Themes: Cons and Scams, Woman In Jeopardy, Nothing Goes Right
Main Cast: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Lela Rochon
Release Year: 1998
Country: US
Run Time: 91 minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Plot
Kirk Wong directed this comedy actioner about mild-mannered, beleaguered hitman Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg), who very much wants to be liked. However, the naive Mel is being taken advantage of by both his girlfriends and associates (who cheat him out of his bonuses). Mel and his "Odd Squad" -- Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine), Vince (Antonio Sabato Jr.), and Gump (Robin Dunne) -- work for Paris (Avery Brooks), head of an international crime cartel and a contractor for hit jobs. Mel's mistress Chantel (Lela Rochon), who views him as a meal ticket, lives rent-free in his house, misspends his money, and is continually thinking of ways to get more from him. Her latest scheme is concocting tales about overdue mortgage and car payments, but she really wants the money to run away with her lover Sergio. Mel and his team head into a big shootout to waste some rival mobsters. One person kills the electricity; the others don night-vision goggles. Melvin handles most of the action, including shooting while bungee-bouncing near a staircase, finally making a spectacular bungee-exit from the top floors of the building just as it explodes in flames. A quick and easy weekend job backfires when their kidnap victim, a rich industrialist's teenage daughter Keiko Nishi (China Chow), turns out to be the godchild of their boss, crime czar Paris. When Cisco, mastermind of the plan, is summoned by Paris, he manages to shift blame to Mel. Meanwhile, Chantel absconds with Mel's earnings just as the disapproving parents (Elliott Gould, Lainie Kazan) of Mel's fiancee Pam (Christina Applegate) are due for a visit. Since Pam gave her parents $50,000 from Mel's bank account, they're on their way to thank him and hopefully benefit from another financial windfall. As his professional and domestic woes collide, Mel finds himself dodging bullets while trying to impress his potential in-laws. Throw in an overzealous video-store clerk demanding the return of an overdue tape (King Kong Returns), and it's not long before Mel's life starts to unravel. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
Review
In The Big Hit, director Kirk Wong and executive producer John Woo combine American sensibilities with the Hong Kong martial arts film. Wong and Woo do indeed create a Hollywood Hong Kong action caper, making no excuses for their indulgent action sequences and utterly absurd plot. The muddy narrative combines slapstick comedy with nonstop action. While the farcical scenes aren't nearly as engaging as the high-octane explosions, the film still remains entertaining throughout. Mark Wahlberg gives a solid performance as a lovable hit man, displaying a perfect amount of muscle and vulnerability. After a heart-stopping opening segment, Wong spends a lot of screen time focusing on the striking dichotomy between Wahlberg's ruthless hit man and his sensitive personal life. Audiences seeking standard actioner gunshots, explosions, and car crashes should be satisfied with The Big Hit. However, those with a greater understanding of Hong Kong cinema will appreciate this disorderly celluloid bulletfest more than the average moviegoer. ~ Adam Goldberg, All Movie Guide
China Chow - Keiko Nishi; Lainie Kazan - Jeanne Shulman; Elliott Gould - Morton Shulman; Sab Shimono - Jiro Nishi; Robin Dunne - Gump; Danny Smith - Video Store Kid; Joshua Peace - Lance; David Usher - Sergio
Credit
Craig Lathrop - Art Director, Andrew M. Stearn - Art Director, Roger Mussenden - Casting, Roger Garcia - Co-producer, Victor McGauley - Co-producer, Craig Perry - Co-producer, Margaret M. Mohr - Costume Designer, Jeffrey Steven Authors - First Assistant Director, Kirk Wong - Director, Che-Kirk Wong - Director, Pietro Scalia - Editor, Robin Russell - Editor, Terence Chang - Executive Producer, John M. Eckert - Executive Producer, John Woo - Executive Producer, John M. Eckert - Composer (Music Score), Graeme Revell - Composer (Music Score), Taavo Soodor - Production Designer, Danny Nowak - Cinematographer, Wesley Snipes - Producer, Warren Zide - Producer, Douglas Ganton - Sound/Sound Designer, Lau Chi-Ho - Stunts Coordinator, John Stoneham Jr. - Stunts Coordinator, Ben Ramsey - Screenwriter
The beat-happy mix of hip-hop, R&B, dancehall and Latin rap here assembled makes for a kickin' good time. Sample Molotov's killer track "Voto Latino," replete with bandito guitar and barrio call and response. It's all rather silly, but what's wrong with silly? ~ Tim Sheridan, All Music Guide
Wahlberg plays Melvin Smiley, a hitman leading a secret life as well as maintaining two relationships, one with the demanding and demeaning Chantel (Lela Rochon), who doesn't accept his work, and another with Pam (Christina Applegate), who knows nothing of his job and has picky, xenophobic parents.
We soon learn that Smiley is somewhat of a pushover, trying to appease all of Chantel's demands, even her most expensive wishes, as well as rolling over whenever one of his co-workers takes credit for his achievements. Perhaps as a result of his helplessness in asserting himself, throughout the early scenes Melvin is often seen drinking Maalox to relieve an incipient ulcer.
Feeling underpaid for their work for mob boss Paris (Brooks), the assassin team of Smiley, Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine), and Gump (Robin Dunne) take an independent job, kidnapping Keiko Nishi (China Chow), the teenage daughter of local electronics magnate Jiro Nishi (Sab Shimono), for a hefty ransom. Unfortunately, the team does not realize that Nishi has recently gone bankrupt over his failed foray into motion pictures -- and furthermore, their boss Paris is the girl's godfather.
Enlisted by the group to hold Keiko, Smiley has to hide the bound- and gagged schoolgirl on his property, attempting to keep her presence hidden from his girlfriend Pam and her family who are coming for dinner. Melvin feels sorry for the girl, and lets relieves her bondage. In the ensuring hours they build up a rapport - preparing dinner together, an act which leads into a love scene reminiscent of the pottery scene from Ghost, but which is cut short when Keiko attempts to escape.
Ordered by Paris to discover the kidnappers of his god-daughter, a nervous Cisco kills Gump but not before coaxing into also implicating Melvin for the kidnapping. A team of assassins crash Melvin's dinner with Pam's family, leading to a shootout during which Melvin realizes Pam was going to break up with him under pressure from her isolationist mother.
Melvin and Keiko's feelings see them forming an awkward romance, and she and Melvin attempt to escape from the fiasco, pursued by Cisco. An extended fight erupts, culminating at a video store where the ever-honest Smiley stops to return an overdue tape.
Though Smiley manages to kill Cisco, an explosive device destroys the building, leading to the speculation of Smiley's death while Keiko, her father, and Paris watch the blast from outside. Soon Melvin is revealed to have survived, sheltered from the blast by an enormous solid gold movie stand-up made for the flop that detroyed Nishi's career. Nishi recoups his losses by making a movie out of the story of his daughter's kidnapping.
Production
The Big Hit was filmed for the relatively low budget of 13 million dollars and was produced by John Woo.
