# Recommend some hitman movies. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 17, 2007, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004 "2007-10-17T05:09:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/21 "2007-10-17T13:09:15Z")
To me, the all-time tops hitman flick is the already-mentioned Fed Zinneman film of **The Day of the Jackal** , based on the Frederick Forsyth bestseller. The later Bruce Willis **The Jackal** is an unworthy successor. The Clint Eastwood **In the Line of Fire** is a pale (but much better than The Jackal) imitation. Both already mentioned. The idea was played for comedy in **The Assassination Bureau, Limited** , which has a stellar cast including Diana Rigg, Telly Savalas (shades of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and Oliver Reed. Two other Frederick Forsyth books adapted as films which are arguably hitman flicks are **The Odessa File** and **The Dogs of War** , both worth seeing. They round out the trilogy of Forsyth’s first books, although they’re not quite as well done as TDotJ. ---
**Author:** ![Pushkin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ee59a6/32.png) [@Pushkin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pushkin)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/22 "2007-10-17T13:13:57Z")
If you don’t mind an animation (and a dodgy CGI sequence), I liked [Golgo 13, The Professional](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golgo_13). ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/23 "2007-10-17T13:14:21Z")
Nobody has mentioned [_The Eiger Sanction_](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0072926/) yet? ---
**Author:** ![Zebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/c0e974/32.png) [@Zebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zebra)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/24 "2007-10-17T13:17:45Z")
or Pritzi’s Honor ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/25 "2007-10-17T13:31:50Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] _The Professional_ – with Jean Reno and a very young Natalie Portman [/QUOTE] Don’t say it like that, that makes me feel like a perv. Just say “underage.” That way, I just feel like a criminal. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/26 "2007-10-17T13:36:42Z")
[QUOTE=Boyo Jim] _Pulp Fiction_ – pretty much everybody is a hit man – can’t believe it hasn’t been mentioned yet. [/QUOTE] In the OP. I don’t think I’d consider it a hitman movie though. Is any movie with a hitman in it a hitman movie or is there some stylistic element? ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/27 "2007-10-17T13:52:12Z")
I like a good hitman movie too, but I have a problem with all of them. For the most part, hitman movies are about the hitman’s last hit, the one where he screws up and gets killed. For once, I would like to see a hitman movie where the main character plows through a whole series of detailed hits without making a mistake, having an attack of conscious, or falling in love. Oh, and I’d like to add the _El Mariachi_ movies to the list. ---
**Author:** ![RogueRacer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7ab992/32.png) [@RogueRacer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RogueRacer)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/28 "2007-10-17T13:54:24Z")
How about [Assassins](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112401/)? A Stallone movie, but I’m ok with that. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/29 "2007-10-17T13:57:22Z")
[QUOTE=RogueRacer] How about [Assassins](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112401/)? A Stallone movie, but I’m ok with that. [/QUOTE] nevermind ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/30 "2007-10-17T14:50:54Z")
[QUOTE=ShibbOleth] Also, _The Professional_ also co-starred Gary Oldman and a potted plant. [/QUOTE] Keanu Reeves wasn’t in _The Professional!_ ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/31 "2007-10-17T15:11:27Z")
[QUOTE=Fionn] “The Matador,” starring Pierce Brosnan and Greg Kinnear, if you’re open to hitman comedies. [/QUOTE] I just saw this recently, and I really liked it. I’d call it a “Dark Comedy”, though. ---
**Author:** ![Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/57b2e6/32.png) [@Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Random)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/32 "2007-10-17T17:38:07Z")
[QUOTE=Valgard] The Day Of The Jackal (1973, Edward Fox). Not the crappy Bruce Willis remake (The Jackal). [/QUOTE] Agreed. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/33 "2007-10-17T17:44:06Z")
**The Killer Elite** with James Caan and Robert Duval is a cool movie. **Assassination Tango** with Robert Duval is a _way_ cool movie. **Golgo 13: Queen Bee** is another animated flick about Duke Togo, the hitman with the custom M-16. ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/34 "2007-10-17T17:49:16Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] I like a good hitman movie too, but I have a problem with all of them. For the most part, hitman movies are about the hitman’s last hit, the one where he screws up and gets killed. For once, I would like to see a hitman movie where the main character plows through a whole series of detailed hits without making a mistake, having an attack of conscious, or falling in love. [/QUOTE] Would **Point Blank** with Lee Marvin fit the bill? Also, an earlier movie about a hitman, **This Gun for Hire** with Alan Ladd. ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/35 "2007-10-17T17:53:52Z")
**Koroshiya 1** or in English, **Ichi the Killer** ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/36 "2007-10-17T18:05:44Z")
[QUOTE=UncleRojelio] I like a good hitman movie too, but I have a problem with all of them. For the most part, hitman movies are about the hitman’s last hit, the one where he screws up and gets killed. For once, I would like to see a hitman movie where the main character plows through a whole series of detailed hits without making a mistake, having an attack of conscious, or falling in love. Oh, and I’d like to add the _El Mariachi_ movies to the list. [/QUOTE] You’d probably like the Golgo 13 movies, then. Once he takes the assignment, he always follows through. He’s often described as being devoid of human emotion, but that isn’t quite true. On at least one hit, it’s clear that he’d prefer not to pull the trigger, but he _always_ follows through. This refers only to the two animated movies. There’s a live action movie with Sonny Chiba, but I’ve never seen it. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/37 "2007-10-17T18:20:21Z")
[QUOTE=NDP] Would **Point Blank** with Lee Marvin fit the bill? Also, an earlier movie about a hitman, **This Gun for Hire** with Alan Ladd. [/QUOTE] I’ll have to put those in the queue. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![yanceylebeef](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yanceylebeef/32/12290_2.png) [@yanceylebeef](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yanceylebeef)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/38 "2007-10-17T18:24:02Z")
The latest Clive Owen “Shoot 'em Up” was exactly that, but if you like creativity in your hired guns, this is a fun one to watch. Plus Paul Giamatti goes all Karl Rove on your ass! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/39 "2007-10-17T18:27:23Z")
If we’re including [ex-]military special ops guys, **The Specialist** qualifies, with Stallone and James Woods squaring off. A guilty, guilty pleasure. [QUOTE=Quartz] Any James Bond movie. [/QUOTE] And especially the craptastic **The Man With the Golden Gun** , in which Bond’s target is the world’s most successful hitman (Christopher Lee). And another vote for **The Mechanic**. ---
**Author:** ![denquixote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9bd4f/32.png) [@denquixote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/denquixote)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2007, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004/40 "2007-10-17T18:29:45Z")
Charley Varrick was pursued by Mafia hitman Joe Don Baker after robbing the wrong bank. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-some-hitman-movies/423004.md?page=3)