The Hit

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The Hit

R

1984

1h 38m

Crime

Drama

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Popcornmeter

88%

Tomatometer

17 Reviews

74%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Hit men (John Hurt, Tim Roth) catch a stool pigeon (Terence Stamp) in Spain and take him on a wild ride to Paris.

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Rita Kempley

Washington Post

It is a dexterously balanced killer thriller by the idiosyncratic Frears, whose every scene becomes a matter of life and death. A lighter clicks, a gun clicks; life or death, it all sounds the same.

Sep 15, 2015

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Sheila Benson

Los Angeles Times

"The Hit" is something special: thoughtful, perfectly performed and carrying the clear stamp of an extremely interesting director.

Sep 15, 2015

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Variety Staff

Variety

Frears and writer Peter Prince have taken a potentially familiar tale of a gangland betrayal and revenge and made something richly inventive and most entertaining.

Jul 6, 2010

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Brian Susbielles

InSession Film

Frears makes a hot flamenco dance out of the trio on who will survive the struggle for the honor amongst killers.

Mar 1, 2023

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Rob Gonsalves

Rob's Movie Vault

This is one of the rare movies in which you come to realize, with a mixture of insecurity and delight, that you can’t possibly predict where it’s going.

Rated: A

Dec 2, 2022

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Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

A "crime and punishment" saga that's more interested in ideas than actions, it's a choice choice for discerning viewers up for vigorous bouts of wordplay between its characters.

Rated: 3.5/4

Oct 30, 2020

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Mason M

A good and entertaining thriller that also works as a multi-character study and heartbreaking look on mortality. The Hit works great due to wonderful cinematography, an interesting look on death, and an amazing performance from John Hurt

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/23/25

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Jelisije J

A nice dark comedy of a film where two hitman must kidnap a man who ratted on his crew and along the way the hitman just keep on having a bad time of it to complete their job.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

11/26/24

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Georgan G

This not your average gangland revenge plot. The characters slowly reveal themselves, but I was never sure who would come out on top. In fact, I enjoyed never knowing what would happen next. Even the ending surprised me.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

07/10/24

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Jack B

A good example of how you can gather some superb actors and produce a seriously ho hum film. The pacing isn't quite glacial, but it is close. Instead of good dialogue, we are subjected to supposedly meaningful looks by our protagonists. Spare me! If you watch the movie, know that you can be cruising the internet at the same time.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

05/17/23

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Audience Member

The photography is great, as is the cast (Terrence Stamp, John Hurt and Tim Roth), legendary guitarist Paco de Lucía's soundtrack generates a suitable atmosphere, and the road-movie-slash-crime-film plot with philosophical connotations is certainly intriguing. On the downside, "The Hit" for the most part shies away from pathos, its character work is a little confusing (it's hard to believe these hitmen would endanger themselves like this every step of the way), and it eventually just fizzles out.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/11/23

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Shioka O

British lads in Spain. Words and thoughts than guns. Great ensemble of casts, Terence Stamp really shines here. I enjoyed the style of this. Slow and subtle compared to Hollywoods crime films.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/19/22

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Stephen Frears

Director

John Hurt

Braddock

Terence Stamp

Willie Parker

Tim Roth

Myron

Laura del Sol

Maggie

Bill Hunter

Harry

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92%

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Synopsis

Hit men (John Hurt, Tim Roth) catch a stool pigeon (Terence Stamp) in Spain and take him on a wild ride to Paris.

Director: Stephen Frears
Producer: Jeremy Thomas
Screenwriter: Peter Prince
Production Co: Zenith Entertainment, Central Productions Ltd., Recorded Picture Company (RPC)
Rating: R
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (DVD): Jan 13, 2009
Runtime: 1h 38m

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