The Big Hit Review
by Christian Pyle (tlcclp AT aol DOT com)May 18th, 1999
The Big Hit (1998)
a review by Christian Pyle
"The Big Hit" didn't live up to its name at the box office, but it should have. It's a delightful surprise that left me chuckling even after it was over.
First-time screenwriter Ben Ramsey blends two genres that seem worlds apart to create, essentially, "Pulp Fiction Meets Ferris Bueller." You'll find the twisted, violent humor of Quentin Tarantino's world merged with a I've-got-to-fix-all-this-before-my-parents-get-home farce, and the disparate styles blend better than you might imagine. Of course, this hybrid genre is not without precedent; 1997's "Grosse Pointe Blank" had some of the same elements in its story of a hitman going to his high school reunion. However, "The Big Hit" has a different feel; it tosses out any sense of realism in favor of style and fun.
"Marky" Mark Wahlberg, fresh from his comeback in "Boogie Nights," is hitman Melvin Smiley. He and some of his hitman buddies come up with a scheme to kidnap the daughter of a wealthy Japanese businessman. What they don't know is that (a) the businessman is broke (he blew all his money making a movie called "Taste the Golden Spray") and (b) the kidnapee (played by newcomer China Chow) is the goddaughter of their godfather (Avery Brooks). When he finds out that his goddaughter has been kidnapped, the mob boss orders Melvin's partner/rival Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) to hunt down those responsible. So Cisco has to kill Melvin before the boss finds out about his own involvement in the kidnapping.
While all this is going on, Melvin is entertaining the parents (Lainie Kazan and Elliott Gould) of his fiancee Pam (Christina Applegate). While Melvin is making nice with his future in-laws, his angry girlfriend (Lela Rochon) - yes, he has a fiancee and a girlfriend - deposits the kidnapped girl and two bags of body parts from a previous hit on Melvin's lawn. He rushes around frantically to keep Pam and her folks from finding out what he's been up to.
The whole thing gets really goofy at the end, but the spirit of fun that pervades the movie prepares you for the silliness.
"The Big Hit" is the first American film by Hong Kong action director Kirk Wong, and it also has the input of action sensei John Woo, who served as executive producer. Wong gives us a big stylized action sequence as Melvin, Cisco, and friends put their lethal skills to work rubbing out a rival mobster.
The other two kidnappers are played by Bokeem Woodbine, whose character is developing masturbation as an alternative lifestyle, and Robin Dunne, who plays the stammering dunce of the group. Kidnapee Chow is smart and funny; her character, Keiko, refuses to be intimidated by her captors and begins to hit it off with Melvin, who neurotically insists that everyone has to like him (and, yes, someone does point out he's in an odd profession for a guy who wants to be liked by everyone). There's also a amusing subplot tossed in with a geeky video store clerk (Danny Smith) who harasses Melvin to return an overdue copy of "King Kong Lives."
"The Big Hit" may not be for everyone (some weirdoes don't even find murder and kidnapping funny). But I loved it when I saw it last summer, and I've enjoyed watching it twice more since. Give it a try if you haven't already.
Grade: B+
© 1999 Christian L. Pyle
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