I never thought Glen Powell could look unattractive. That is, until I saw the first 20 minutes of “Hit Man.”
In the Netflix comedy film, which screened at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, Powell played against type as Gary Johnson, a nerdy philosophy professor who drives a Toyota Camry and has cats named Ego and Id — a far cry from his “Top Gun: Maverick” macho man. He has long hair that doesn’t do him any favors and frequently dons knee-length jean shorts, looking almost nothing like the steamy Powell in 2023′s “Anyone But You” who sparked affair rumors.
But all of a sudden, the bookish professor, who picks up a side gig helping the New Orleans Police Department, is forced to step into a role as a fake hitman.
And he is fantastic at it.
To the surprise of all of his police officer buddies, Gary has conviction as a believable hitman, forcing the suspect to admit he wanted a murderer-for-hire and catching it on his wire.
And with the change in his personality, and the ditching of the jorts, Powell’s natural charm and charisma that audiences have gotten so used to comes alive on the screen. He picks up more gigs helping the police department catch people trying to find a murderer-for-hire, and tries out a slew of personalities and costumes in the process.
In a particularly memorable montage of his hitman roles, Gary tries out a series of accents, applies artificial facial hair, uses colored contacts and even gives a stab at a Patrick Bateman impression, pun intended.
He seems to be loving the double life he is leading, switching back and forth from swindling criminals to refilling his bird feeder and listening to classical music while reading. That is, until he meets a beautiful damsel in distress seeking his services. The film then develops into a killer rom-com, pun also intended, between Gary and Madison, played by Adria Arjona. The only problem between the relationship that blossoms between the two is that Madison thinks Gary is actually the mysterious and macho Ron, a bonafide hitman.
What follows is a series of close-calls, hijinks and layered irony, which is a delight to watch. The film’s premise is enough to grab your attention, but the stellar performances and sharp writing keep that attention; and, keep you laughing.
The premise also simultaneously feels both familiar and fresh, which is impressive. It has a classic “Mr and Mrs. Smith” feel while still being exciting and unpredictable. Most of that excitement comes from Powell’s magnetism on screen and his witty writing.
Powell collaborated with director Richard Linklater on the script, and despite what may seem like an out-of-the-ordinary plotline and main character, they based the story on the life of a real Renaissance man named Gary Johnson.
Powell and Linklater used a 2001 Texas Monthly article about the real Gary Johnson as inspiration for the film, but some of the larger plot twists and more dramatic elements of the film were by their own design.
With his multi-hyphenate capacity as the star, co-writer and producer of this action-packed film, Powell seems to be giving Tom Cruise a run for his money. It’s an instant classic, designed to prompt more dynamic roles and writing gigs for Powell in future projects.
“This movie was designed for the audience,” Powell said at a Q&A following a screening of the film at Sundance on Monday. “Thank you for making that so fun, it was almost as fun to shoot.”
“Hit Man” will be available to stream on Netflix on June 7.