I know that a lot of people like Hit Man, Glen Powell’s 2024 Netflix movie about a college professor who gets in way over his head while going undercover as a contract killer. Critics loved it, audiences ate it up when it first dropped over the summer, and hell, even I liked Powell’s performance a whole lot. However, there’s something about the movie that just doesn’t sit right with me, and I just have to talk about it.
No, it’s not the fact that Powell plays an uncharismatic nerdy teacher who makes up for it with some hilariously deranged characters (that had to have been so much fun for the actor and director Richard Linklater). Instead, it has something to do with the Hit Man ending, specifically how it pretty much thumbs its nose at everything the movie set up in the first hour and a half. Allow me to explain…
Don't Get Me Wrong I Love Hit Man's Premise And Glen Powell's Performance
Before I go into the Hit Man ending and my gripes with the final act of the 2024 movie, let me just say that I absolutely love its premise. Being a sucker for crime comedies with a dash of romance and a heaping of “based on a true story” descriptions, the latest Richard Linklater/Glen Powell collaboration checked all the boxes for me, at least initially. The idea of a college professor teaching philosophy during the day and spending his nights and weekends helping nab people trying to kill their husbands, wives, friends, or coworkers is a lot of fun. And, the movie gets everything it can out of this premise.
The same has to be said about the film’s star, as I think this is one of the best Glen Powell performances yet and definitely his most complex. Watching the movie, I could see that the Everybody Wants Some and Anyone But You actor was pushing himself to play over-the-top characters that were silly enough to be funny for the audience but also realistic enough to fool some random Louisianans into thinking he was some ice-cold killer.
It's Just That Gary's Decisions At The End Go Against Everything That He Stands For
You can love something but also get kind of mad at it too, right? Right? Well, my main gripe with the Hit Man ending, or the whole third act if I’m being honest, is how it pretty much goes against everything Gary Johnson stood for throughout the rest of the movie.
I still found myself laughing even after Gary found out that Madison Figueroa Masters (Adria Arjona) killed her husband and tried to help cover it up. At that point, I was still kind of rooting for the two lovebirds with probably the most messed up meet-cute since Mickey and Mallory Knox in Natural Born Killers. But that feeling wouldn’t last…
Helping her girlfriend cover up her husband’s murder is one thing, but participating in the act of killing is a whole other can of worms. When Madison drugged Jasper (Austin Amelio) after he did some actual police work and pinned the killing on her, Gary could have tried to save his partner’s life or do anything besides putting a plastic bag over his head to slowly suffocate him.
Gary was supposed to be catching people who wanted to kill someone, not actively murdering folks. It was just so maddening watching this all play out, and I couldn’t wrap my brain around this major sea change in his personality. Enough to ruin the movie for me? No, not really. But it did put a bad taste in my mouth.
Jasper Wasn't The Best Person, But He Didn't Deserve To Die, Especially Like That
Was Jasper a good guy? No, not really. I understand that he tried to bribe Gary and Madison after he found out about the life insurance money. Before that, the movie really drove home the point that the undercover cop was suspended not just because he roughed up a few teenagers but also because he was kind of a dick to everyone in the precinct.
You know what, though? He didn’t deserve to die, especially on the living room floor of some New Orleans townhouse while the guy who was supposed to be catching would-be killers before they had their spouses murdered helped with the finishing touches.
But it gets worse. Jasper, drugged and fading in and out of consciousness on the living room floor, has the plastic grocery bag placed around his head so he can slowly die. You know what Gary and Madison are doing while the guy who figured out the mystery is painfully trying to breathe his final breaths? They start having sex again.
There are supposedly ghosts in New Orleans, and after the Hit Man ending, there’s at least one more angry spirit. Hopefully, he gets revenge in the afterlife because there was no justice in this life.
I Thought Gary And Madison Would Get Caught, But They're Instead Rewarded For Their Bad Deeds
With all the discussions about morals, ethics, being true to yourself, and doing the right thing throughout the movie, the Hit Man ending sure did do a great job of throwing that all away along with the concept of not rewarding people for their bad deeds.
As the action began to wind down, I kept thinking to myself that NOPD would bust in and catch Gary and Madison in the act before carting them off. I had a similar thought when the movie jumped years into the future to show the couple responsible for two violent deaths living perfect lives with beautiful children and no worries in the world. But, no justice for these two. Instead, we get to see Powell’s character say his “all pie is good pie” catchphrase yet again.
All of this may make it seem like I didn’t like Hit Man, but that’s not entirely true. Do I think it’s as good as the Tomatometer suggests, not really, but it was a lot of fun. Plus, it’s hard to have a bad time when Glen Powell is on the screen with all that charisma.
