Fox has released a new Hitman: Agent 47 trailer, the movie based on the IO Interactive video game first released in 2000 and the most recent sequel version of which was released in 2012, unless you count the mobile version, “Hitman: Sniper”, which was released just this month on iOS and Android. But how many really care? Especially when the latest movie version, directed by Aleksander Bach and starring Rupert Friend in the title role, really doesn’t look much better than the 2007 installment, which was unable to crack $100 million worldwide upon release.
Not many video game adaptations are able to succeed, most often because they are poor adaptations. The Resident Evil franchise did well by keeping the budget down and scoring big internationally and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider did well thanks in large part to Angelina Jolie. Otherwise you have the $122 million worldwide success of Mortal Kombat back in 1995 and Dreamworks is actually moving forward with a sequel to 2014’s Need for Speed thanks to an impressive overseas showing that propelled the film to $203 million globally. But Hitman? Is there a large enough audience to warrant this feature?
Hitman: Agent 47 centers on the titular, genetically engineered assassin, conceived to be the perfect killing machine, and is known only by the last two digits on the barcode tattooed on the back of his neck. He is the culmination of decades of research  and forty-six earlier Agent clones — endowing him with unprecedented strength, speed, stamina and intelligence. His latest target is a mega-corporation that plans to unlock the secret of Agent 47’s past to create an army of killers whose powers surpass even his own. Teaming up with a young woman who may hold the secret to overcoming their powerful and clandestine enemies, 47 confronts stunning revelations about his own origins and squares off in an epic battle with his deadliest foe.
Along with Friend, the film co-stars Zachary Quinto, Hannah Ware, Ciaran Hinds and Thomas Kretschmann and will be releasing in theaters on Aug. 21. Just below is the latest trailer, let me know what you think. You showing up to see this one?
