Hitman: Agent 47 (2015)

Plot summary (story synopsis):

Katia (Hannah Ware) is looking for her long lost father (Ciaran Hinds). Genetically-engineered hitman Agent 47 (Rupert Friend) is on her trail, under orders from Diana (Angelababy). John Smith (Zachary Quinto - Spock in the new Star Trek) saves her from Agent 47, but he isn't what he seems to be.

The cat-and-mouse game between Agent 47 and John Smith moves from Germany to Singapore, where Katia tracks down her father.

***

Hitman is a strangely cold-blooded action adventure. There's lots of gunplay, stunts, car crashes, and explosions. But you're left unmoved by all the sound and fury. John Wick this is not.

The plot has a few interesting twists but overall feels generic and contrived. Rupert Friend and Hannah Ware lack charisma. Zachary Quinto, looking like a young Peter Gallagher, definitely outshines them both. Unfortunately, he's in a supporting role. Rookie director Aleksander Bach (Hitman is his first credit) even manages to make Ciaran Hinds look unremarkable.

Based on a video game, Hitman doesn't come close to the slickness of Resident Evil. I'm not even sure that it's better than Battleship. There's a pervasive B-movie feel to everything - plot, acting, action. Unfortunately I can't put my finger on why.

I wish I could analyze it further but there's just not much there to analyze.

For Singaporeans, the novelty will be about watching a relatively major Hollywood action movie, being shot in Singapore. As you might expect, there are some incongruities that would bother locals but not anyone else. Why on Earth is Diana driving a car inside the Marina Barrage?

More disappointingly, Hitman uses cliched tourist spots such as Marina Bay and Gardens by the Bay, and only as exotic backdrop. Like the rest of the movie, Singapore comes across as generic. No local flavor or quirkiness comes across. Heck, there is barely any interaction with the local people. (I don't think Diana is supposed to be local. Angelababy is a mainland China/Hong Kong actress, who is obviously there only to draw in the mainland audience. Besides, she has a small role and just talks to Agent 47 over the phone.)