The Hit List (2011) User Reviews

A film that is helped by it's cast.

[Dexter22 · 5/10 · 25 May 2011]

Just a few weeks after picking up Gooding's last film "Sacrifice", "The Hit List" was released. I picked it up because I am a pretty big fan of his. The film turned out to be pretty well done for a DTV thriller but just like "Sacrifice" it has it's flaws.

Jonas Arbor(Gooding) is a hit man and decides to go rouge. His reason unfolds throughout the movie but in doing this he runs into Allen(Cole Hauser) in a bar. Allen is having his own bad day by losing his promotion to a younger partner in his film and problems with his wife come to surface. Arbor and Allen meet in a bar and get drunk together. Jonas explains to Allen that he is a hit man and will kill five people for Allen free of charge. Thinking it is a joke Allen writes down names and laughs it off. It isn't long before he realizes its a joke and has to stop Jonas from completing the list.

The film has been compared to "Collateral" and while it is a fair comparison, the film does stand on its own. Its flaws lie in editing and lack of budget which is the same thing "Sacrifice" suffered from. The opening credits are done in almost a comedic or even a James Bond type of way and really turns the viewer away from what the tone is trying to be. The budget shows in the camera set ups and how rarely other angles are used. The DP obviously did not have the time or money to make the film look bigger. There is a car chase in the film that could have been much more exciting if the editing was better. All in all what saves the film is the performances by Hauser and Gooding. They do not play down to the budget level and they treat the film as if it is a big budget hit. Gooding assures the audience that he has still got it and reminds us of why he is capable of an award winning performance. He is deep and scary and really gets into the role more than he has in the last few years. The quality lies in the performances which is why this is an above average DTV Thriller.

Acting 9/10

Editing 5/10

Music 5/10

Directing 7/10

Fans of Gooding and Hauser should be pleased with this film.

A Different Hit Man Story

[bob-rutzel-1 · 6/10 · 27 November 2011]

Allen (Campbell) doesn't believe that Jonas (Gooding, Jr) is a hit man. So Jonas tells Allen to write 5-names on a list of those he wishes dead. He does this and soon realizes he made a very big mistake.

I don't understand why Cuba Gooding Jr goes for these dark, really dark stories, but it's been that way since he was in Jerry Maguire, A Few Good Men and Men of Honor. Now, some may ask why I seem to be attracted to these dark movies. Good point. I like Hit Man movies, but was not prepared for this one (who is?) and also, there is nothing else out there at this time. Also, the holidays put all my TV shows into re-runs and what's a person to do?

But, Gooding is always excellent and yes, of Oscar caliber, but these dark movies won't get him to any Oscar nomination, in my opinion. It is what it is and we have to deal with it (if we watch).

This turns into a thriller frenzy as Allen tries to stop Jonas from completing the list. Good action stunts and perhaps some CGI, but that was difficult to tell. The acting by all is very good, the story is certainly different, and you won't be bored. Rating 6/10.

Violence: Yes. Sex: No, we see a make-out session that was supposed to lead to Sex, but……. Nudity: No. Language: Yes.

Bad Directing cuts almost 2 stars

[zk5 · 4/10 · 12 May 2011]

This is the kind of movie that you could feel since the beginning that the director should be making sandwiches in a cafeteria. With the performance of Cuba Gooding Jr. here compared to Men of Honor ( 2000 ) anyone can see what a difference can make a good director. The girl is pretty but is out of timing though for moments she gets on the roll. The scenario or the background looks cheap and boring, thats because the movie's budget was very low even though the director I think that for a job like this he refuse to be paid. The script is so so, not even close to Jackie Chan movie. Finally, this movie looks like a students film.

Could have been worse... but not that great

[Wizard-8 · 24 May 2011]

I've come to the conclusion that Cuba Gooding Jr. has accepted his downfall to direct-to-DVD movies, because he doesn't seem to be trying to pick good projects anymore, including this one. In fairness, this project isn't as bad as some of his other turkeys. For a low budget direct-to-DVD project, the production values are okay, though there are signs of cost-cutting throughout (such as a number of close-ups and very few wide shots). The police in this movie don't come across as dumb as they do in other B movies, and the movie did interest me enough to wonder how the situation would be wrapped up in the end - though honestly, it wasn't worth the wait. The screenplay has a number of other problems, with some decisions by the hero to be so idiotic that I was groaning out loud, and some implausibilities by others that make no sense when you think about them closely. (For example, think about the way Gooding's character kills the second person on the list.) Gooding is simply unconvincing as a ruthless hit-man, and Hauser has to somehow make his stupid and spineless character sympathetic, which sees far beyond his abilities. If you ask me, more thought and planning went into the fancy opening credits sequence than with the rest of the movie.

Are you kidding me? Cuba Jr. MUST have been broke to make this...

[rradkov-32-230343 · 2/10 · 19 April 2011]

For one I don't understand how people can say ANYBODY in this movie has a believable character or delivers a good performance. The background sucks, everything seems like it came off of a set of a B-rated, porn flick, Cuba Jr. has put on some weight and is wearing a horrible suit... The girl sucks, but is an Oscar winner next to the cop character. And I AM a Cuba fan, that is the only reason I even watched this waste of time movie. It would have been sad if was not comical at times to see all these "actors" trying to lend credibility to a really awful script... Do your self a favor, fast forward to the end to watch some Terminator-style shooting - that's the best part of the movie. Really, honestly, a bad, bad, bad movie.

Cuba still a little off the mark, but much better then "Sacrifice". Pretty entertaining thriller thats not too bad. I say B

[cosmo_tiger · 7/10 · 10 May 2011]

Be careful what you wish for. After having the worst day of his life Allan (Hauser) meets Jonas (Gooding Jr) at a bar. After talking to him Jonas says he can help Allan with his problems. Thinking it's a joke Allan gives him the name of five people he wants dead. When they begin to wind up dead Allan is the only one who can stop it. After watching "Sacrifice" I was not expecting much from this movie. This one, however, was very good. Even with Cuba's movie choices lately being one step above Val Kilmer's, his acting is far better. He does a good job playing a heartless killer on the verge of death himself. Cole Hauser also does a really good job playing an everyman trying to correct his mistakes. While there are many similarities to "Collateral" (and a hint of "The Shootist"), this movie is not as good, but it's not a huge decline from that movie. It is a pretty solid action, suspense movie that is well worth checking out. I give it a B.

Would I watch again? - I think I would *Also try - Collateral & S.W.A.T. : Firefight

this movie is a pile.

[irresponsiblekid · 3/10 · 24 May 2011]

Terrible, horrible, no-good very bad movie. From the unsuspenseful opening scene & overdone James Bond opening credits I knew this would suck, but i hate killing movies prematurely so i rallied. Cole Hauser has previously been THE MAN and he was tolerable = 1 star. Wife actress very doable, another star. LaPaglia was also good... I'm getting soft here. 3 stars it is. Cuba was a vacuum, deadpan delivery was so overplayed and cheese-ball lines so predictable. I had my remote in hand the ENTIRE MOVIE so i could go from volume 55 for the whispering and then drop to 25 for the overdone crap gunshots and BS suspense sound effects. Every cop shot smeared blood down a wall; Cuba follows 100 gallons of blood through 4 stories chasing the couple, BLEECCCH. Horrible movie - enough so to prompt me to write my first review. At least he dies in the end.

PS WHO IS THE GUY DRINKING SCOTCH BEFORE ROLL CREDITS? Garbage.

Uneven, but watchable as entertainment

[BeneCumb · 7/10 · 17 February 2013]

The idea is peculiar, but logically and well founded, so the events following the meeting in the bar could actually happen. The value of the movie is diminished by the hit-man's past employers (another conspiracy theory?) and trivial/expected ending. However, the scenes around the people on the list are catchy to follow.

An Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. (as Jonas Arbor) gives another great performance. As for the leading actor Cole Hauser (as Allan Campbell), he was good as well, although it was my first real experience with him (I realized that I have seen many movies with his participation, but never distinguished him). Other performances were nothing special or even mediocre.

Nevertheless, The Hit List is recommended as a good and short (less than 1,5 hours) action. And, perhaps, the occurrence of bad jokes declines after seeing this...

Not so good...

[lhannags · 4/10 · 11 May 2011]

I always respect Cuba Jr, even in this lousy movie he gave everything that he could. The story is good, but honestly? The movie is bad. The makeup, the action scenes, the camera movement, but.. but the worse part is the interpretation of some actors, and the winner in this context is Cole Hauser. He is not in the movie sometimes, really not convincing, you can feel and see insecurity, some looks he gives, body movement. I have to say some lines are corny, and some events too much cliché. In the end, there are better Cuba Gooding Jr movies to watch. I remember other movie somehow like this, Collateral with Tom Cruise and Jamie Foxx.

Entertaining.

[the_real_smile · 7/10 · 10 May 2011]

This movie is very entertaining. The acting of Cuba Gooding Jr. and Cole Hauser make this movie good. The story is nice, there are only a few lines the writers could have had a second look at, but it is bearable, and the action is good. But the idiot that thought Jonathan LaPaglia could act must be fired on the spot, every time he is in the picture he brings the whole move down, but again, thank god for Cuba Gooding Jr.and Cole Hauser. The movie has something of Collatoral Damage, but is much more fun. I don't understand some of the bad reviews, you just can't go wrong with this movie, it is little gem. I have never seen a William Kaufman movie, but this inspired me to see another one right away.

Could have been so much better

[grandmastersik · 4/10 · 4 February 2017]

Having read the logline in the TV guide, I really liked the concept. Cuba Gooding Jr in a leading role got my attention and so, I sat up late to watch what I was expecting to be a good - if not excellent - flick.

The first thing noticeable about The Hit List is just how cheap it looks. Honestly, with a film that has Cuba Gooding Jr in a leading role, I was at least expecting something cinema-worthy in the aesthetics department; instead, it looked like it was made on the quick for TV.

Unfortunately, the look was a warning sign, as the script easily could have elevated this, had some more effort been put into it. Lazy, would be one word to describe what I was watching, and Cuba's performance fitted in well, with him going through the motions as if he was only on location for a pay cheque, and didn't much care for the end result.

And come the ending, it's doubtful you'll be any different, as the sheer lack of effort in just about every aspect of the film - particularly the character development - makes it a perfect bedtime flick (i.e. nothing to get you excited).

Still, with the concept and Cuba, this was definitely a missed opportunity, no matter what budget the producers had to work with.

Be careful what you wish for!

[Julian0922 · 10/10 · 18 April 2011]

I do not understand how people can downgrade this movie so badly, the acting is great, the story is excellent, one of the best I've seen in the past 12months and the movie itself is also way better than the most movies coming around on a daily basis. Sadly its not a high budget movie, so the common public would become aware of it, but downgrading something like that is pretty sad. If that is a 2 or 3, then the grading rates should go in the future down to minus 10 at least, because there are a lot of worse movies out there!

Its the same with another Cuba Gooding movie, Sacrifice, its also way better than the reviews show, but thats is a different subject. Maybe he is not so liked anymore...:-)

To me The Hit List is a good 7-8...not a 10 (except the story itself), but in regards of the downgrading, I upgrade it a bit. The story of the movie is simple, be careful what you wish for, even when you are drunk...because sometimes wishes come true!

More I do not want to spoil. Conclusion: absolutely worth the time watching and money as well...!

(I do not write many reviews here, only when I see that a movie is so badly discredited like this one!)

Very Watchable

[shonufftx22 · 7/10 · 30 May 2011]

I got to sit down and watch this film last night and I must say I was very surprised. I just happened to see it in the bargain bin at the local big box store and have always like Cuba so I bought it.

Cuba did a great job in the movie.

Once the movie got started I realized Cole Hauser was in it, hes the cop from Pitch Black and dad from Paparazzi.

About the film, it is shot very well with some very solid acting. The story itself was good and maintained well through the film. Some of the scenes don't make a lot of since later in the film, like the scene with Mike and Sydney. All in all it was worth 7stars and should be on your watch list.

Not worth it

[adriankemp-89-753937 · 3/10 · 25 June 2011]

I watched this film last night, it was a really low budget amateur film , The acting was bad in some places. The plot and story line were also predictable. I really would not recommend this film at all, it was one of the worst I've seen since " No country for old men". It starts with poor old Alan having a bad day , meets a guy in a bar who uncovers his true colors as a hit-man,writes a list of five names that Alan would like dead and thats pretty much it. It becomes worse and worse as time ticks by. There is not enough action for an action movie, Jr is looking old and doesn't suit the role at all , he tries real hard to create a character who should be scary and sadistic but fails. Please don't waste your time with this

Not a Horrible movie

[bobmichigan1 · 16 April 2011]

I was watching this and usually i turn off a Cuba Gooding movie within a half hour because of his poor performances in the last 4 or 5 years. This is the 2nd movie i have made it to the end without saying terrible. Actually this is about a 7 out of 10 because at least he had another acter that is not terrible with cuba. Cole Hauser actually makes this movie worth watching. This is worth a watch if you having nothing left to do on a Saturday night. The movie starts off with a terrible bond like move for the credits and of course it backfired i almost turned it off after that. But after that it smoothly moved into the story..With a better director and a better acting crew this could of been at the movies.

Unbelievably bad.

[sgphoto · 1/10 · 13 September 2012]

With all the production values of a 4th grade Thanksgiving play, the word "hit" has no place in connection with this movie. Stilted performances, poor lighting, and phony dialog makes it a candidate for MST3000.

Cuba Gooding Jr. could have sent in a cardboard cutout and his performance would have been improved. All the actors came from the rejects of "My Mother the Car School of Acting." Show this movie to your kids if they want to be actors and tell them this is everything they should not do.

Avoid at all costs. The fly on the wall has more redeeming qualities than this stinker.

Two Men Walk Into A Bar

[boblipton · 6/10 · 29 December 2021]

Cole Hauser is in a bar drinking. He's seated next to Cuba Gooding Jr. Gooding claims he is a hit man, and offers to kill five people for Hauser. Thinking this is nonsense, Hauser writes down his top five picks. Gooding proceeds to kill them.

You'd expect this to be a nothing film. It's surprisingly good, in no small part due to Gooding's performance as a creaky-voiced maniac fixated on Hauser, trying to teach him some sort of weird life lesson. Don't talk to strangers? Don't make wishes that other people would be dead? Take some responsibility for your life? It's not clear. Probably the writers didn't really care; Gooding's role is to be the Terminator and die. Whatever Gooding does to make us think there's some motivation behind his actions is good acting.

The first 2 minutes you see what's coming

[spxdes · 1/10 · 16 July 2011]

This is one of the worst films I've ever seen. Full of clichés, non sense plot, implausible story. The acting is poor, not even Cuba Gooding, which is becoming a B film actor worth it, but the entire cast, starting with the main leading role, the detective leading the investigation, is boss (the police captain), they are all so weak in acting that you better save your time.

Save your time and don't even bother to see the movie. This is the lowest rate I ever gave to a movie, not because is the worst but because the expectations you have when you see the marketing and the leading name are reasonable and you should be entitled to a decent amount of good entertainment. It's not!

Gov't hit-man goes rogue

[wbswetnam · 7/10 · 16 April 2012]

I like movies with Cuba Gooding, Jr, and I liked this one, too. The premise of the movie is that a down-on-his luck man enters a bar and begins drowning his sorrows in glasses of JD. He strikes up a conversation with a mysterious man at the bar (Cuba Gooding Jr) and after a few hours of telling his new friend about all of his woes, Gooding's character offers the man a unique solution: I'll kill five of your enemies for you. Thinking that it is a joke, he scribbles the names of five people on a napkin. Soon afterward the body count begins...

I thought it was well-scripted and well-acted. Some scenes were over the top - how could Gooding's aim (with a gun) be so excellent and the cops' aims be so bad, over and over again? The ending was pretty obvious midway through the movie but it was a good thriller anyway.

Worst comedy while attempting for a thriller

[arash_shirali2000 · 1/10 · 17 May 2011]

I looked forward to see a thriller and ended up in watching a what could be called as "pathetic" attempt to make a thriller/action which turned out to be worst comedy. From Cuba (and I liked this guy) to the bartender, everyone was trying to outclass other in worst performance ever. And the award goes to: 1. Best shouting ever when the SWAT commandos enter at the last scene when Jonas (Cuba G Jr.) is already dead and the detective has to shout again to make them calm. LOL. 2. There's firing all over in the police station (reminds of Terminator II) and Sydney asks (go and watch that scene again) in a comic tone " what the hell is going on?" OMG! It never could have been better.

If you are insomniac, watch this else it's be waste of time.

Pastiche of better thrillers that still manages to entertain

[krachtm · 6/10 · 10 March 2013]

The plot: After a bad day, a man meets someone claiming to be a hit-man. Amused, he decides to play along and give the hit-man a list of people to kill.

The Hit List has a great premise, but, like Chad and Evan Law's previous collaboration with Cuba Gooding, Jr (Hero Wanted), the script doesn't quite live up to the promise. Regardless, it's still a fun movie, especially for long-time Cuba fans who haven't abandoned him through his run of direct-to-video movies.

Cole Hauser plays Allan Campbell, a pathetic loser who lets people walk all over him. His passive personality intrigues his new friend, a stone-cold hit-man who calls himself Jonas, played by Cuba Gooding, Jr. His mysterious new friend decides that he's going to force Campbell to assertively take control of his life, while also giving Campbell a degree of vicarious revenge. Campbell quickly realizes that Jonas isn't playing games. He has to stop Jonas from quickly running through the hit list, despite his disconnected, passive attitude toward life.

Sound familiar? Yeah, it's basically just Michael Mann's Collateral. There are also some very strong influences from The Terminator and Terminator 2. In fact, Jonas even pretends to be a cop, assaults a police station, and tries to assassinate a woman taken in protective custody. Obviously, the influences on this movie are not very subtle. If extended scenes of "homage" tend to annoy you, you're going to really hate this movie. There's very little to it that's actually original.

I think that the Law brothers have some good ideas, compared to typical direct-to-video thrillers, but they need a lot more practice writing screenplays. Good ideas alone don't make for good scripts. I think they have some real potential to break out of these low budget, direct-to-video thrillers, if they can just figure out how to translate their admittedly interesting premise into a good screenplay. The director also shows some promise, though I think his reliance on homage is a bit off-putting at times.

Cole Hauser and Cuba Gooding, Jr may never hit the A list again, but both are enjoyable actors, and I think there's a lot of potential for them to become cult B movie actors. Screw the A list. Who needs it?

Bad Movie

[Mr-Sparrow · 4/10 · 25 May 2011]

1st of all , excuse me for my spelling..not so good.. 2nd of all.. i have only few words about this Movie... Cuba's acting was kinda Good, but other Actors were not so good ,,really bad acting..the name of the movie is cool, the story is cool, but acting was not cool at all i really did not enjoy watching the movie...somethings were missing in the movie. this movie needed Mystery. i give 5 of 10 for Cuba and 2 of 10 for other actors , 3 of 10 for Cameras 4 of 10 for Direction . when Cuba was chasing by police in streets... for a second, i thought only actors were in the city...and only 1 police car ??? oh my god ! the city was really empty of people ...and police station could not hit Cuba with one bullet ??? ,, that was not good .. really Weak Acting ...

The Hit List Good ole American Fun...

[Right-Wing-Man · 9/10 · 16 April 2011]

The Hit List is good ole American fun. I am not sure why at this point the rating is 1.9, for e that is just simply retarded. The movie was from a couple of interesting POVs. On the one hand you have a CIA (I assume) Hit-man that gets cancer and loses his mind. The Protagonist is a total softy Cole Hauser, and the antagonist Gooding Jr., picks him out to help kill him... what he is really doing is helping Cole's character grow some below if you know what I'm saying. The story was action packed and engaging... both Cole and Cuba were great in this film and I was thoroughly entertained. All of the actors for that matter, played believable characters. Thanks to all involved in this one, it was a good movie : )

Wasted Potential

[AaronHickory · 6/10 · 17 July 2011]

This film had potential to be outstanding, but it couldn't sell me. I didn't buy much of the dialogue to be realistic or believable. I didn't buy the killers motives either. I understand they tried to explain it away with various reasons but it just doesn't seem believable. The whole plot plays out to be a bit silly. On the good side, Cuba plays his part pretty well here. He looks worn out and dead inside, and I'm betting he didn't need to strain too hard to portray such a character. The action scenes are well done, as well as the sound design. That being said, I found myself wanting to see what was going to happen, and I wasn't bored. If a movie bores me I will easily fast forward or turn it off, and I made it through this one easily.

Garb!

[djshendrix · 1/10 · 5 May 2011]

Garbola! Total Garbage! Cuba is sinking! someone save him! Or at least throw him a better script next time!....

MASSIVE WASTE OF 1hr 40mins of my life, that I will never get back! You would have more fun watching paint dry than watching this movie!

I cannot write ten lines for this movie, because its so garbage

Here's my best shot at describing it.

1. two guys meets in a bar and one gives him a list of people he wants killed thinking its a joke.

2. the 5th person on the list gets killed, the police blame the innocent guy and you begin falling asleep.

3. the 4th person gets killed and they figure out that the innocent guy might have an accomplice but you don't care because you've already figured out the entire plot.

Somewhere around this point Cuba's Character Jonas mention how he fast forwards peoples lives to the end by killing them. It is at this point in the movie that you should fast forward it to the end and go do something better with your life, like watching paint dry.

thank you