Story/Plot - The idea of the film is mediocre. The plot is that a very unhappy and agitated man has a drinking session and thinks up a hit list of those he wishes to be terminated. Once he realizes what he has done he is forced to race against the clock to warn and hopefully save those that he has marked for extinction, but bodies are appearing and the blame is being pointed to him.My verdict - As mentioned by Steve N Allen on 107.5 Time FM, The Hit List is in fact rubbish. Actually it does not even deserve the word rubbish. I think absolute ball sack is more suited to this film. I really wanted to like this film but I just could not bring myself to. I will not be recommending this to anyone.

And when am asking that, I'm suggesting that this is a hit, but rather a remake of a movie called "The Hit". I just saw the trailer for this other movie (can be found here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0263444/ and is with the actress Joanna Pacula, who some may knew from other movies) and it is stunningly how alike they look. I wonder if someone will check the connection and post it here.But back to this one and it's strong cast. An Oscar winner (okay what movie offers didn't Cuba accept since his win?) and Cole Hauser. Still while it is intriguing (the concept that is) and the actors try their best with a script that is anything but subtle or genuinely good. There is some tension, but you'll eventually loose interest in this. If you have watched one thriller before this, you'll know where it is heading (and it doesn't have to be the one this is ripping off either)!

Just a few weeks after picking up Gooding's last film "Sacrifice", "The Hit List" was released. I picked it up because I am a pretty big fan of his. The film turned out to be pretty well done for a DTV thriller but just like "Sacrifice" it has it's flaws.Jonas Arbor(Gooding) is a hit man and decides to go rouge. His reason unfolds throughout the movie but in doing this he runs into Allen(Cole Hauser) in a bar. Allen is having his own bad day by losing his promotion to a younger partner in his film and problems with his wife come to surface. Arbor and Allen meet in a bar and get drunk together. Jonas explains to Allen that he is a hit man and will kill five people for Allen free of charge. Thinking it is a joke Allen writes down names and laughs it off. It isn't long before he realizes its a joke and has to stop Jonas from completing the list.The film has been compared to "Collateral" and while it is a fair comparison, the film does stand on its own. Its flaws lie in editing and lack of budget which is the same thing "Sacrifice" suffered from. The opening credits are done in almost a comedic or even a James Bond type of way and really turns the viewer away from what the tone is trying to be. The budget shows in the camera set ups and how rarely other angles are used. The DP obviously did not have the time or money to make the film look bigger. There is a car chase in the film that could have been much more exciting if the editing was better. All in all what saves the film is the performances by Hauser and Gooding. They do not play down to the budget level and they treat the film as if it is a big budget hit. Gooding assures the audience that he has still got it and reminds us of why he is capable of an award winning performance. He is deep and scary and really gets into the role more than he has in the last few years. The quality lies in the performances which is why this is an above average DTV Thriller.Acting 9/10 Editing 5/10 Music 5/10 Directing 7/10Fans of Gooding and Hauser should be pleased with this film.

I've come to the conclusion that Cuba Gooding Jr. has accepted his downfall to direct-to-DVD movies, because he doesn't seem to be trying to pick good projects anymore, including this one. In fairness, this project isn't as bad as some of his other turkeys. For a low budget direct-to-DVD project, the production values are okay, though there are signs of cost-cutting throughout (such as a number of close-ups and very few wide shots). The police in this movie don't come across as dumb as they do in other B movies, and the movie did interest me enough to wonder how the situation would be wrapped up in the end - though honestly, it wasn't worth the wait. The screenplay has a number of other problems, with some decisions by the hero to be so idiotic that I was groaning out loud, and some implausibilities by others that make no sense when you think about them closely. (For example, think about the way Gooding's character kills the second person on the list.) Gooding is simply unconvincing as a ruthless hit-man, and Hauser has to somehow make his stupid and spineless character sympathetic, which sees far beyond his abilities. If you ask me, more thought and planning went into the fancy opening credits sequence than with the rest of the movie.