Culture Crash: Our Review of “Hit Man” & Its Down-to-Earth Director, Richard Linklater

Richard Linklater is a miracle of a filmmaker. Originally known for his ultra-low budget films like Slacker and Dazed and Confused, he has been able to keep finding new lives and new identities as a filmmaker as he goes along. He made one of my favorite trilogies of all time, the Before series with Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy, telling the years-long romantic saga of Jesse and Celine. In 2003, he made a huge splash with School of Rock, a heartwarming studio comedy starring Jack Black. And his 2014 film Boyhood was filmed over an unheard of 12-year long shoot. Through it all, he has maintained a down-to-earth filmmaking style. An approachable Texas man who shoots movie stars in their best light and makes lovely little films that I can’t get enough of.

His latest movie is called Hit Man, and it’s now streaming on Netflix. It stars Glen Powell, the charismatic force of nature you remember from Top Gun Maverick and Anyone But You. Powell and Linklater have teamed up before, most notable in Everybody Wants Some, a delightful movie about a 1980s baseball team that has been described as a thematic sequel to Dazed and Confused. But now comes Hit Man, a sexy, funny, summer smash of a movie about an awkward professor who finds his mojo working as a fake hitman for police sting operations. Over the course of his work, he meets a girl, he makes some questionable decisions, and plenty of plot ensues. But like all good Linklater movies, the plot comes second to the vibes. Hit Man has great vibes. It’s light and fun, even when things get tense, and it gives us a true leading man star performance from Glen Powell, who just might be a certified movie star by the time Twisters hits theaters later this summer. 

So give it a shot. It’s a fun little romp from one of our greatest living directors and it’s already streaming on Netflix, just waiting for you to hit play after a long day in the sun.