Paul Walker has signed on to star in the rebooted video game adaptation “Hitman.” Walker will remain in the same familiar territory he has made a career in, by playing a genetically engineered assassin in the new movie, which will be titled “Agent 47.” The original adaptation, directed in 2007, starred Timothy Olyphant as the bald hitman, known as Agent 47, involved in a political conspiracy thanks to a group called “The Organization.”
Paul Walker comes into the movie with a lot of credentials in the action genre, and Walker’s casting as the new Agent 47 should be a perfect fit.
“The Fast and the Furious”
Walker had some nice roles here and there at the start of his career, including a role as the star quarterback in “Varsity Blues,” but it was 2001 when he finally hit it big in the successful road racing movie “The Fast and the Furious.” Walker stars as Brian O’Conner, a police officer sent undercover to bust a hijacking ring led by Vin Diesel’s Dominic Toretto.
The movie is almost a carbon copy of the 1991 action film “Point Break,” with Walker playing the Keanu Reeves role while the Patrick Swayze adrenaline junkie is replaced by Diesel’s street racer. While the duo made the franchise their own, the idea of Walker being a low-rent Keanu stuck with the actor for a few years.
“Running Scared”
Finally, in 2006, Walker stepped up and proved that he could carry a movie himself. While “Running Scared” was no box office success, only making $6.86 million on a $17 million budget, it has developed a nice cult following. In the film, Walker once again plays an undercover federal agent. This time around, the crime boss he works for asks him to dispose of a gun used to kill two corrupt cops. When a neighborhood kid steals the gun and kills his abusive father, Walker’s undercover man has to find the kid before the mob and the police do. What results is a violent, over-the-top, brilliant action movie.
Paul Walker had arrived. With the recent “Fast Five” proving that the future of “The Fast and the Furious” franchise is very bright, Walker’s future might be finally looking up. He has been in a mishmash of genre films, including horror (“Joy Ride”) and gangster (“Takers”) offerings, but he is really at home in the action genre. Hopefully, the remake of “Hitman” can improve on the last effort and give Walker’s fans the performance he needs to finally move to the next level.
