Wahlberg plays a contract killer who wants no more than to be liked in "The Big Hit"; a solid three star flick which features good action, stunts, pyro, CGI, camera work, etc. Protag Wahlberg juggles two difficult girl friends, a double cross, and a cute kidnapee (Chow) with the demands of his profession in this not-to-be-taken-seriously film with a spritz of romance. A fun and kinetic watch for those into the crime/action/comedy/romance genre mix. (B-)

Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is a professional hit-man. His other girlfriend Pam Shulman (Christina Applegate) lends all his money $50k to her father. So he decides to join his hit-man co-workers Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips),Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine),and Gump (Robin Dunne) on a kidnapping scheme. The problem is the father of their kidnap victim Keiko Nishi (China Chow) just lost all his money on a movie vanity project.

The HK action isn't really up to scratch. The wirework, the style, and the effects are all slightly below the expected level. It feels inferior. The bigger problem is that the sarcastic brand of humor isn't that funny. These guys are annoyingly stupid and mean-spirited, but not in a funny way. Wahlberg and Phillips are not great comedians, and they can't pull it off. The script needs better comedians than these muscleheads can provide.

At first glance, THE BIG HIT looks to be an ensemble action comedy, in which a team of kidnappers pick on the wrong target and soon find themselves victims of the Mob. Look a little closer and you'll see that Hong Kong director Kirk Wong (CRIME STORY) helmed it and John Woo executive produced; this then is an American film with a distinctly Chinese flavour.

That flavour is present in the style and execution of the action sequences, which contain the kind of stunts and situations familiar from both the knockabout '80s comedies starring Jackie Chan and the harder-hitting gun films of John Woo. Certainly, watching Mark Wahlberg jumping onto chandeliers, flying in the air, and spinning on railings makes for unique spectacle, even if it is incredibly cheesy for the unsuspecting viewer.

The script is one of those efforts brimming with snappy dialogue and adult humour, the kind that became exceptionally popular after the success of PULP FICTION. The casting director has had a field day, drawing in the likes of Bokeem Woodbine, Lou Diamond Phillips, Elliott Gould and many others to play the larger-than-life characters. It's occasionally funny and often mildly entertaining, although not the big hit that the title would have you believe; watchable if nothing else.