Lee Eisenberg George Armitage's "Hit Man" is a blaxploitation version of Ted Lewis's novel "Jack's Return Home", more famously filmed as "Get Carter" starring Michael Caine. It's got what we expect in one of these movies: afros, wide-collared shirts, and lots of smooth talk. There's nothing particularly serious about the plot; it's all about the fun stuff. Bernie Casey as the main character is a cool dude, while Pam Grier isn't as tough as in most of her roles. But the movie delivers what it promises. It turns out that Armitage also directed "Grosse Pointe Blank". Tyrone aims to please (to reference the movie's tagline), and he succeeds.I might eventually read "Jack's Return Home", but it could be decades, considering how long it takes me to get through books.

Scott LeBrun This blaxploitation styled second filming of Ted Lewis's novel "Jack's Return Home" - filmed just the previous year as the crime classic "Get Carter" - is an acceptable diversion. It has a good cast playing a variety of seedy characters, and a lot of hip dialogue. It's anchored by the cooler than cool Bernie Casey, the former football player who segued into a respectable career as an actor. It's all familiar enough for those who've seen "Get Carter", although it comes up with some different settings for the action, such as a wildlife preserve and a dog fighting ring.Casey plays a character named Tyrone Tackett, a tough as nails dude who travels from Oakland to L.A. to investigate the death of his brother Cornell. To do this, he must navigate the criminal underworld, including the adult entertainment business, making the acquaintance of people such as porn star Gozelda (a typically radiant Pam Grier)."Hit Man" isn't anything special, but it's reasonably fun, with a script written by the movies' director, George Armitage. Produced by Roger Cormans' brother Gene (who was always more of a hands-on producer than his more famous sibling), its soundtrack (music by H.B. Barnum) is as engaging as anything else done for the blaxploitation genre. The cinematography is by future director Andrew Davis, who shot four features for Corman. There is some pretty potent violence near the end as well as a serving of female nudity.Casey, who has a solid presence on screen, is well supported by Ms. Grier, Sam Laws as used car salesman Sherwood Epps, Candy All as Tyrones' niece Rochelle, Don Diamond as white mobster Nano Zito, Ed Cambridge as porno theatre entrepreneur Theotis Oliver, Roger E. Mosley as muscle man Huey, and Marilyn Joi as the aptly named Rita Biggs. Paul Gleason, a fixture in Armitages' filmography during this time, appears uncredited as a crooked cop.Casey's Tackett does exhibit some of the same ruthlessness as Michael Caines' Jack Carter, and is overall enjoyable to watch.Six out of 10.

Paul Andrews Hit Man starts as Tyrone Tackett (Bernie Casey) lands in L.A. for his brother Cornell's funeral, while there he also intends to find out who killed him. At first everyone tells him the same story that Cornell committed suicide but as he digs deeper he ruffles the local gangsters feathers, he uncovers a seedy world of porn & it all leads back to mob boss Nono Zito (Don Diamond). Then Cornell's daughter Rochelle (Candy All (!)) is murdered & that makes Tyrone even madder, he intends to settle the score & avenge his brother's & niece's murders...Written & directed by George Armitage this seems to be know as some sort of Blaxploitation remake of Get Carter (1974), while I admit I've never seen Get Carter I find that difficult to believe especially since Hit Man was actually based on a novel called 'Jack's Return Home' by Ted Lewis, anyway Hit Man is good for a few laughs but little else. For the first hour or so it's fairly slow going with Tyrone going around town asking about his brother, then when he finds out the action kicks in along with some sleazy porno sub plot although it's a little to late to save it. The thing I like about Hit Man is the dialogue, it's absolutely hilarious & one of the best has to be at Cornell's funeral when someone goes up to Tyrone & says 'Cornell was one fine dude', there are countless racial slurs & terms & just downright plain laugh out loud funny Blaxploitation dialogue. Hit Man is a film with so many quotable lines it puts Quentin Tarantino to shame. Unfortunately the racist, funny, un-PC foul mouthed dialogue is the only thing Hit Man has going for it because otherwise it's a dull slow moving lifeless action flick without any action.Director Armitage does alright, it looks suitably nice enough although that was probably down to cinematographer Andrew Davis who went on to be a big budget Hollyoood action film director himself with flicks including Above the Law (1998), Under Siege (1992), The Fugitive (1993), Chain Reaction (1996), A Perfect Murder (1998) & the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Collateral Damage (2002). The action scenes are mostly just shoot outs, the blood used at the end looks like bright red paint. I have to mention the fashions here as well, they are a hoot to look at as Tyrone goes around wearing a silly hat at a 45 degree angle on his head! Some of those collars are so big the people wearing the shirts might take off if there was a strong gust of wind & the colours are so garish this could only have been made in the 70's. The hair-dos are pretty funny at times as well. Sure this all adds to the fun & camp value but, well there's just not much of a film to go with it if you know what I mean. Animal lovers should beware as there is a scene set during an illegal dog fight, two pit-bulls are set against each other in a fight to the death & I know how some people get upset by cruelty to animals even if it is faked like here.Technically the film is fine, it's reasonably well made with decent production values, I'm not sure where that Lion that kills Gozelda (Pam Grier) comes from though? I didn't know Lions roamed free throughout L.A.? The acting is suitably over-the-top with Casey making a cool hero.Hit Man is an alright film if only for it's unintentionally funny dialogue & 70's fashions, it's watchable on a silly level but I doubt I'll ever want to watch it again.

sanderant It appears Roger Corman's brother Gene had an idea, black films are hot, you can get actors on the cheap and use plots from old crime movies. The results were this movie and a remake of the Asphalt Jungle called Cool Breeze. Now Get Carter wasn't known for having a great plot, more of a character study, so there's not much of a story here. Trying to follow it will only make your head hurt so just look at the scenery, dig the groove and don't worry about the details like the black ninja death squad. If your familiar with Get Carter you can practically see Armitage going through the original dialog "blacking it up". While I'm usually Bernie Casey fan, he's only with the program half the time here, but I'd put the blame on director/writer Armitage as a number of scenes are poorly written, some bordering on ridiculous. That said Casey, who's usually more of a straight man, has some good turns a stone killer. Despite the second billing, "Pamela" Grier only has a small role here, but if your a fan of her looking to see all of her, in her prime, you won't be disappointed. Overall the movie's no hidden gem like Detroit 9000, but if you're a fan of the era/genre like I am, it's well worth watching. It is has decent production values, there's a lot of on location shooting in LA, and enough interesting scenes and characters to make up for the movie's numerous failings. All you have to do is compare this to the Stallone remake to realize how far the low end has fallen, Hit Man hearkens back to an era when even bad films had some value. Maybe Fox will see it's in their interest to release it some day in the interim would be customers will have send our money elsewhere.