An absolute waste of money

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

Go in cold, and you're likely to emerge with your blood boiling. This has to be seen to be believed.

It is interesting even when nothing much happens, which is for most of its 3-hour running time. Read full review

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

Film-maker William Lustig had made a sleeper in the shape of "Relentless" in 1989, but also that year he did the worthwhile 80s low-budget revenge thriller "Hit List" which kind of went by unnoticed between the "Maniac Cop" features. A mafia boss Luca organises for his hit-man to get rid of a witness Frank who's under police custody, but the guy takes out the wrong people and kidnaps the wrong son. The husband Mark comes home to find his friend dead, his pregnant wife injured and his son gone. The FBI wants Luca to believe he has the witness's son, so their witness can testify, but this means putting Mark behind bars until that happens. Overhearing the plans, Mark flees and kidnaps Frank in the hope of tracking down his son."Hit List" is a gritty urban action thriller that is as systematic as you can get, but director Lustig does a competently slick job and the mouth-watering cast he had at his disposal simply aimed up. Jan-Michael Vincent, Lance Henriksen, Leo Rossi, Charles Napier, Rip Torn, Ken Learner and Harold Sylvester. Henriksen is ultimately unforgettable as the deadly hit-man, who also happens to be a shoe salesman by trade. Would you dare ask for a discount? Not when you see this guy in his grove. Vincent goes about things in very hardened manner and Rossi is in good form as the humorous wise-guy. An excellent Napier gives a crusty turn as the FBI agent and Torn gives his Mafia boss plenty of fire and weight. The cast are excellent and they needed to be, as the pulpy plot was too basic and somewhat unspectacular even with its calculative suspense and tough brutality (a shootout in a kid's laser zone, where everyone just goes about their business?!). It doesn't entirely go all-out, as the hardy script does take its time for the character's to some degree open up with a bit of drama. Lustig's taut style suited the inventively agile photography and the go-for-broke stunt-work and stunt-car driving provided some fatal excitement in its absurd climax. "Hit List" is a gratuitously neat little action joint, which doesn't ask much of your time."Maybe it's your world, but it's my kid".

"Hit List" is a stellar example to illustrate that an incredibly simplistic and derivative plot concept can nevertheless still result in a compelling and exhilarating little movie as long as the right people are involved. When we were out movie hunting, my mate and I didn't hesitate for a second when we found this late 80's thriller on VHS. We didn't immediately recognize the title, but it would be really stupid to leave behind a movie directed by William Lustig (almighty creator of the "Maniac Cop"-trilogy and the infamous video nasty "Maniac") and starring B-movie icons Charles Napier ("Supervixens", "Body Count"), Rip Torn ("Coma", "Beastmaster"), Jan-Michael Vincent ("Damnation Alley", The Mechanic") and Lance Henriksen ("Mansion of the Doomed", "Near Dark"). And although we were already satisfied with the discovery of the tape alone, the film itself definitely offers decent albeit modest entertainment. Mafia boss Vic Luca orders his best hit man to eliminate a former associate who's about to witness against him in court, but due to a banal misunderstanding the killer relentlessly wipes out the wrong family and takes an innocent kid hostage. The boy's father fights back whilst the obsessive copper Tom Mitchum continues to try and bring the essential witness to court. The screenplay relies on a couple of tiresome and even embarrassing clichéd prime aspects, such as upside down house numbers causing confusion and model house fathers turning into avenging angels, but the surefooted direction and devoted performances make you overlook all this. Also, even though the primary story lines are mundane and familiar, the plot contains enough little surprise twists and imaginative gimmicks to keep even the more skeptical viewer satisfied. The villainous characters are incredibly well worked out, like Rip Torn's boisterous and obnoxious imitation of Al Capone for example. Most effective and even downright petrifying character is Lance Henriksen's psychotic hit man. He appears to be a sympathetic shoe salesman, but that's only until he receives a new assignment and then literally mutates into a cold-blooded and jeopardizing monster with a tattooed back and creepy eyes. "Hit List" isn't very gore, but there's nevertheless quite a bit of suggestive cruelty, like head being crushed between prison cell doors or burned in pizza ovens. The finale is tremendously spectacular and grotesquely absurd at the same time, with a wild showdown inside a parking garage. Jan-Michael Vincent's performance as the civilian hero is arguably quite wooden, but Rip Torn, Lance Henriksen and Charles Napier are fantastic. The latter even gives away one of his best performances ever as the frustrated cop determined to end the mafia business in his district once and for all.

A very good movie, Airwolf's Jan-Michael Vincent totally redeems himself, along with Alien's Lance Henrikson!