Hitman's Run (1999) User Reviews (24)

O.K. shoot outs, bad acting, good car chases = watchable movie

[Blinking_Fish · 5/10 · 20 March 2000]

Well this movie wasn't that good and I usually really like action movies, The shootouts where all right but nothing spectacular, the acting was downright horrible, and the car chases were good if you don't compare them to ones in other films such as Ronin. Overall I woudn't recommend this movie unless you can't find any better movie on the action shelf. The car chases where the only thing stopping me from giving it a 4.

5 out of 10.

Nerves of steel and a score to settle.

[michaelRokeefe · 3/10 · 27 October 2001]

An ex-hitman(Eric Roberts)has a few felons, software thieves and hired killers to blow away and at the same time juggle his emotions. Very predictable storyline. Gunfire galore. Bullets do fly and not even one scratches our bad guy turned good. The budget was spent on the ammunition; don't expect much in dialogue. Also appearing are Farrah Forke, C. Thomas Howell and Esteban Powell.

When the dumbness is the SAVING GRACE of the movie, there's a definite problem.

[tarbosh22000 · 3/10 · 1 March 2012]

Former hit-man Tony Lazorka (Roberts) (how do they come up with these names?) is now living as a happily married family man in the suburbs of L.A. He thinks he's far from his past, having worked has a hired killer for mob boss Dominic Catania (Miano), but when yet another "Disk" (as in, "we've got to get The Disk! - which we've all seen so many times before) surfaces that contains other people in the witness protection program, Lazorka must team up with annoying punk kid Brian (Powell) to save his father, and Lazorka's kidnapped family. And what do FBI agents Tom (Howell) and Randall (Huff) have to do with all this intrigue? Will Lazorka be successful? This movie is very, very dumb. That's not necessarily an insult - there are varying degrees of dumb. There's dumb dumb, there's just plain bad dumb, there's funny dumb, etc. Luckily, Hit-man's Run falls into the "yeah, it is very dumb but there are plenty of unintentional (probably) laughs" category...but there are some major caveats here - read on...

Eric Roberts is definitely a major meathead in this one. His hair, clothing and demeanor are all very silly, and he strongly resembles Antonio Banderas, especially from Assassins (1995). Don't forget, Roberts also plays an assassin here. Why the filmmakers decided to use a dud like Assassins as their template for greatness is somewhat puzzling. During all the blow-ups and shooting, the bad guys constantly have terrible aim and Lazorka's is always right-on. Sure, that's fairly common I suppose, but there are a lot of just hilariously implausible scenarios on show here (again, not necessarily a negative).

And while C. Thomas Howell looks like a young kid here, this was actually released three years after the great The Sweeper (1996), where he plays a macho tough guy. It really shows his range. This movie could have used more Howell. Brent Huff and Damian Chapa are also on display, and it's nice to see them, as well as fan favorite Robert Miano. Unfortunately, the movie makes a major mistake with the kid. Why, again, would the filmmakers use such poor judgment in thinking any audience any where would like this irritating punk, much less not want to twist his stupid head off like a bottlecap, remains unknown. All he does is spout grating clichés, or, when Lazorka is doing his action stuff, say "Whoa!" and things like that. Sure, the kid from American Ninja 5 (1993) did the same thing, but he was a kid. As an older teen, he has no excuse. We'd love to know what the writers were thinking with this Poochie-like decision. Importantly, he also wears a sleeveless sweater throughout the whole movie. A SLEEVELESS SWEATER. Who even knew they existed? Hit-man's run is fairly cartoony and could have used some grit. Then just dump the kid and have Eric Roberts go on a solo revenge mission to save his family. THEN Hit-man's Run would really have something. But the quality is junky, and the unnecessary addition of the stupid punk kid really sinks things.

We all love Eric Roberts, and all the other names in the cast as well, and the aforementioned dumbness alone is no big deal, but, married to the addition of the kid, Hit-man's Run might be very trying to the patience of viewers. When the dumbness is the SAVING GRACE of the movie, there's a definite problem.

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Surprisingly Clever

[bside-2 · 8 February 2000]

For a low budget action release, this film was a pleasant surprise. Most notably, the script was actually really entertaining...clever in a way films of this type often attempt but rarely achieve. I would love to have seen the picture made by a big studio with the special effects, talented director and leading man that would undoubtedly be part of the package. But, that said, it was still a hoot. Fans of intelligent banter punctuated with occasional gunfire will likely enjoy it as much as I did.

Lester and Roberts!

[BandSAboutMovies · 4/10 · 15 July 2020]

Sooner or later, Mark Lester and Eric Roberts would have to unite and bring their dual direct to video magic to bear. This would be one of those times and it would not be the last.

Here, Eric is former mob hitman Tony Lazorka, who has become John Dugan in witness protection after he refuses to kill someone. He's in witness protection which is more like witless protection. And the mob is back on his trail, which is how these things always go. Where's Arnold ready to erase people these days?

Roberts gets screwed over by a hacker, who we know is a computer wizard because he rides a skateboard and is a general malcontent. He's played by Esteban Powell, who was in Dazed and Confused and Powder before this. He cannot have been more annoying than he was in this movie and I didn't want his poor father (Eric Poppick, who always plays nosy neighbors and put-upon doctors; witness Single White Female and Problem Child) to ever find him again. Having the mob kill you would be a better fate than enduring one day with this keyboard kid.

C. Thomas Howell plays a fed, Farrah Forke makes an appearance and plenty of people only I would get excited about are in this, like Damian Chapa (dude, the guys IMDB bio is bonkers; he name drops growing up in a bar across from Larry Flynt's first Hustler club, then talks about how The James Dean Foundation picked him over Leo for a biopic before they were all murdered, yet he neglects to mention that he played Ken in Street Fighter), Pittsburgh native Lindsay Taylor and Joe Viterelli, who was in the aforementioned Eraser and was a dependable mob character actor, appearing as Jelly in the two Analyze This movies, as well as Mobsters, Bullets Over Broadway and Mafia!

Pathetic

[lardlad · 1/10 · 25 October 2000]

Boring. Bad action, acting, scripting and direction. I am a fan of Mark L Lester but this 'attempt' at making Eric Roberts into a super hip killer did not work. Brings shame to the whole action genre, and casts a bad shadow on other similarly themed films like 'The Killer'. Boring and embarrassing. See this movie only if you have 90 minutes left to live and want to die miserably.

Run, my friend, Run!

[gazineo-1 · 4/10 · 17 October 2001]

Violent and obnoxious actioner yarn where a ex - hitman fights to save his wife and children from the vengeance of the Mafia bosses. Certainly, you have seen much of this stuff and probably better, far better. This movie is a strange and almost permanent shotdown between the good guys (only Roberts, in fact) and the bad guys (indeed, almost all the rest of the cast). A great lose of time. In fact, there's a great point here: although the movie is pure trash, Powell gives a good performance. I give this one a 4 (four).

Garbage at its worst

[Kaizu-2 · 1/10 · 26 July 1999]

Steer well clear of this so-called movie! No acting, the plot is as stupid as you'll ever see, disgustingly violent, sloppy production, the scriptwriter should be put behind bars... Well, you get the idea. "Hitman's Run" could well be the worst piece of (beep) I have ever been forced to watch.

Hit or Miss for Eric Roberts

[wes-connors · 3/10 · 28 December 2009]

Muscular New Jersey hit-man Eric Roberts (as Tony Lazorka) gives up killing people for Los Angeles, the "Witness Protection Program," and a beautiful blonde family. Alas, supposedly 17-year-old computer hacker Esteban Powell (as Brian Segal) uncovers Mr. Roberts' secret, and sells it to vengeful mobster Damian Chapa (as Paolo Catania) and his pals. Very quickly, big guns come out.

The idea to team Roberts with the "punk kid" was a good one, but it doesn't work in this run; of the two, only Mr. Powell seems to be trying. Federal agent C. Thomas Howell (as Tom Holly) and pretty Farrah Forke (as Sarah) are also adrift. Mr. Chapa and "Godfather" Robert Miano (as Dominic) do well as the criminally-minded. Powell's touch of comedy almost saves the film.

*** Hit-man's Run (9/3/99) Mark L. Lester ~ Eric Roberts, Esteban Powell, Damian Chapa, C. Thomas Howell

Worth a better rating

[milfaddict · 6/10 · 13 May 2007]

I recently found this in the bargain used shelves at a local store and thought I'd give it a try. I was shocked to see its very low rating here. This isn't a piece of art mind you, but as an entertaining mindless action flick it does well. Its a standard Mark Lester film, nothing flashy, just a tough guy getting mad and killing all the bad guys. It has some great one liners and a great plot, it just doesn't do much with that plot. Eric Roberts has a great, albeit under developed, character in John Dugan. With a better writer I'd give this movie a 8 or 9. Even with its short comings, every action junkie should give this movie a viewing. It was definitely a worthy addition to my action collection.

An atrocious movie

[ipswich-2 · 3/10 · 13 May 2000]

This is a poor movie and the storyline is totally unbelievable. The action is thick and fast and enjoyable at the start, but becomes all to predictable in the end. Eric Roberts is invincible and never gets shot. The body count is incredibly high. Acting is atrociously bad. There's action but you can get better fare elsewhere.

It'll never win an Academy Award but it sure is entertaining

[krb206 · 8/10 · 3 February 2000]

Although more intelligent than the typical "blow it up and grunt a cocky one-liner before kissing the girl" action flick, Hitman's Run will never win any awards for drama. But hey, let's face it, if you like drama, you are probably not shopping for a movie with a picture on the jacket of a large gun aimed at your face. I really enjoyed this movie and agree with the other comment that the writing was quite good although I felt the direction was a little heavy handed at times. The dialogue was biting and witty, overall plot development was solid without getting in the way of the action, and the characters were as believable as you are going to find in this genre. I would highly recommend this film.

Despite the shortcomings, it is Eric Roberts

[crispcharles-44249 · 7/10 · 5 July 2023]

Eric Roberts and director Mark L. Lester (of "Commando" fame) were apparently hired with a shoestring budget to make a movie that fans of either man would want to see. If that was the plan, it worked - at least in my case, twenty-four years after the movie was released.

Is it a good movie? It features every cliche in the action-movie genre. The bad guys tend to stand completely in the open firing automatic weapons. Eric Roberts does too but, being the star, he does not get hit. As soon as you have been introduced to the main characters, good and bad, you can guess how everyone will wind up at the end. But still...it is Eric Roberts.

By The Numbers

[refinedsugar · 4/10 · 24 September 2023]

'Hitman's Run' is your typical 90's see-it-and-forget-it dtv title. It's not the worst thing you'll see, but barely passable. Eric Roberts headlines this low level action tale from director Mark L. Lester who's done better work and far away from his best days. A few known faces in the supporting cast pick up a quick paycheck as well.

Tony Lazorka (Roberts) was the #1 hitman for a mafia family, but when he showed mercy to his last target (because the man once saved his life) the family wanted him dead. So he goes into the witness protection program and only years later does his past life comes back to haunt him when the mob buys a hacked FBI list exposing all the witnesses, their new identities and locations.

You got familiar actors playing mob faces (Robert Miano, Damian Chapa), but the acting here isn't great and neither is the action. Cheap, lazy, absurd with Lazorka supposed to be this great hitman, but he certainly doesn't act like one. The guy used to coldly kill people for money, but is a loving family man now too ... cliche 101 stuff.

'Hitman's Run' is the kind of movie I could have seen myself watching on late night tv twenty years ago when nothing else was on and I was desperate. That's how bored or limited your options should be in the present time if you decide to watch this. There's no crazy stunts or even female nudity to help make this fun and while Roberts isn't asleep at the wheel, he's very much going thru the motions like every other aspect of this flick.

Not that bad but no award winner

[w0aq · 28 August 2003]

I recently purchased this movie as I am an Eric Roberts fan. As usual, he makes the best of whatever character he is playing. But, without his presence, this movie would rank lower than the worst episode of Starsky and Hutch.

Lots of bullets fly and some stuff just is not to be believed. I mean, we're talking A-Team stuff here at some points. But, at other times, it is not so bad. The kingpin's son reminds me too much of Howie from The Fall Guy to be credible as a real bad guy but what the heck...

There are bad holes in this but Eric Roberts keeps you watching.

Spoiler....

There's way too many smiles at the end. All the bad guys are dead, the girlfriend's kid just saw people getting brutally killed, but they are all happy and ready to head off to Dairy Queen. And, the computer hacker kid and his long lost father are ready for the father-son picnic now.

C'mon. With a little work (or brains) this could have been pretty good but at times, it's just stupid.

As stated earlier, Roberts does a good job and that is the one redeeming thing that makes this worth watching.

you cant quit the mob

[ksf-2 · 5/10 · 8 June 2021]

Eric Roberts is Tony, who has worked for a crime family for many years. Doing illegal things. But when it comes time to quit the business, and testify, they take it personally. And they never forget. Thomas Howell is the fed that brings him in. Now when someone has hacked into the FBI database, they want Tony's help containing the damage. Of course, Tony and his own family are in that witness protection program, so it's in his own best interest to do what he can to stop the list from being shared. Esteban Powell is a hacker skater thrasher kid, who trades the database tothe mob for his dad's location. Also in the WP program. But now Brian the hacker seems to regret it. He spends the first part of the film yelling wow and oh no! Tony drags him along as his sidekick, since they seem to need each other. It's pretty cheesy. The characters say and do pretty silly things, but the underlying story is pretty sound. Officer Holly (Howell) keeps saying "You've got to come to our office", but the feds don't seem to be working on anything themselves. And the crooks laugh and smile a lot. Not sure why. Directed by Mark Lester; had also done Firestarter and Commando. Story by Eric Barker. Not much info on him.

Pedestrian, Predictable, and a Potboiler, Too!

[zardoz-13 · 5/10 · 14 May 2014]

Bad marksmanship does not a good movie make. Shame on "Commando" director Mark L. Lester for producing such a trite potboiler. The Eric Barker & John Olsen script amounts to boilerplate, and the characters are shallow, one-dimensional, ciphers. Some of Barker and Olsen's dialogue sounds clever, primarily for the hacker character. Of course, the armed and dangerous but natty villains cannot hit the side of a barn. Worse, our rugged hero has a problem with hitting the mark, too, especially when he wields an assault rifle within twenty yards of his targets. Everybody complains about this cliché as well as convention in shoot'em up sagas. Often, sloppy marksmanship is the consequence of sloppy scriptwriting. Sometimes, it seems like the whole point of these cacophonous firefights is to depict dudes looking cool as they blast away with weapons. Similarly, the stunts are second-rate. In one scene, you can see that Lester didn't conceal the ramp used to flip a car. The same thing can be said of the blood squibs beneath the shirts of killers. Overall, this low-budget, crime thriller is so predictable that not even the presence of Eric Roberts and C. Thomas Howell can compensate for the sense of déjà vu. The best thing that can be said about Mark L. Lester's helming is that he doesn't let the action bog down in exposition. "Hitman's Run" suffers from a diarrhea spray of clichés.

A veteran Italian torpedo, Tony Lazorka (Eric Roberts of "The Expendables"), spares the life of a mob accountant, Seymour Penny (Eric Poppick of "Basic Instinct"), that he has known since he was child. They are discussing their dismal predicament under a bridge, imagining that they must be out of sight. Such is not the case. Tony's fellow mobsters are observing him from afar and pondering why he doesn't pull the trigger on Seymour. Tony takes refuge in the Justice Departmant's witness protection program in exchange for his testimony against the Catania Family. Two years later, after Tony has met the love of his life, things go horribly wrong for him. A young, smart aleck hacker, Brian Penny (Esteban Powell of "Powder), who totes around a skateboard, sports earrings, and shoulders a back pack, is searching for his estranged father. As it turns out, Brian's father is none other than the accountant whose life Tony spared. Tony is concerned about the fate of his new found family.

Meantime, a hot-headed FBI agent Tom Holly (C. Thomas Howell of "Soul Man") struggles to protect Tony's wife and adolescent stepdaughter despite orders from his superior. Naturally, he doesn't succeed. Tony has some bad luck of his own later when he lets his guard down and a mob gunman clobbers him on the back of the head. The FBI is upset because the information that the hacker got has been given to the mob by Brian. Somebody else is in on the information leakage, too. Eventually, Brian learns the identity of his dad. Just when the accountant is set to testify, mobster chieftain Dominic Catania (Robert Miano of "Donnie Brasco") abducts Tony's family and kills the agents protecting Seymour. Meanwhile, Dominic's trigger-happy son Paolo Catania puts a gun to Brian's head to download the rest of the file. Paolo is the kind of mafia guy who can take a slug and survive the shooting long enough to die at the hands of the hero.

Ironically, "Hitman's Run" boasts a modicum of potential; this appears to be a standard-issue action picture. As a big screen actioneer, Lester might have eliminated most of the clichés and made reasonably entertaining yarn like either "Commando" or "Showdown in Little Tokyo." The hero shares similarities with Arnold Schwarzenegger's brawny hero in "Commando" who sought to save his daughter from the bad guys. The mafia here is presented as a platoon of thick-headed but well-dressed morons. In this film, they have aligned themselves with the CIA. Talk about improbable. "Hitman's Run" qualifies as nothing special.

Hit-man's brisk power walk

[movieman_kev · 6/10 · 11 May 2013]

Eric Roberts is Tony, a retired mafioso hit-man who finds his new life and family in serious jeopardy after a teenager with access to a list of former made men and their respective new aliases that they got through witness protection in this action film by the usually reliable Mark Lester.

While this film can't help but pale in comparison to Lester's earlier classic movies, the extremely talented Roberts once again proves he can elevate a rather pedestrian films. The kid sidekick however was another story, as I found him grating on the nerves. The plot is brain dead but with just enough action to make it a serviceable, yet extremely forgettable outing.

And again in keeping with my connected films/6 degrees motif my next netflix streaming review will be the Mark Lester directed "White Rush"

What a film!

[Georgina-5 · 8/10 · 12 February 2000]

Hitman's Run has it all - car chases, guns, the mafia and computer hacking. What more could anyone want? Strong performances by Eric Roberts and C. Thomas Howell. Great dialogue. If you are looking for excitement, this is the movie to see.

Not the best movie I've ever seen...

[A_Swan · 25 June 2000]

Well, ok, probably one of the worst. Hey, it was on at one o'clock in the morning! It's pretty much your typical witness protection program meets mob hitman on the run meets teenage hacker/slacker meets a missing father.... a nice stew of over-used plots. I happened to like this movie, because the main character (supposedly "Brian" but usually referred to as kid) has some funny one-liners, the Italians are SO stereotyped... if you're having an "awful movie night," this is one to add to the list!!

exciting and all that

[jomolicious · 9/10 · 11 February 2000]

very entertaining. great story. kept me glued with the action and the laughs. a real fun movie to just sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. definitely worth seeing and i would recommend it to anyone who wants to spend an evening packed with action and good times.

hooray for damian chapa

[wigz · 30 December 1999]

Any serious straight to video fan should definately check this flick out.Damian Chapa(Blood In Blood Out) is the main villain,and he kicks some major ass.I grabbed this movie as soon as I saw his name on the box,he definately deserves more work in higher budget movies.Eric Roberts does a good job as well with a laugh-out-loud script.Don't be afraid,rent it,pop a couple of beers and call it a night.

A Hitman's Transition to Hero

[starlina7up · 9/10 · 12 November 2023]

I must admit this movie is a complete SLAM DUNK!

A man name John, formerly known as Tony and a family of Mob Boss and his goons vow to get even with him. Despite being in Witness Protection John suffers from PTSD due to his involvement with the evil Mafia Organization. When the stakes get even higher John must confront them and with Brian's help, he takes them down and saves his wife and daughter and returns a favor to Brian by reuniting him with his estranged father whom he later reconciled. The Mafia's head chief and his son were determined to kill those close to John but failed the ended with their own fates. John redeemed himself and saved his family and the world from the villainous Mafia in the country.

I highly recommend this movie more better script would have made it perfect but I still like it anyway.

Poor. Amazingly poor. This is *bad*.

[ccomley · 21 March 2002]

Bad acting, poor plot, naff effects very badly created. It's just bad - even for a "TV Movie" which I presume it was... You can see the blood packs through the shirts so you know where the bullets are going to hit, for example. This one should be shown in movie-making school, it's a brilliant example of doing everything wrong.