All 10 Hitman & Assassin Movies Referenced In Glen Powells Hit Man

There are several onscreen references to other classic hitman and assassin movies in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man. The new Glen Powell film features the Top Gun: Maverick breakout star in his most versatile role yet, playing a loner college professor who moonlights as an assassin for his local police department. Hit Man also became Powell’s highest rated movie of his acting career after earning a 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, slightly getting the edge over the massively successful box office hit Top Gun: Maverick, which earned a score of 96%. Since releasing on Netflix on June 7, 2024, the film has become one of the most popular titles on the streaming platform.

Hit Man is full of interesting twists and cleverly toys with the concept of identity through Powell’s dual portrayals of Ron and Gary, but still effectively carries some familiar tropes of beloved action comedies.Hit Man’s cast is also led by Adria Arjona who plays Madison, the unexpected love interest of Powell’s Gary Johnson. Madison believes that Gary is actually Ron, a stylish, confident, and very dangerous trained assassin. Already being considered one of the best movies of Richard Linklater’s extensive career as a director and screenwriter, Hit Man blends several genres to create a well-balanced mix of screwball/romantic comedy, action-inspired thriller, and classic film noir.

At around the 18-minute mark in Hit Man during a voiceover monologue, several clips from classic hitman movies are displayed to help make one of Gary’s main points in the movie. He believes that the prominence and popularity of hitman movies, television shows, and characters, combined with the longterm effects of a consumerist society in which anything can be purchased for the right price, has inspired everyday people to believe they can go out and buy a local hitman like any other commodity. Linklater uses several actual scenes from hitman/assassin movie classics in Hit Man to make this concept more clear.

10 This Gun For Hire

1942

The first classic hitman movie referenced in Hit Man is celebrated film noir from 1942. This Gun For Hire stars Alan Ladd as Philip Raven as a hired hand who gets paid to kill a blakmailer. It also features a leading performance from Veronica Lake, the acclaimed actress from Sullivan’s Travels (1941) and The Blue Dahlia (1946). This Gun For Hire was directed by Frank Tuttle and is based on the 1936 novel A Gun For Sale written by Graham Greene. It’s one of the premiere examples of film noir movies starring a hitman with a classic femme fatale female lead. It turned Ladd into a movie star, leading to his appearances in other classic films such as Shane (1953) and 13th West Street (1962).

9 The Mechanic

1972

A few brief clips from the 1972 hitman classic The Mechanic are featured in Hit Man, particularly with the envelope full of cash and the protagonist Arthur Bishop killing someone next to a chicken delivery van. The Mechanic stars legendary tough man Charles Bronson in one of his most iconic roles, best known for his performances in films such as The Magnificent Seven (1960), The Great Escape (1963), and Once Upon a Time in the West (1968). The Mechanic follows Arthur Bishop, an aging hitman who befriends and mentors a hitman in training, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, who is the son of one of Arthur’s targets, The film deals with themes of murder and deceit, similar to Hit Man.

8 Branded to Kill

1967

Hit Man also briefly pays homage to Branded to Kill, another classic yet eccentric hitman movie from 1967 that starts with a familiar premise. Branded to Kill follows a hitman named Gorô who finds himself in hot water with his organization of assassins after a botched assignment. The highly stylistic thriller is not the most conventional hitman movie, but it clearly crossed Linklater’s radar during his development process for Hit Man. While Branded to Kill is can be seen as somewhat experimental and obscure, considering that its protagonist is obsessed with the smell of rice, it may have inspired Linklater to think outside of the box and break the conventions of traditional hitman movie tropes in Hit Man.

7 A Colt Is My Passport

1967

Interestingly, A Colt Is My Passport is another obscure Japanese action noir thriller about a hitman from 1967 that is visually referenced in Linklater’s Hit Man. A Colt Is My Passport follows a hitman, playe by Joe Shishido, who is hired to kill a yakuza mob boss and is hunted by rival gangs after he completes his mission. The rival gangs come together after the son of the deceased reaches out to the other gang leader to avenge the death of his father. A Colt Is My Passport features beautifully framed cinematography along with a classic western-inspired soundtrack and features heavy influences from the French New Wave cinematic movement. It’s no surprise that a film historian like Linklater would come across A Colt Is My Passport.

6 The Hired Killer

1966

Clips from the classic hitman thriller The Hired Killer are seen in Linklater’s Hit Man. The 1966 film stars Robert Webber as retiring hitman Clint Harris who plans to hang up his hat and his rifle after one final job. His target is a former employee who has become an informant for the police. The film also stars Franco Nero, the celebrated star of Django (1966). While it’s not widely considered by viewers and critics alike as being one of the strongest movies centered on a hitman, Linklater must have found some reverence for the project in order to include it in his film. The Hired Killer was written and directed by Italian filmmaker Francesco Prosperi.

5 Mr Inbetween

2018 – 2021

Mr Inbetween is one of the more recent hitman projects and an example of an assassin television series that was seen in the Hit Man montage. Mr Inbetween ran for 26 episodes across three seasons, all of which are available to stream on Hulu. The FX original series is highly rated, earning a 95% on Rotten Tomatoes. It follows Ray Shoesmith, a modern lone wolf criminal for hire. Scott Ryan stars as the protagonist and created the series, which also stars Justin Rosniak and Damon Herriman. The underrated series is celebrated for its superb acting by its ensemble cast. Including a clip from Mr Inbetween along with the previously mentioned classics helps drive Gary’s point home that hitmans have been a timeless character in film and television.

4 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

1966

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly is widely celebrated as one of the best western films ever made. Linklater included a scene from the classic film during which Lee Van Cleef’s character covertly murders another character by shooting him with a revolver hidden under the table. Directed by legendary western filmmaker Sergio Leone in 1966, The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly follows an ex-bounty hunter, a greedy man, and a cold-blooded killer who must rely on each other to find a fortune full of gold. The film depicts the use of violence in order to get ahead in American society, even dating back to some of the earliest days of the United States. The film helped to solidify Clint Eastwood as a bonafide Hollywood leading man after the success of his other two Leone films, A Fistful of Dollars and For A Few Dollars More.

3 Dial M For Murder

1954

The classic murder scene from Dial M For Murder is briefly shown in Linklater’s Hit Man. Often regarded as one of Alfred Hitchcock’s greatest films, Dial M For Murder stars Ray Milland and Grace Kelly. The two play husband and wife until Milland’s character Tony Wendice arranges for the murder of his wife Margot Wendice becuase she had an affair with another man. This premise acts as the inspiration for some of the characters in Hit Man who enlist Gary for his services. Dial M For Murder has many traditional tropes of the crime thriller genre, such as blackmail, deceit, and, of course, murder. The film shares a similar level of sophistication as Hit Man where things don’t always go according to plan.

2 Barry

2018 – 2023

A clip from the celebrated HBO series Barry appears in Hit Man as well. Barry, which won 10 Emmy Awards during its four seasons and 32 episodes, follows a hitman from the Midwest who moves to Los Angeles and decides to become an actor. Comedian and actor Bill Hader stars as Barry and also co-created the series alongside Alec Berg. The series is a great example of a protagonist who is likable and easy to root for despite being a hitman and a murderer. The series also stars Stephen Root, Sarah Goldberg, and Anthony Carrigan. All four seasons can be streamed on HBO and Max.

1 In Bruges

2008

In Bruges is one of the best hitman comedies ever made and arguably one of the greatest dark comedies of the 21st century. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are an iconic pair as two assassins who flee to Bruges, Belgium after a job goes wrong. The film is written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who also wrote and directed the celebrated 2022 film The Banshees of Inisherin, which also paired Farrell and Gleeson together along with Kerry Condon and Barry Keoghan. In Bruges is right on par with Hit Man in terms of comedy, although it does not have the romantic element that acts as the backbone for the latest Linklater movie. In Bruges is full of dark humor, wit, and creative screenwriting, which is likely why Linklater referenced it in Hit Man.