use first games music(maybe remastered with real orchestra). Then it would be good.
The intro should be a slow zoom to a white room with agent 47 holding Ort-Meyer(his creator) with Hitman title appearing(just as the last scene of the game). Then the credits and main theme with montage of 47 training and escaping from the facility.
Then the first sniper mission in Hong Hong etc
Basically show every major mission from the first game and the plot and you've got a good hitman movie.
i'd make a dark themed story with 47 having mere dialogues like mad max etc and 47 would narrate story occasionally.movie length would b between 85 to 90 mins.movie would contain only a single mission and that would be the club mission in hitman blood money.movie starts with 47 silently killing a guard and half movie would b 47 reaching the target silently and then he'll come to know that agency betrayed him and also send another assassin to eliminate him.near the end target would know that he is targeted by the agency due to the failed attempt of 2nd assassin then it will be 47 vs 2nd assassin vs the target(guards).then 47 dual wielding and exciting *beep* would also contain hitman past flash backs in the mission and cool silent taking out etc.and i will definitely include Ave marie song.
i know my bad grammerš
First movie, I would actually make a film with Agent 47 being the villain, chasing the protagonists throughout the whole movie through disguises and gadgetry (not spy magic though) and then killing them in the end.
Second movie should introduce the Agent killing a really important target, then go for 47s past, by having him unlock pieces of his memories which were sealed away by brainwashing, including his childhood, how he was created, etc, but also going rogue at the end after getting pissed off at the Agency, cutting off all contact with them.
Third movie should be about the Agent being the one hunted, then turning it around, hunting down the Agency himself, and sacrificing himself to destroy their HQ.
Or all 3 movies featuring 47 as the villain, winning each time (aka bad endings) until the very last moment of the last movie where he has a change of heart and lets himself die for revenge or something.
i understand that it will likely never happen since they want pretty much your basic action movie (which is not Hitman like you said). but if they where trying to go the quality route they need to focus more on the characters mindset and get the movie with more atmosphere to it instead of just some straight up action movie.
The American (2010) (8/10 ; within my Top 100 movies ever) would probably be a nice thing in terms of the kind of feel/atmosphere i would try to get into Hitman. hell, even that kind of character Clooney plays might be a bit more inline with Hitman in that he's a bit paranoid/don't trust anyone/stays low key. basically more of a slower paced movie(with some stealth etc) with some occasional action is what would suit the Hitman character best.
with that said... i suspect that type of movie (i.e. The American (2010), which i mentioned above) would bore your typical teenager (or those close enough to being a teenager) though which i imagine these types of movies are largely aimed at.
p.s. but out of the two Hitman movies so far... the 2007 one is a bit better as i mildly like that movie unlike this 2015 movie which is ultimately forgettable. both are more action based though but i think the 2007 movie works alright enough in the action dept for me to at least like the movie even though if i compared to the actual video game character then i could complain (but i knew they would never go the proper route with any Hitman movies since they are churned out to make a quick buck). i played Hitman 1-4 pretty heavily back in the day when they where all new (on PC of course) as the first Hitman game came out in 2000 as i would have been 20-21 years old back then. Hitman Contracts (2004) was my all around favorite of the series. i pretty much lost interest in Hitman 5 on forward (never finished it) but then again video games as a whole just don't interest me like they once did as i would say by the time i was around 30 years old (i am 36 now) i could tell video games as a whole largely fizzled out for me as it's been roughly a few years since i last played and completed a video game (i have little to no interest in playing future video games and i have zero interest in the latest consoles either). if i do play something nowadays it will likely be a replay of a game i liked quite a few years ago.
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I was just about to make a post saying it should be similar to The American and have a lot of wide open shots similar to the panoramic environments featured in Hitman 2.
I would love the movie to be shot like Luc Besson's first Transporter movie, with a lot of overhead shots and wide angles, making Agent 47 look small and almost hidden amongst the beauty of the environment. I always thought the games did a grand job of juxtaposing the violence with sometimes gorgeous music and scenarios.
I would also love it if the movie was more espionage thriller -- someone mentioned that it should be like The Day of the Jackal just with Agent 47. I agree. I would love to see Jason Stathom in the role of Agent 47, as Vin Diesel had imagined it (it was obvious that Vinny D saw what a lot of gamers saw in the similarities of Stathom's gait to that of Agent 47).
Someone else also mentioned that the movie should be more methodical with some light narration by 47. I think that would be perfect and a great way to remove the need to have the actor constantly talking throughout the film. You mentioned the silent emotions displayed by George Clooney in The American -- I completely agree that that is the kind of character Agent 47 should come across as.
The action set pieces should be more thought provoking and quizzical than straightforward. The whole point of the games is to figure out how to get in and out without being spotted. The whole point of the movie is to make viewers figure out how Agent 47 is going to get in and out without dying.
Intro: 47 is standing in a room in Mombasa, Kenya when an escape pod from a Halcyon Class falls through the ceiling and turns 47 into a red puddle of goo that spray paints the room. The door opens with a hiss and out steps Master Chief who says "My turn for a movie bitches" and up comes theme from Halo CE.
Complete Halo storyline then begins across at least 3 3hour long movies.
The end.
I will respect your opinion. But I probably still think it's mind numbingly stupid.
I would make 47 appear nothing but methodical, highly intelligent and almost "machine like". Both films have seemed to make some sort of a statement on his morals or feelings - and though it could be hinted at in a movie very subtly that he's still human, although different, I would still try to make him appear like he does everything only to be efficient, never hesitates etc. Just absolute confidence in every move.
If the viewer would be given a good, similar portrayal of 47 than the games do, they would be undoubtedly interested, despite how much action you would put into it.
When it comes to the plot, I would definitely forget the whole "there needs to be a girl/normal person going along with him, so people have a character to relate to"-factor.
I'd most likely make the movie revolve alot around Diana and 47 - with Diana seemingly being the only person 47 slightly cares about, having been "together" for so long. But this could be the thing that is only slightly hinted at. No "romance".
I'd start the movie with contracts, so 47 could do what he does best and we'd get to see it.. just a cold contract, no personal ties in the way. Then Diana going MIA and 47 not being able to contact the agency at all.
Maybe make it so that a previous target had been a very meaningful person to another secret organization, who is now coming for the agency - and more specifically 47. (Something that wasn't disclosed in the mission briefing, so 47 wasn't aware of the organization that he "pissed off" in taking that target.)
I wouldn't make it a story about "47 needs to save Diana" though... 47 would appear to only do it to ensure he gets back to business.
I would also kinda make the movie play out like the "Home alone"-movies, but obviously in a darker way. Haha, ofcourse not in a comedic way, but I simply mean that every time you think the "bad guys" would be getting closer, it would appear that 47 was one step ahead. (Though I would make 47 get cuts and bruises, maybe even shot, but he would take that in the same kinda-emotionless way as everything else.
It would be awesome to create a character that's just about maximizing efficiency.
I imagine 47 being chased - he's running from gunfire and runs through a doorway. Instead of continuing running, he stops at the doorway, calm and collected he catches his breath in a few short breaths and almost settles down to this meditative state for those few seconds; Stops, conserves energy and waits. Not seeming nervous or worried at all - just waits for his enemy. The assailant would clearly think 47 kept running, so when he comes through the door running, 47 uses their speed against them by just extending his arm and hitting them in the nose with the clip of his gun and as the enemy falls, so does 47's hand. 47 lands a bullet into his enemy at the same time they hit the ground and then starts walking.
In this movie, there were a few things that really fit 47; Like just waiting in the dark/sleeping while sitting, as the computer was searching for a match - aswell as when he woke up and found out his weapons missing, I liked how he immediately gets up and heads to the door and stabs a glass into the neck of the first person who comes at the door.
That's exactly the kind of zero-hesitation-efficiency I would really go with.
Similar sort of "action choreography" that would definitely want to see from 47 can be found in "John Wick"... In a few scenes the moves really managed to look like he took the shortest, quickest and most efficient way with all means necessary towards eliminating people.
Oh and 47 definitely wouldn't say "Yep" ;D
There isn't much philosophy in this. One contract, 2 targets is totally fine. 1 Minor target with info on the main target.
In terms of game-to-movie style, I'd have third person camera style in the movie for some shots. Like in the game. 47 going through a crowd would be great, and peaking corners would add some familiarity. Obviously the information behind said corners would only be available to the viewer, so 47 would have to use some gadgetry or bounce off a few reflective surfaces or something.
In terms of story, I wouldn't reveal too much backstory to any of the characters really. I'd leave the viewers to judge their persona based on the findings 47 is presenting them with. Just like in the games, it'd be a great feeling finding the dirty little secret of a seemingly eloquent politician, or the sadistic sexual nature of the chief of police, or the chef that is world renowned for his cooking skills but likes cutting up humans.
It would really be just a bald guy with a codename 47 performing a hit on a designated target given to him by an agency we know nothing about, via a voice that only identifies itself as Diana.
As for the actual filming, I do think that an action scene would be paramount for the climax of the movie. For example the 1st target would be a clean takedown that makes it look like an accident, obviously something creative like a malfunctioning juice maker.(think Ghost playthrough), but the 2nd target would be sloppier, tip off the alarm during the escape and have an Agent vs Agent showdown at the end. Still, I'd keep the action contained in the last scene where both gunplay and hand to hand combat would be displayed. Also I'd have the Agents being pretty even, with 47 winning due to some creative use of a gadget that was designed for another purpose.
The ending would leave a door open to a sequel and have some limited backstory revealed. Hitman can't have twists in the story without establishing a lot of things, so a twist would only be possible in a sequel.
And finally, the most important part of the movie would be the total body count of 3. The two targets and the Agent.
Also, no female lead. Just 47.