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The Appropriate Tune: "Don't Sleep", by Mark Wahlberg
You can thank the youtube channel Rebeltaxi for today’s entry in the Marathon. Normally I don’t like covering films that I’ve seen covered by someone else, preferring to go in as fresh as possible, but I was so intrigued by what I saw that eventually I just had to see it for myself. Plus the Marathon feels a bit more mellow this year, and I wanted to spice things up with some action. So yeah, give Rebeltaxi some love if you’ve got the time, even though he’s already way more popular than I’ll ever be. Dude mainly covers Western animation, and I think he’s got a podcast or some shit.
Released in 1998, or Lebowski’s Year as it’s known in the Thunderbird household, The Big Hit was the brainchild of Hong Kong director Che-Kirk Wong and writer Ben Ramsey. Marky Mark Wahlberg stars as Melvin Smiley, a man with a Dangerfield-esque respect deficiency. He’s got a secret girlfriend milking him for cash, a fiance that’s got some rather overbearing parents, tumultuous tummy troubles, his criminal buddies treat him like a pushover (oh, Melvin’s a contract killer by the way) and worst of all, he’s being hounded by the local video rental place over an overdue tape. Not exactly living the life of Riley, but when his buddy Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) comes to him with a little side hustle, the illusion of happiness might be able to last a little longer. Seems like a simple enough job; kidnap Keiko Nishi, daughter of local Japanese business magnate Jiro Nishi, ransom her off for a million dollars, and that’s that. As long as something didn’t come up, like Jiro going bankrupt immediately prior this or him being personal friends with their boss, then they’re good. But what are the odds of that?
Making a quick return to Rodney Dangerfield, remember that scene in Back to School where he’s at a party and he makes a sandwich by cutting a baguette in half dumping a tray of hors d'oeuvres in it? That’s kind of what The Big Hit feels like to me. You’ve got some Tarantino in there, with its quirky, conversational criminals. There’s the frenetic energy of Hong Kong action films, made even more legitimate with that John Woo executive producer credit. You’ve got some screwball comedy in there (complete with cartoon sound effects), a touch of grindhouse cinema, all wrapped up with a soundtrack that sounds like it came from some lost edition of Tony Hawk Pro Skater. There are a lot of films where you’ll see the words ‘rollercoaster ride of excitement’ used to describe them, but I don’t know if I’ve seen a movie recently that lives that gimmick as much as The Big Hit. Like I’m craving corn dogs and cotton candy right now thinking about it.
It helps that they’ve got a great cast to work with. No one does slack-jawed schlub better than Mark Walhberg, but it turns out that he’s pretty good at the action hero thing as well. Lou Diamond Phillips as Cisco was also a great casting choice, deftly walking this fine line between sleazeball, buffoon and psycho killer. Then you’ve got Christina Applegate as Pam the blonde Fran Drescher, Bokeem Woodbine as Crunch the local masturbation expert, Avery “The Sisko” Brooks as Paris the syndicate leader, and so on. Over-the-top and goofy, but there was never a moment where anyone slipped into full blown obnoxious territory for me, as it sometimes happens with me. Maybe the stuttering Malibu’s Most Wanted prototype, but he’s never on screen or in the film long enough for me to really dislike him.
The Big Hit’s greatest strengths, then, could also be considered its weakness. It’s a wacky action movie, so when it attempts to pull off romance (even though China Chow and Walhberg are capable of making it work) or anything with emotional depth it comes across as more satirical then it might have been intended. Similarly, someone used to slower pacing could find this movie exhausting; and the editing, while not as egregious as some modern action films, does have its hyperactive moments. Machine-gun cutting, if you will. Essentially this movie is going 75 on a 50 mph road, so if you’re not willing or able to match it, it’s going to leave you in the dust.
Ultimately I’m giving The Big Hit the recommendation. At first I thought it was going to be one of those 90s movies that folks rag on so much that they get a cult following, like Demolition Man (Wesley Snipes a producer on this film, by the by) or something, but it was actually just a straight-up enjoyable film with some damn good action sequences. If you liked films such as From Dusk Till Dawn or Baby Driver, then The Big Hit might be right up your alley. Pour yourself a nice cold glass of prune juice and enjoy.
