The Big Hit

The Big Hit
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Che-Kirk Wong
Produced by	Warren Zide Wesley Snipes Craig Perry John Woo
Written by	Ben Ramsey
Starring	Mark Wahlberg Lou Diamond Phillips Christina Applegate Bokeem Woodbine Antonio Sabato, Jr. Avery Brooks China Chow Elliott Gould Lainie Kazan Lela Rochon
Music by	Graeme Revell
Cinematography	Danny Nowak
Edited by	Robin Russell Pietro Scalia
Production company	Zide/Perry Productions
Distributed by	TriStar Pictures
Release dates	April 24, 1998 (1998-04-24)
Running time	91 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$13 million
Box office	$27,007,143

The Big Hit is a 1998 American action comedy film directed by Hong Kong filmmaker Che-Kirk Wong, and stars Mark Wahlberg, China Chow, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabato, Jr., Avery Brooks and Elliott Gould.

The film was shot in Hamilton and Pickering, Ontario, Canada.

Plot

Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is a hitman leading a secret life and maintaining two relationships, one with the demanding and demeaning Chantel (Lela Rochon), who does not accept his work, and another with Pam (Christina Applegate), who knows nothing of his job. Melvin is somewhat of a pushover, trying to appease all of Chantel's demands, even her most expensive wishes, as well as rolling over whenever one of his co-workers takes credit for his achievements. Perhaps as a result of his helplessness in asserting himself, throughout the early scenes Melvin is often seen drinking Maalox to relieve an incipient ulcer.

Feeling underpaid for their work for mob boss Paris (Avery Brooks), the assassin team of Smiley, Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine), Vince (Antonio Sabato Jr.) and Gump (Robin Dunne) take an independent job, kidnapping Keiko Nishi (China Chow), the teenage daughter of local electronics magnate Jiro Nishi (Sab Shimono), for a hefty ransom. Unfortunately, the team does not realize that Nishi has recently gone bankrupt over his failed foray into films and furthermore, their boss Paris is the girl's godfather. Enlisted by the group to hold Keiko, Melvin has to hide the bound and gagged schoolgirl on his property, attempting to keep her presence hidden from Pam and her parents, who are coming for dinner. Melvin feels sorry for the girl and relieves her from her bondage. In the ensuing hours they build up a rapport preparing dinner together, an act which leads into a love scene reminiscent of the pottery scene from Ghost, but which is cut short when Keiko attempts to escape.

Ordered by Paris to discover the kidnappers of his goddaughter, a panicked Cisco kills Gump, but not before coaxing him into also implicating Melvin for the kidnapping. A team of assassins crash Melvin's dinner with Pam's family, leading to a shootout during which Melvin realizes Pam was going to break up with him under pressure from her stereotypically Jewish mother (Lainie Kazan). Melvin and Keiko's feelings for each other lead them to form an awkward romance, and she and Melvin attempt to escape from the fiasco, pursued by Cisco. In the chaos, Melvin happens to run into Chantel and finally takes the opportunity to stand up to her and end their relationship. An extended fight erupts, culminating at a video store where the ever-honest Melvin stops to return an overdue tape. Melvin kills Cisco, but not before Cisco arms an explosive device. Melvin leaves the building and is confronted by Keiko, her father and Paris. He re-enters the building, which explodes. Paris and Keiko, believing Melvin to be dead, call off the manhunt. Soon Melvin is revealed to have survived, sheltered from the blast by an enormous solid gold film stand-up made for the flop that destroyed Nishi's career. Melvin and Keiko are reunited and ride off together, while Nishi recoups his losses by making a film out of the story of his daughter's kidnapping.

Cast

• Mark Wahlberg - Melvin Smiley
• Lou Diamond Phillips - Cisco
• Christina Applegate - Pam Shulman
• Avery Brooks - Paris
• Bokeem Woodbine - Crunch
• Antonio Sabato Jr. - Vince
• China Chow - Keiko Nishi
• Lainie Kazan - Jeanne Shulman
• Elliott Gould - Morton Shulman
• Sab Shimono - Jiro Nishi
• Robin Dunne - Gump
• Lela Rochon - Chantel
• Danny Smith - Video Store Kid

Production

The Big Hit was shot for the relatively low budget of $13 million and was produced by film partners John Woo and Terence Chang, Wesley Snipes. Filmed in Richmond Hill, Markham and Toronto in 1996, but it failed to get a North American theatrical release until 1998.

Release

Critical reception

The Big Hit had a mixed reception from critics. It currently holds a 41% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Box office

The film debuted at #1 at the box office. It went on to gross $27 million domestically.

External links

• The Big Hit at IMDb
• The Big Hit at AllMovie
• The Big Hit at Box Office Mojo
• The Big Hit at Rotten Tomatoes