Hitman

Timothy Olyphant in "Hitman" (Credit: 20th Century Fox)

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Mysterious assassin Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant) dodges Russians officials, Interpol officers and the inevitable corruption while aiming to kill a seedy politician and protect a prostitute (Olga Kurylenko) who, of course, knows too much.

Big question: Can “Hitman” prove that movies adapted from video games aren’t always terrible?

Skip it: Less offensive than “Shoot ‘Em Up” but equally stupid, “Hitman” could have been mildly entertaining if it weren’t so humorless. Only Olyphant occasionally embraces and improves upon the movie’s utter redundancy, but most of the time he’s too busy snarling to crack a smile--and watching him is just barely preferable to being his target

Catch it: If you find it fascinating to hear Interpol and Russian officers bicker repeatedly about jurisdiction. May we ask why?

Bottom line: The action isn’t nearly cool enough to make gamers put down their control or to make you put down the remote--whatever’s currently on your all-action movie channel is no worse than this--and it’s sad to see Kurylenko asked to contribute tears when she’s just on hand to look leggy and sleep topless. “Hitman” has no more imagination than its title, which just as easily could have been “The Bourne Idiocy” or “Mission: Possible and Boring.”

Bonus: At one point, 47 threatens to kill a computer if he finds out that the voice inside set him up. We don’t recommend this solution if your hard drive crashes in the middle of downloading Britney Spears’ new album because you’re probably better off!

mpais@tribune.com

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