So when did you see a movie that translated from the game that looked and felt like you thought it should? Never I hear you cry…………….me too! Welcome then, to another in the long list of failures, this time your director, and disappointer, is Xavier Gens.

I cannot fully comprehend a couple of things about this effort, firstly we have the character, this is a trained from kindergarten killer, a man who is an ice-cold human machine, no scruples, no morals, no compassion, just the job. Kill. So we portray Agent 47 with someone who can look almost expressionless (Timothy Olyphant) regardless of the act in which he is engaged - good. But then you realise that you feel no menace, no sense of dread, and this is the thing, the whole representation of persona is better in the game in 2d – yes really, it’s that good. Hitman does come across as a man in a suit, a certain style is presented, but he seems a bit, well I hate to say this but gay! No lady shenanigans, no personality and no attempt to do the wild thing when presented by a whore (Olga Kurylenko) with the hots. Can you see where this is leading?

Then the stereotyping, where do I start? Russian incompetent police and FSB secret service, a girl (the aforementioned whore) with a story (and tears) and a mash of Scotland Yard (3-4 scenes) and CIA or some such nonsense, after a while you start to lose track.

Ok to the storyline……or rather the fog we have been provided with as a narrative, I’m not sure if I was in some sort of fugue, but I thought the opening made some sense if we accept the Hitman premise. However, what followed just tumbled into a series of set pieces linked by a guy with a barcode on the back of his head who was increasing his non-hitman behaviour with every act. A killer who is never seen, or if he is, the witness dies, errm, what happened with the whore, cop, waiter…etc. I would imagine people with barcodes on their head (discounting the deluded) are rare, and those that are not are locked away in their bedrooms with a PS2/3 for company.

Visuals are actually well catered for, albeit a very staged affair – with a lot of killing and bloodshed. This in my view was the best part of the movie, it was let down (once again) by giving Hitman a ‘heart’ – he is not bequeathed with such in the game, so why change that in the movie? Plenty of fast fight action, and a lot of claret – in fact I am surprised a 15 certificate was forthcoming.

Technically it does not shine, the pace is quick but stilted, neither is the dialogue brilliant, it is acceptable given the subject matter, but it is all clichéd, humourless, and in fact all leagues behind the Bourne series, perhaps if this had preceded the Bourne movies it would have bridged the gap, but it just feels tired.

3/10 – hard to be happy with the mess presented, some of the fight scenes raised the score a tad, other than that, get your Bourne movies out and rock to the master!