This lean and mean Chuck Norris-vehicle directed by his younger brother Aaron Norris is somewhat of a hidden gem, if you want a darker side of Norris. Its a somewhat uneven but often effective 90s action-version of Kurosawas "Yojimbo" as a loner who pits rival gangsters against eachother in a bid to destroy the gangs in the end. The nighttime photography really helps the movie tremendously, the somewhat low-budget production is successfully camouflaged by the athmospheric night scenes. The corrupt ex-partner of the "Hitman", played by a deliciously cynical Michael Parks (later known for a couple Robert Rodriguez movies like "Kill Bill" etc.) is a delight, and he definetly carries the film moreso than Norris himself, who is his usual stiff self. The most action scenes and subsequent deaths are quite standard, except the one very dark (and somewhat tragic) scene where one of the bad guys is found gutted and dismembered but still alive. Something more fitting for a horror movie. It stands out together with the gratituously violent final fight and pay-off. All in All a somewhat unusual Chuck Norris-movie, whose Mafia vs. Iranians etc. Shenanigans are more interesting than our mullet-adorned undercover agent.
Review of The Hitman
