Glen Powell has been on the movie star track for the last year, but Hit Man solidifies him as the non-threatening, charismatic leading man the industry has desperately been seeking. 

The unassuming Gary Johnson spends his days as a psychology teacher at New Orleans High School with oversized glasses and jorts completing his dweebish look. At home Gary comes home to his two cats, appropriately named Id and Ego. When Gary is not doing either, he is sitting in a van outside of different venues with police working their surveillance equipment.

Derived from a Texas Monthly long-form feature of the real Gary Johnson, Hit Man is a loosely true story of the profile, taking the idea of Gary and diving into his personal life and relationships entering the moral dilemma he winds up in. It falls into a heightened reality of the everyday life of Gary pulling him into a tale of romance and identity. Feeling like a psychological exercise into the id and ego of a man, the framework for Linklater and Powell to play is all set relying on the ensemble of actors to bring their all to this elevated comedy. Linklater leaves it all up to the performers to put the flair into the story with his simple style.

Hit Man wouldn’t be what it is without the flair of Linklater and Powell coming together in a Texan takedown of the Hit Man trope within the media. Knowing this information about the hitman-for-hire fantasy makes Gary’s descent even more juicy as he willingly plays into something he does not believe in. Their script plays into the absurdity of this phenomenon that crafts no rules in their grounded universe but a container of places to run when the heat turns up as Gary gets deeper and deeper into his ruse. As he gets more comfortable being other people his loyalties begin to warp with love dictating his brain to go to lengths to preserve it. How long can he keep the charade up into these multiple divisions of his life without them crossing into one another? 

Glen possesses a charm so rare in young male actors these days that is very reminiscent of Matthew McConaughey. Not just because of their twang accents and same origin locations, but their shame-free approach to the roles that attract them. Glen has given us blockbuster, romcom, and screwball comedies all within less than a year and has many genre-spanning projects to come alongside respected directors. He is not sidelining himself into one lane but happily exploring them all while staying true to the alluring aura that makes him irresistible no matter what role he inhabits. Hit Man not only allows Powell to show off his director-actor relationship with Linklater but all these skills he has displayed across his filmography. He is having the time of his life as this chameleon dweebish man that can use his forgettable face to become the version of himself he wishes he was. The montage of all his different disguises is no short of hilarious as he fully goes above and beyond for his newfound calling of being a fake assassin. Each look comes with its backstory, accent, and sometimes a wig and fake scar, 

Powell is sexy and comedic, perfectly nailing the timing that is required for the more relaxed aspects of the film while playing up the stakes when things get messy. He is suave and in charge as Gary Johnson and his many aliases.  Powell brings the script to life with an acting tour de force featuring multiple moments of pure amazing from its audience as it invites movie watchers to participate in the gag. Powell’s credit as a writer comes in clutch as he knows this character through and through and what is required to play the perfect pitch from the voiceovers to his interaction with other characters. He is in on the scheme like the audience as he tells the tale without being naive or lame, but zestful and intriguing. 

Matched up with Powell is the incredible Adria Arjona who has scene-stealing moments. They possess a kinetic chemistry that has been so absent in recent films that turn this comedy into surprisingly one of the horniest films of the year as you agonize for their closeness and sneaking around. She is playing her own game within this chess game of varied personalities keeping everyone on their toes and never letting their guard down. Beautiful as ever but a calculated demeanor hides behind her sweet eyes ready to strike when needed opposite Glen’s chivalrous badboy. Moments between them feel like watching a mapped-out play as their bodies move in sync congruent to their words like a duel of who is in command. One scene in particular involving a cell phone and a hidden mark is truly superb what an astonishing dynamic duo that takes a special kind of actor to keep you drawn in for pages and pages of straight monologue. They understand the dance at hand as they maintain their cards close with an understanding of when to reveal to keep the scheme going.

Hit Man’s story structure is pretty predictable if you follow the signs, but the way it gets to its destination is thrilling. Like a choose-your-own-adventure, it is intriguing to see Gary go down a forbidden road and how he uses his skills of disappearing into himself as a navigational tool to come out clean. He is willing to let go of Gary and step into his new role of Ron without looking back. A man desperate to start a new leaf where he is someone, but he can be Gary who allows him to unlock these doors. Maybe he doesn’t need to become a different person but get out of his comfort zone which he does in the madness of the plot. His psychology class teachings come to serve as an explanation of this identity and moral web he weaves, tapping into his id and ego to make up for what he misses in his regular life. His various personalities don’t appear from anywhere but address different aspects of his self he is frustrated with and Ron is the ultimate version of him that he yearns to be full-time. 

Gary is just a normal guy skating on a thinly veiled system he has built with one wrong move threatening his entire operation and Glen Powell is a riot toeing the line of true selves versus the hierarchy of self needs to unlock the self you want to be. 

More Glen Powell and Richard Linklater movies because this is the real deal. 

Grade: A+

Oscars Prospects:
Likely: None
Should be Considered: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Actor

Release Date: May 24, 2024
Where to Watch: In Theaters