Hit List (1989)

To me, this movie is perfection.

Plenty to Like, Plenty to Dislike

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Vic Luca (Torn) is a John Gotti-like mob boss who is going to be convicted in court - if his mob underlings can testify. But Luca sends a shoe salesman/psychopathic hit man, Caleek (Henriksen) to kill them so they can't spill the beans. Purely by chance, Caleek invades the home of innocent man Jack Collins (Vincent), intent on killing him, believing him to be potential informant Frank DeSalvo (Rossi). DeSalvo is being protected before the trial by Tom Mitchum (Napier), an FBI agent on the edge, in a house across the street. When Caleek kidnaps Collins' son and puts his wife in the hospital - and Luca's goons cross DeSalvo as well - the two guys create an unlikely partnership to get revenge.Why is this movie so under-appreciated and unrecognized? If you said to someone "Oh, I watched Hit List last night", more than likely, they would say, "Huh?" That's unfortunate, as a movie with the star quality this movie has, directed by William Lustig SHOULD be a well-known "video store classic" as we say. Maybe now that can start to be corrected.Here we get to see Lance Henriksen as you really want to see him - in a very meaty role as an incredibly brutal bad guy. It's truly "Lance Unleashed" as he has an evil beret and an evil crossbow/grappling hook/zipline, as well as some nasty martial arts moves. Leo Rossi is also memorable as DeSalvo, a man who still believes in the codes of honor of the mafia - at least for a while. Vincent mainly just says "Gimme back my son" many times, which, of course, predates Ransom (1996). Rip Torn, who doesn't often appear in movies like this, puts in an off-kilter, energetic role. Even Charles Napier gets to flex some muscle.But, by far, the two best things about Hit List are 1. This movie is really politically incorrect - it was made in a time before PC stuff existed and it's really beautiful to watch. Thank God things like this were preserved for posterity. and 2. the scene in the Photon arcade. (For those that don't know, Photon was a competitor to Laser Tag, and in some places was replaced by Q-Zar, where kids run around with laser guns and shoot each other). Another awesome preservation.In all, Hit List is an enjoyable film with a nice pace with a lot of familiar faces. What's not to like? for more insanity, please visit: comeuppancereviews.com

William Lustig certainly knows how to direct a gritty city based thriller; he succeeded admirably with the fantastically entertaining Maniac Cop series, and while Hit List isn't quite as memorable - it's still more than entertaining enough, and I'm sure any fan of Lustig's work won't regret tracking it down. It's slightly more serious overall than the majority of the rest of Lustig's filmography, although the director still manages to find time for some humour, and while the action isn't exactly groundbreaking - the film is, at least, not boring for a minute. The basis for the plot focuses on Vic Luca; a big-mouthed mob boss who is set to appear in court for his crimes. However, given his powers as the head of a criminal organisation, it's not difficult for him to track down and kill all the witnesses; much to the dismay of hard-bitten cop Tom Mitchum, who wants to see Luca rot in jail. The plot thickens when Luca's assassin Chris Caleek goes to kill witness Frank DeSalvo and ends up getting the wrong house, and kidnapping ordinary man Jack Collins' son...William Lustig has put together a good cast for this film, with the likes of Lance Henriksen standing out the most and getting good support from memorable actors such as Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Jan-Michael Vincent and Leo Rossi. As he showed with the Maniac Cop films, Lustig certainly has an eye for atmosphere and this film revels in the same gritty urban feel as the earlier films did. I've got to say that I'm surprised this film isn't better known really; it may not have quite the same appeal that Maniac Cop did, but it's great fun and makes for easy viewing. The characters are all drawn in an intriguing manner, as no two are similar and thanks to the cast of character actors - all manage to be memorable in their own right. The film obviously had budget constraints as there's not a great deal of action sequences, and the ones that do feature aren't exactly over the top; but Lustig makes good use of his assets, and Hit List could have been a lot worse. It all boils down to a conclusion that isn't hard to see coming, but its good fun getting there and overall, I won't hesitate to recommend this film to anyone who can find it.

Hit List is a great 80s action film that has an all star cast!Jan-Michael Vincent was good,Leo Rossi played his role good!Lance Henriksen was incredible!Charles Napier was good as always!Rip Torn was awesome as He reminded Me of Jack Nicholson!The movie Hit List is a dang good one!It is one of those special movies of the 1980s!It has a ton of action through out the film and it has a very aggressive approach toward violence!The story is good,the cast is excellent,the acting is great,the action is totally superb,the music is unique,and the entire film is special!I strongly recommend this film!

It's too bad that a solid cast of character actors working with a decent genre director can't quite improve upon, or merely disguise, their lead's mumbly, slurring performance. I remember seeing the film and wondering why so much of Jan-Michael Vincent's acting was dubbed, and why there were so many single shots of him by himself, the other actors being cut in for individual lines of dialogue, etc.According to director William Lustig, Vincent was so inebriated they oftentimes had to just prop him up in some of the master shots and let the other actors "act around" the poor guy. One scene he's even lying down on a backyard bench.If anything, it gives Lance Henriksen more room to chew up a lot of scenery, and then, of course, there's the stunts. Lots and lots of them. This is one movie that doesn't necessarily make you disappreciate dynamic car pursuits, but the tire squealing is enough to make you don headphones and listen to good heavy metal for the duration of the chases, especially the parking structure one.All in all, it's a watchable movie. I especially like one of Vincent's decipherable lines (one that he repeats quite a few times) "But he's got my kid!!" because he says it with about as much despair as if he'd just ran out of cigarettes.