He’s bald, he’s bad and his bodycount’s high enough to rival most minor despots. No, we’re not talking about Bruce Willis, but the elusive Agent 47, contract killer par excellence and the star of Xavier Gens’ adaptation of the hit computer game. Arguably the coolest character in the history of gaming, old 47 becomes flesh through Deadwood star and all-round awesome actor Timothy Olyphant and you can get your first look at him in action here.
Yes, it’s the smallest trailer ever and you’ll need some kind of industrial strength magnification device to see it, but take a look anyway as there’s much to like. Taking its audio cues straight from the most recent game, this is as faithful a first look as you could ask for. The only question is whether fidelity to the source material (which is, let’s face it, a computer game) will actually work against it in the long run. It’s hard to say either way, but this reporter was on set in Bulgaria to see some of the shoot and there’s a lot of potential here. Gens himself is a die hard fan of the game (again, not necessarily a good thing but we’ll let it slide) and assured us that Hitman will break the mould and finally be a video game adaptation to be proud of.
Here’s hoping, and even if it’s not, we're promised loads of headshots, stealthy slayings and Robert Knepper (T-Bag from Prison Break), none of which are a bad thing.