Worth: $15.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Intro:
...the perfect conclusion to a subversive series that always looks on the bright side of death.
The Hitman series has been popping clogs and bursting bonces since way back in the ancient year of 2000. Naturally enough, the series has gone through many changes in the two decades since, but perhaps its most unique iteration has been the trilogy of Hitman titles from IO Interactive, which began in 2016 with the rebooted Hitman and now concludes with Hitman 3. And while this version has its problems, there’s much to love here.
Hitman 3 yet again has you occupying the role of bald, barcoded man mountain Agent 47. As with the previous IO Interactive games, you’re given six huge maps, multiple targets and oodles of ways to kill them. Nowhere is this more apparent than the second level that takes place in the sprawling Carlisle Mansion in England. While 47 is there to kill the Carlisle matriarch, you also end up with the option of assuming the identity of a famous Poirot-like detective to solve a murder in the flash abode.
And solve it you shall! You’ll interview suspects, investigate clues and at the end of it all: reveal the killer. And then you can kill your target. Or kill the entire family. Or start beating the cleaning staff to death with fish. See, Hitman 3 is a sandbox in which you’re encouraged to play, and with a bit of lateral thinking you can accomplish all sorts of blackly comedic goals. This level of freedom is thrilling, especially in levels like the massive underground rave in Berlin, or the final level that takes place in a dynamic location (that we won’t spoil).
The downside, of course, is the plot is by necessity rather vague and a bit naff. Serviceable but certainly not memorable. Actually, “serviceable” is a good way to describe the graphics and controls too. They’re fine, they get the job done, but they’ve evolved very little since 2016.
Still and all, IO Interactive’s take on Hitman is popular with its fans precisely because of adaptability and versatility, not AAA slickness. Judged by that metric, Hitman 3 is the perfect conclusion to a subversive series that always looks on the bright side of death.
