The Hit (1984) User Reviews (69)

Who's in charge here anyway?

[dbborroughs · 8/10 · 16 October 2006]

Two hit men go to Spain and pick up a fellow crook who went into hiding years before. They are suppose to drive him back to Paris, however as they hit the road, it quickly becomes clear that things are not what they seem and that the hit men are in for more than they ever bargained for.

Tightly plotted and neat little thriller that works thanks to its three stars. Terrence Stamp kicked his career into high gear once more with his turn as the man hauled off for execution. So calm in the face of death its almost unnerving and its not hard to see how he can begin to play his captors like a violin. John Hurt and Tim Roth are his equal as the two hit men who never saw what they were walking into. This is ensemble acting at its finest.

This is a great little film. Its worth seeking out.

Simplicity Pulled Off.

[johnnyboyz · 7/10 · 19 February 2006]

I can't believe that this film had gone for so long without me knowing it was around. I'm a big fan of the crime/drama genre so when I stumbled across the fact it was going to be on some free to air digital channel at about one in the morning a couple of months ago, I thought I'd give it ago. In fact, I'd never heard of it before nor have I since. No one seems to know of it and it's a damn shame as this is a VERY underrated film, especially surprising given the fact John Hurt, Terrance Stamp and Tim Roth are in it.

The film deals with human interaction between a 'grass' from ten years back, a rookie gangster and an old-time gangster in almost superior form to many other films. The fact it takes a 'road movie' approach gives us more time to develop with the characters, as well as the characters themselves to do a bit of bonding. What follows is some fascinating dialogue between the three (and between a young Spanish girl on a lesser extent) and some very interesting relations building up. The stone cold presence from Hurt, the silent but 'you know he's up to something' Stamp and the, almost, 'comic relief' character in the form of Tim Roth all combine in a truly mesmerising mixture of events. I was glued to the screen.

The narrative also takes on a mysterious, almost multi-layered approach when talking about the police hot on their tail. The fact we never hear the detectives talk or any of the police communicate leaves us with a sense that we know what's going on but we're not actually there, almost as if the three male characters in the car are dreaming up the scenes themselves as to what MIGHT be happening at their last point of call if the police had yet arrived.

The action and dialogue is well spaced, even though the script is great anyway, and you truly struggle to work out what might happen next. The disturbing way in which Stamp seems to say nothing at all yet communicates with Roth like he's known him for years twinned with the fact panic hits him like a train later on in the film and he suddenly becomes a chatter box is an amazing juxtaposition which really adds to the experience.

Another attractive aspect of the film is the setting. This also acts as a juxtaposition as the beauty and heat that oozes from the screen really counterbalances the disturbing reality that Hurt and Roth's characters are there to 'get' Stamp and make him pay for his previous actions as well as the sadistic interior that makes up Hurt's character. You can't get too caught up in the setting which you only really see when the journey is being killed off, and you know that with every second that rushes by on the road; Stamp is apparently closer to his death - clever stuff.

The film is simple. The narrative is easy, there aren't too many characters to deal with, there aren't too many on screen distractions (unless you count the girl) meaning you have more reasons to focus on EXACTLY what's going on and although the film looks a little aged, I can guarantee it's thoroughly enjoyable.

The great lost Brit crime movie?

[Infofreak · 3 August 2003]

Forget the flashy but empty "cor blimey guv" Brit crime movies of the last few years like 'Snatch' and 'Sexy Beast'. Apart from 'Croupier' and 'Gangster No. 1', most of them aren't worthy of being mentioned in the same breath as the brilliant but largely forgotten 'The Long Good Friday', 'Mona Lisa', and the most underrated of all, 'The Hit'. Terence Stamp, playing a character not too dissimilar from the one he later portrays in 'The Limey', is a former gangster who grassed up his criminal mates years earlier. Now living in semi-retirement in Spain he is unexpectedly kidnapped by two hoods (John Hurt and, in one of his earliest screen roles, Tim Roth) who plan on taking him to Paris and killing him as punishment for betraying the criminal code. Of course, things don't go quite as planned and along the way the sexy Laura del Sol gets forced against her will to accompany them. This is a very fresh and interesting film that is more character than action based so might not appeal to the Guy Ritchie crowd. It's their loss. Stamp is just brilliant and his interaction with Hurt and Roth makes this a must see movie. The supporting cast also includes the legendary Fernando Rey ('The French Connection') as the cop on their trail, and Aussie veteran Bill Hunter as a crim in the wrong place at the wrong time. 'The Hit' is one of the most overlooked British movies of the last twenty years, and highly recommend viewing for all discerning movie buffs.

Sometimes less is best ..........

[merklekranz · 7/10 · 8 August 2013]

Low key drama is very interesting if you give it time and listen to the dialog. The acting by the four main characters is effective, the story is straightforward, and the outcome is always in doubt. Special mention must be made of the excellent score and scenery. John Hurt elicits tension with his minimalist performance. Terrence Stamp shows detached indifference to his pending fate. Tim Roth and Laura Del Sol also give convincing performances. Some terrific camera angles and sharp direction adds to the overall enjoyment of "The Hit". This is not a loud movie, but rather a very quiet one that will hold your attention despite a leisurely pace. - MERK

Good points; bad points

[ccthemovieman-1 · 7/10 · 23 April 2005]

I just watched this movie for the third time, and for the first time on DVD. I then read the reviews on this website. The reviews all contained good points but I was surprised at two things:

1) Very few reviews were from the United States. It appears that Europeans and Australians are far more aware of this film than we are here in America, which is our loss;

2) (Spoiler?) Nobody mentioned or questioned why hit man John Hurt did NOT kill Laura Del Sol. In real life, there would have been no hesitation by the professional killer : she would have been eliminated quickly.....and, of course, the story - had it been real - would have ended quite differently from the film.

Outside of that last point, I thought the film contained real characters exhibiting many of their strengths and weaknesses. Unlike most gangster films of the past 35 years, this one had little action and concentrated more on the principal characters. It would be too talky for most young audiences of today.

Other highlights:

Nice Spanish scenery and flamenco soundtrack. Good opening instrumental by Eric Clapton.

Interesting to see Roth in one of his earliest roles, although it's been a familiar one for him: an annoying punk.

An ending that wasn't predictable.

One disappointment:

Why wasn't this DVD presented on widescreen? Why was this formatted-to-TV? The transfer isn't bad but with the great scenery, why couldn't we see it all? There is no excuse for that.

Summary: a good, solid film but more for mature adults who don't mind a slower pace and can appreciate a lot of subtle things.

really good

[ccollins1982 · 7/10 · 23 November 2011]

i only heard about this film when i saw it on someones list of best films,thought it was really good willies a bastard from the beginning trying to play head games and turn them against each other but the girls more dangerous shes just as manipulative and sly was kind of hoping that the ending would be willie being taken to Paris and facing his former mates that he betrayed would have been nice if we could have found out more about his past crimes and find out how he was found in the first place a truly underrated British film it reminds me a bit of cohen and tate a old film from 1990 where two hit man snatch someone and have to take a road trip and survive the mind games ...........the hit is a really good film

To close for comfort.

[lost-in-limbo · 9/10 · 1 February 2007]

Ten years ago Willie Parker testified in court against some of his criminal buddies and ever since then, has been waiting for them to settle the score while hiding out in Spain. Soon enough his tracked down by two hit men, the slick professional Braddock and his raw rookie Myron. Who plan to take him back to Paris to meet up with those he done in, but on their trip there they stop off at a Madrid apartment that includes an unplanned kidnapping of a young Spanish girl, Maggie. Through the trip Parker's pondering manner starts getting on the pairs' nerves and the feisty Maggie makes matters even worse. Nothing is truly going to plan with these constant distractions and the Spanish police are hot on their trail.

I wasn't expecting to like "The Hit" as much as I did. But came away really enjoying and thinking highly of this oddity, after knowing nothing about it to begin with. It was neat blind purchase (well, it only cost $2), which really did pay off. This colourfully kooky British crime feature has a premise that likes play mind games by breezily building upon the animated characters and random situations they find themselves stuck in. It's about them finding their feet and coming to terms that death might be around the corner. Nothing to fear in something you shouldn't be afraid off. Peter Prince's tautly fleshed out script has real sensitivity about it and goes down well with the simple road trip storyline. While rather talkative, the dialogue driven outing has a lyrically deeper underbelly, where personalities clash with amusingly engaging and wittily sly results. Action is little, but it doesn't suffer from it and when it unfold, its intensely drawn up. Director Stephen Frears paints a poetically subdued feel to it with such freshly assured and suave direction. He truly sets up some beautiful visions without losing any of that brutal edge when called for (the surprising climax takes the cake). Mick Molloy's fetchingly sublime photography-work incorporates the alluringly picturesque backdrop of Spain with elegant scope. He even frames diverse scenes with inspired shots that have you in awe. Eric Clapton plugs away for the sweepingly airy opening title and Paco de Lucia stirringly upbeat Spanish flavour to the music score kicks up the energy levels and unpredictable vibe. The technical side of the production is pretty top-draw and sufficiently done. The performances are all marvellous in crafting out their characters and feeding off each other with believable chemistry. An outstandingly novel John Hurt plays the professionally cool, tough as nails hit-man Braddock with such cold venom. Character actor Tim Roth (in his film debut) is brilliant in a total opposite persona as a young clueless, hot-wired rookie Myron getting a little too attached to their captivates. Terence Stamp stands-out in his turn of the lively accepting Willie Parker, who throws up some words of wisdom along the way and strangely becomes fixated with his closing destiny. Laura del Sol dashingly fine as the strong willed Maggie who adds the sparks. Also showing up in short, but potent roles is Aussie actor Bill Hunter and Fernando Rey playing an officer closing on their tails.

"The Hit" is a focused, well thought-out production that I believe to be perfect across the board. Some people might find it to lead nowhere, but seductively enterprising is what comes to my mind.

A wonderful time capsule

[fredrikgunerius · 7/10 · 12 April 2022]

Terence Stamp is a force of positivity as a former criminal who snitched on his compatriots and went to start a new life in Spain before being tracked down ten years later by a sinister hitman (John Hurt) and his budding assistant (wonderfully played by Tim Roth in his first feature). This crime tale by Stephen Frears (later of Dangerous Liaisons, The Grifters and High Fidelity) takes us on a road trip across Spain and is a wonderful time capsule of early 1980s Continental Europe - at the junction between provincial idiosyncracy and modern consumerism. Our protagonists are all caught up in the mix between this and their own aimlessness. And although they have various ways of coping with their insecurities and needs for acceptance, they all are more or less prisoners of their own shortcomings. All except Laura del Sol as the group's young Spanish hostage Maggie, who slowly comes to realize she can manipulate the situation. The Hit has both style and substance, even if it never reaches the heights Frears may have hoped for. It's punctuated by pleasant flamenco music from Paco de Lucía and a title track by Eric Clapton and Roger Waters.

Brilliant, top-notch movie

[Soysoy · 8/10 · 16 July 2003]

I can't believe I'm discovering this little gem only now, about 20 years late! Shame on me. How comes...?

Now this is the kind of stuff I like. Intelligent, brilliantly written and directed, with mindblowing actors' performances by Tim Roth, John Hurt and Terence Stamp (gee I never realized before that Stamp was SUCH a talented actor!! Shame on me again!), a real personality, an outstanding camera work, and multiple references to the cinema history... all this with just the right amount of dignity, not too much, just the right amount. And an original and tasteful use of hispanic music, that is 100% adequate.

"The hit" is suspenseful, unpredictable, funny, challenging.

Makes me wonder how many times Tarentino viewed it... he obviously viewed it several times, for sure.

Great flick. I can't believe that there are only 395 votes for this movie on Imdb, meaning that only a very selected group of people actually had the luck to come across this little diamond. Such a shame. I bet many Coen fans would really love "The hit" if they only had the opportunity to view it...

Good British crime flick, unfortunate ending

[realalexrice · 7/10 · 8 June 2021]

A really solid flick that just works. It's not perfect but it's great fun and serious when it needs to be. Cast is all around excellent, it's great to see a newcomer (at the time) Tim Roth act with a legend like John Hurt. The way the story is told also really worked for me with how it starts and you think it's about Terrence Stamp as Willie but it becomes about John Hurt's Braddock, a hitman far past his prime who is making far too many mistakes for this job with his apprentice played by Tim Roth. John Hurt plays Braddock with such moments of quietness that his outbursts are shocking and excellent all the same. The movie is also astoundingly well shot for a forgotten 80's movie and scored excellently with awesome Flamenco music setting the scene at almost every turn. Glad I watched it.

Minor masterpiece

[d_nuttle · 8/10 · 14 June 2005]

A petty gangster rats out his accomplices and goes into protective custody with his new-found penchant for books and thought, until one day retribution arrives in the form of two assassins. The gangster, now a philosopher who claims he is ready for death as just another step in the progression of life, is taken for a long ride across Spain so that the crime boss he ratted out can witness vengeance inflicted.

Talk about your minor masterpieces! This has long been one of my favorites ever since I stumbled across it on one of the premium cable movie channels many years ago.

It's hard to put my finger on just what it is, exactly, that makes this movie great. One can hardly point to substantial character development, because the characters (with one exception) never really become true flesh and blood to us. The plot meanders, truth be told. The dialog is clever but rarely brilliant. So what is it? Certainly the locations and the music, the general ambiance, add a lot to the movie. The car, the clouds of dust, the brilliant Spanish sun, the arc of azure sky, the arid hills, the sultry guitar: these things alone can turn a marginal movie into a good one. Exterior shots predominate, and with good reason. The director knew how to combine simple, pure elements--strong, bold colors, bright sunlight, stark images, and exactly the right sounds--in ways that seem to speak of things larger than themselves.

But I don't mean to make the rest of the movie sound marginal. The characters aren't terribly well fleshed-out, but they are interesting nevertheless. Hurt's character, the silent, wary predator, comes across as a bit stilted, but he makes it work with his craggy face, his angular body, his croaking voice, and especially his eternally weary eyes. (Few characters could have taken on this role without looking ridiculous.) Stamp is also stilted yet convincing as the amateur philosopher and erstwhile rogue at peace with himself and his fate. Roth, even more constricted in his role, also manages to put across a convincing if thoroughly unsavory persona. These actors don't have much to work with, and yet none of them ever slips into crudely cartoonish performances. They remain genuine, to the degree their characters allow.

The real surprise is the girl, Laura del Sol. Her obvious physical charms, barely stuffed into a very small dress, lead the viewer (the pop-eyed male viewer, anyway) into writing her off as mere eye candy, until the confrontation between her and Hurt, and the cruel, angry glow in her eyes, brings it home that here perhaps is the highest talent in this cast. It is she alone who stands out, at the end of the movie, as someone we can recognize and identify with; someone who isn't a mere cypher. What a pity that she has done so little else in English-speaking movies.

Whether you find the ending of this movie satisfying probably says something about your own personality, and how you view concepts like loyalty, crime, vengeance, and justice. I won't go into my own reactions. I'll only say that, when the movie is over, you'll find that, not only have you watched an absorbing movie, but you probably have things to think about.

Quirky, Cheap, Best Forgotten

[kayaker36 · 6/10 · 2 February 2010]

John Hurt's strongest feature is his voice, full of shading and subtlety yet splendidly articulate with an attractive timbre. So why in HELL would he be cast as a professional killer with maybe twenty-five lines of dialog in the whole picture? What a waste!

A very young Tim Roth with a blond dye job looks underfed and downright weird, though he does try for the eager apprentice thing and in places gets it right. The distinguished Spanish actor Fernando Rey has a tiny part, not appearing until the movie is three-quarters over.

Ms. del Sol looks attractive though her character--unlike her bosom-- is hardly developed.

Terrence Stamp looks better than ever but has little to do in the picture, which lurches from crime drama to travelogue (some nice shots of the countryside of northern Spain) to philosophical exposition, unable to decide what it wants to be. The script writer apparently didn't know how to end the story. By then he must have been told that the movie already was too long. The ending he chose seems tacked on, with heavy borrowing from the Ambrose Bierce short story "Parker Adderson, Philosopher".

What's good apart from the beauty of the Basque country are the action sequences near the start and at the very beginning the English courtroom scene.

One of the dumbest movies I've seen

[mim-8 · 2/10 · 8 June 2009]

This film holds 7.0 rating on IMDb, so even I sensed something rotten in it's synopsis I decided to try it out. What a waste of 100 minutes. First of all, the 80's were not a good decade for crime and thriller genre. Most of them, in those days were badly done with silly plot (if they had any), so there are very few that can stand out, and even if they were good they are still not very good. The Hit, however suffers from everything that made silly crime pictures silly. It has poor character development, improbable plot and wasn't written or directed in a decent manner, and when you have such shortcomings the acting doesn't help. Stephen Frears often tried to emulate French new wave in English style film making and the two don't match.

Let's start at the beginning. Terence Stamp is 10 years in hiding because he testified against some of his former partners in crime. He hides in Spain, of all places. He is finally caught up with, and than first kidnapped by a group of silly looking Spanish thugs, just do be driven away some distance to the two hit man that are supposed to deal with him. These two are John Hurt, who is supposed to be hard boiled, stone cold killer, and Tim Roth (in his first role) as the devil's apprentice. They don't kill Stamp right away, they first dispose of the "three Amigos", they shouldn't have hired in the first place, and then, they are driving Stamp to Paris, because one of the buddies he testified against wants to confront him. OK that's possible. But even with Stamp being such a dangerous figure that they had to hire four guys to overpower him, they don't tie him down, don't incapacitate him in any way, and drive around with him, like he's one of the buddies. Stamp doesn't object and is happily going to Paris to be shot, not using any of a half a dozen chances, these "professionals" offer for him to escape. Than it appears that Tim Roth is just a school boy bully, making the idea of big crime boss teaming him up with a hard core hit man like John Hurt, even more improbable, especially on an important job like that. But than John Hurt is not so hard core himself, he spends twenty minutes of the movie, killing or not killing the totally surplus Australian, played by Bill Hunter, whose only purpose in this film is to introduce lovely Laura Del Sol, his mistress (who he says is 15, but she looks more like 25), and whose role in the story and acting capabilities suggest that she was offered the part, solely on the basis of being the director's or producer's mistress at the time. After much deliberation, Hurt kills the Australian but takes along his mistress for no apparent reason. Than he wants to kill her but Roth with his "subtle ways" convince him not to, so even she kicks him, bites him and scratches him through the entire movie, he stays true to that deeply buried human side of him.

Than you have plain idiotic scenes, like when Hurt and Roth lock the car from the outside, trying to prevent people inside, from getting out?!?! Anyway the movie drags on. Tim Roth falls asleep, guarding Terence Stamp with his gun on his chest, and Stamp just waits there watching the waterfall. Than the whole shamble of a plot comes to the point where everything we've seen in the last hour and 20 minutes just goes out through the window. Let's recapitulate, the whole point in not killing Stamp right away (except for having a movie) is to take him to Paris, so his former partner is to have a last word with him. And the whole point in him not running away is that he is prepared to die, saying "It's just a moment. We're here. Then we're not here. We're somewhere else... maybe. And it's as natural as breathing. Why should we be scared?" But my friends, here is where the plot twists, Hurt kills the man while still in Spain, and we ask why bother and drive around for days, he could have done it in the first 15 minutes, and than contrary to his philosophy Stamp is very afraid of being killed, so we ask again why didn't he run, and he had plenty chance. Roth gets killed too, but he shouldn't be in the movie at all, and Del Sol, well she's promised a role in this film purely for romantic (read sexual) reasons, so she stays alive again, even she attacked Hurt for the 15th time in the movie. He killed all the others, but not her, she must have maximum screen appearance. The movie was made on a shoe string budget and it shows, but when you have no story and cardboard characterizations, it shows even more.And yes Fernando Ray appears and goes through the movie as the guest star, having a single audible line of dialog. Awful

Toronto 2000 Wrap-Up

[DJFreak · 15 October 2000]

9/15 8:30 pm THE HIT (****)

A classic from Stephen Frears who made this film in 1984 after a long career in television. This intelligent, character driven story features John Hurt as a hitman who hates his job and a young Tim Roth as his impulsive partner. Their target is Terence Stamp's lucid stool pidgeon and the firey Laura Del Sol is along for the ride. Part road trip and part crime drama, the result is a solid piece of filmmaking. Strangely, the print we saw was subtitled in French. Go figure.

Just when you think you've put your finger on it

[Groverdox · 7/10 · 27 November 2018]

"The Hit" is an odd and often frustrating crime flick.

It's a British crime film, but anyone expecting "Get Carter" or "The Long Good Friday" will be disappointed.

It's more like a crime version of "Two-Lane Blacktop".

It's impressionistic, existentialist, and above all, not what you think or expect.

It seems to keep undercutting itself. For example, it's a British crime flick... but it's set in Spain. The constant presence of flamenco legend Paco de Lucia on the soundtrack does nothing for it. There are questions you expect the characters to ask each other. They don't. There are things you expect them to say, if not to each other, then out loud. They don't. You expect them to at least feel a certain way, and they don't seem to.

Take, for example, the protagonist, played by Terence Stamp. He's being taken to his execution for "grassing" on his criminal pals. He doesn't seem to mind, in fact often his escorts seem more like friends.

They encounter an Australian guy played by legendary actor Bill Hunter. He talks, talks, talks. "Why don't you shut up?" asks the junior crim (Tim Roth). "I can't!" screams the Aussie. Why? Is it because he's nervous? What was he doing there, anyway? Why do they take his girlfriend?

Another undercut: The Stamp character doesn't mind at all that he's about to die, until he does mind. Why? You can only speculate.

"The Hit" is a typical example of the kind of movie which studiously avoids cliches to the point of becoming annoying. It'd be a favourite film of anyone who is in the mood for something "different", I guess. I guess I just wasn't.

So-so

[=G= · 6/10 · 30 November 2003]

"The Hit" is about two gangsters (Hurt & Roth) who kidnap an informer (Stamp) in Spain and transport him by car back to France where they intend to settle a 10 year old score. In the process they kidnap a beautiful senorita (del Sol), kill some people, and generally do a sloppy job of getting from point-A to point-B while being methodically dogged by police. The film has little action and a lot of low level drama which seems to be trying for some psychodramatic substance which never really materializes. Though it sports a good cast and does have its moments, in the final analysis "The Hit" is wasn't much of a hit and distills to little more than more than couch potato fodder. (C+)

The Hit (1984)

[fntstcplnt · 7/10 · 13 November 2019]

Directed by Stephen Frears. Starring Tim Roth, John Hurt, Terence Stamp, Laura del Sol, Bill Hunter, Fernando Rey. (R)

Two hitmen--a grizzled, controlled veteran (Hurt) and an impulsive, excitable rookie (Roth), naturally--travel to Spain to pick up a "supergrass" (Stamp) who testified against his criminal cohorts a decade earlier. Mannered but offbeat British crime drama favors neo-noir mood and philosophizing over intricate plotting and thrills. Characterizations are generous but subtle; performances on point, especially the two heavies. Some nice, surprising touches along the way, such as having Stamp act rather blasé, even agreeable, to being carted off to his death, though it does meander a bit at times. The routine violence of the climax and its aftermath is predictable, but one supposes that it was also rather inevitable. Title theme was written by Eric Clapton and Roger Waters; flamenco guitarist Paco de Lucia plays throughout. Big screen debut for Roth, and Frears' first feature since the early-70s.

71/100

John Hurt and Tim Roth make a wonderful team.

[miles_coleman · 9/10 · 24 August 2002]

The writing and acting are outstanding -all the characters are imbued with distinct three-dimensional personalities. The humor is very dry, and there's a deep sense of irony that pervades this film. The thrust of the script, I feel, outlines how human intellect and instinct constantly play a game of one-upsmanship, and the nature of life is, ultimately, unpredictable and beyond our control. A personal favorite.

Strange criminals

[robertemerald · 7/10 · 23 January 2019]

I really admired how this movie was shot, with really good framing of dusty Spanish roads and scenery, of Madrid, of villages and out-of-the-way stopovers. I traveled through rural Spain myself in the mid-1970s and this was a happy reacquaintance. It's worth seeing the movie just for that, and one of the reasons I give it a good score. The description of the police here is also authentic to the day. The script is often sparse and it needs actors such as John Hurt to carry the piece. There's a good soundscape. The plot is OK but requires an act of faith. One of the gangsters is young and unstable for example, and the whole concept is so fraught with likely disaster one wonders if such an enterprise was really logical. There are touches of genuine reality though that raise the work up a little, such as the victim's philosophy of life, the unusual chance meeting with an Australian character, and the performance and story that goes with the leading girl. I had to dock the movie a point for its title, which is misleading. This is a movie about criminals, but not a hit as such. This is quality drama for its day and a delight to see the younger versions of actors that would go on to do great things.

It's just a moment. We're here. Then we're not here.

[Hey_Sweden · 8/10 · 9 August 2021]

Terence Stamp is aces as a criminal who rats out his associates, then spends a decade hiding out in Spain. But his time is now up: two hitmen, the icy cold Braddock (John Hurt) and the cocky young Myron (Tim Roth, in his theatrical debut) have tracked him down. Now they are transporting him back to his execution in England. But things don't go quite the way that everybody expects, and Braddock & Myron end up taking a young Spanish woman (the sexy and feisty Laura Del Sol) along with them, and the idea of what to do with the captives seems to change from moment to moment.

"The Hit" is a solid British crime feature done with intelligence and nuance. While it has the typical violence for the genre, it doesn't play out the way that this viewer really expected. What made the difference is that this story (written by Peter Prince) focuses far more on the characters and the journey than the destination. And the characters are an interesting bunch. Stamps' character Willie Parker in particular takes a philosophical approach to his destiny that also functions as the theme of the story. He gets over his fear and resigns himself to his fate - something that Braddock apparently doesn't like.

Stamp and Hurt deliver standout performances in a film that also benefits from the chemistry among its cast. Although it's become something of a cliche by now to have two criminal types with contrasting styles, it's fun here to see the odd-couple dynamic between Hurts' Braddock and Roths' Myron. Del Sol has sufficient appeal to make the viewer tense about what might happen to her, and Aussie actor Bill Hunter is quite good in his brief appearance as a criminal who merely happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But Fernando Rey is rather wasted in his role as a senior policeman who usually just arrives at crime scenes after the fact, until a rather abrupt finale. Look for British character actors Willoughby Gray, Jim Broadbent, and Ralph Brown in small roles.

Although not as well as known as other favorites in the British crime genre, this is definitely worth your time, especially if you admire the actors, and the highly capable director, Stephen Frears, who went on to do films like "Dangerous Liaisons", "The Grifters", and "The Queen".

Eight out of 10.

Empty Feeling at the End

[MikeyB1793 · 6/10 · 18 September 2010]

Although this film starts out well, it did have an empty feeling at the end. The premise is an English gangster who squealed on his mates and gets asylum in Spain. Eventually these gangsters get others to track him down. These others kidnap him and want to take him to Paris where the original gangsters will even the score with him. So it turns into a road movie as they trek across Spain. They also abduct a beautiful senorita on the way (I was never quite clear why they did this – but it was good eye candy).

So the plot is reasonably clear and there is some character interaction. But somehow it's all a little artificial and none of the characters are very likable. There is very little humour in this movie. I felt like I had an empty deck of cards at the films' conclusion.

Plus why were the victims driven across Spain to be killed – why wasn't it just done right away – and whatever happened to going to Paris?

"You've got nothing to smile about, mate."

[brogmiller · 8/10 · 30 October 2022]

Stephen Frears' highly original talent was evident in his first feature 'Gumshoe' from 1971. After thirteen years in the confining world of Television he has again been granted the opportunity of stretching his legs on the wider screen. Although not a palpable 'hit' when first released its merits have since come to be appreciated in retrospect as Frears' subsequent reputation as an accomplished filmmaker has been firmly established.

The plot here is pretty basic but Frears' skilful direction of his players, Peter Prince's sparse but loaded dialogue and Mick Audsley's taut editing have given us a tense, well constructed piece in which the dynamics between the four main characters are constantly shifting and our initial impressions of them are totally subverted as the film progresses. The landscape plays an active role and this, together with Paco de Lucia's score, gives this film the feel of a latter day Western.

Superlative John Hurt hasn't been required to learn many lines but his silences speak volumes and Tim Roth makes an assured screen debut whilst Terence Stamp has one of his best roles and one which enables him to exhibit a rarely seen comic edge. Sultry Laura Del Sol had made quite an impression in Saura's flamenco version of 'Carmen' the previous year and her transition here from eye candy to spitfire is extremely effective.

To say that Mr. Frears has gone from strength to strength would be an understatement and he now indisputably belongs to the select group that comprises truly world class British directors, the rest of whom are deceased.

three great actors

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 16 May 2023]

Gangster Willie Parker (Terence Stamp) testifies against his former cohorts. Ten years later, he's been hiding out in Spain. He gets kidnapped by Mr. Braddock (John Hurt) and Myron (Tim Roth). The trio goes on a road trip. Along the way, they pick up Spanish girl Maggie.

These are three top level acting power. I expected something more brutal although there is plenty of violence. I don't really understand why they don't kill the girl right off. I guess maybe I do, but I don't. In the end, it is all about watching these three great actors. Terence Stamp has his homoerotic teasing. Tim Roth has his volatile craziness. John Hurt has his creepiness. All three are doing something interesting. The girl still bugs me. It feels like something is left untold with Braddock. It could have pushed the envelope more.

What a load of old tosh!

[benashe · 4/10 · 24 October 2005]

A potentially good idea gets completely let down by a weak script which throws all credibility out the window leaving the actors very little to work with. Roth covers it up as best he can by being all mouth; Hurt has about as much menace as a fluffy bunny and Stamp can't seem to decide whether he's playing an ex-London crook or some toff straight off the playing fields at Eton. As for poor Laura del Sol she does what she can but her character is no more than every northern European's idea of the stereotypical Latino woman who's all pouts and hot temperament. If you're a fan of any of the main actors don't disappoint yourself or fool yourself (as I suspect many of the other reviewer's here have done). Watch it by all means but stay critical; you know these guys can do better.

Like the shifting rents of dust kicked up in a dirt road.

[chaos-rampant · 12 March 2010]

There's a cork that holds the movie in place. A cork that reads existential crime thriller, oscillating with some conviction in the dusty scorched space between the road movie and the modern western, not between alternate extremes but with a steady uninterrupted rhythm flipping the same coin again and again; one time it gives us the claustrophobic but humdrum and worn-out dynamics and shifting relationships between kidnappers and kidnapped confined in a car on a road trip through the Spanish countryside to someone's death, tails give us brooding silences and Paco de Lucia's deguello guitar serenading over vast open expanses of arid landscape, they give us sunsets over open horizons and rents of dust kicked up in a dirt road. John Hurt's Mr. Braddock is the enigmatic hit-man of few words and no identity, Tim Roth is his overexcited grimacing sidekick, and Terence Stamp is the calm fatalist resigned to the idea of dying escorted by them to a death in Paris. He plays the middle against the end in ordinary for this type of setup cat and mouse games. Death and how we face him is Stephen Frears' main theme though. The transformations the characters undergo in the face of it speak louder than Terence Stamp's abstract diversions: how we're there one moment, gone the next, and what's the difference, why should we be afraid? Only the woman (the voluptuous and sexy Laura del Sol) is strong enough to survive, because she's the one who's really afraid to die, motivated to fight for life because she's not ready to give up yet. This reminds me of the Father in Cormac McCarthy's The Road: how he has learned to wake himself up from idle beautiful dreams because they lull the mind, because they're a sign of the mind giving up on the real world. It can be a very ugly place the real world and it's only natural to be afraid, at least you know you're still alive.

Despite whatever existential meat and bones there is, the movie is mostly a mood piece though and it's captivating as such. But take the cork out and it starts to disintegrate back to the parts it was made of, back to seedy gas stations in the middle of nowhere, open arid landscapes, and orange suns blazing down on patches of empty asphalt, sand and dust kicked up to muddle the boundaries separating it from all the other movies of the same kind, a little above and below and across the Mexican border, so that they become engulfed back into that curious sifting mass made up of lonesome structures with the paint peeling off under the hot sun and beat-up cars driving up empty roads across empty landscapes that you can pinpoint to a general type of film rather than any particular movie. Back into that antediluvian genre memory of the existential modern western from which now and again a movie by Walter Hill or Sam Peckinpah or the Coen Brothers will stand out to be counted. There's not enough to put The Hit on the same level as No Country for Old Men or Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia, but fans of that type of sombre contemplative gritnic cinema will dig it. It's good.