Glen Powell is having a moment. Though the 35-year-old heart-throb has been acting in Hollywood movies for over 20 years, I think it’s fair to say that when he co-starred along side Tom Cruise in TOP GUN: MAVERICK in 2022, that’s when his career really took off (no pun intended). Last year, he co-starred with Hollywood’s latest “it” girl, Sydney Sweeney, in the romcom, ANYONE BUT YOU. Although that film received mixed reviews from critics, it was a huge success at the box office, pulling in US$220 million off a mere $25 million budget. Powell is back with a different kind of romcom, HIT MAN, which is inspired by real events.

Gary Johnson (Powell) is your very average-looking, cat-loving, psychology and philosophy professor who, in his spare time, assists the New Orleans Police Department in their undercover sting operations. When one of their cops, Jasper (Austin Amelio, TV’s THE WALKING DEAD franchise), who plays fake hitmen to solicit murder-for-hire confessions and payments from desperate housewives, spurned lovers, disgruntled employees and the like, is suspended, Gary is pressed into service as the police unit’s new fake hit man. Gary proves to be natural at it but things get complicated when he meets and falls for Madison Figueroa Masters (Adria Arjona, TRIPLE FRONTIER), who wants to hire Gary to kill her husband.

Incredible as it seems, there really was a Gary Johnson who posed as a contract killer for the Houston (not New Orleans) police during the late 1980s and 1990s. Director Richard Linklater (WHERE’D YOU GO, BERNADETTE; BOYHOOD) worked with Powell on the screenplay that is based on a profile about Johnson that appeared in the October 2001 issue of Texas Monthly. This fascinating article details Johnson’s exploits and how he was able to tweak his appearance, his voice and his personality to suit each client. The film diverges from the real story in the case involving the abused woman who sought to have her boyfriend offed. The real Johnson simply steered the woman towards getting her help from various agencies while Powell’s Johnson has an affair with her.

HIT MAN is a surprisingly enjoyable romp. Powell embraces Johnson’s chameleon-like ability to become the contract killer his clients want to hire whether he’s playing someone who is stone cold and methodical or someone who’s just a good ol’ boy with a penchant for shooting things up. His most bizarre creation is a character who may be seen as being effeminate but even this persona is grounded in reality.

Having seen Powell in TG:M and in EVERYBODY WANTS SOME!! (another Linklater film, which also featured Amelio), I wasn’t overly impressed but my opinion of him has changed and I’m now on Team Powell. (I may have to watch ANYONE BUT YOU now.) He has a lot more talent than I initially gave him credit for. Powell’s moment in the spotlight will continue in July when his next film, TWISTERS, hits the cinemas.

HIT MAN is streaming now on Netflix. Definitely put it on your Watch List.

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