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The Big Hit

Play trailer Poster for The Big Hit R 1998 1h 31m Action Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
41% Tomatometer 41 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 25,000+ Ratings
Affable hit man Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is constantly being scammed by his cutthroat colleagues in the life-ending business. So, when he and his fellow assassins kidnap the daughter of an electronics mogul, it's naturally Melvin who takes the fall when their prime score turns sour. That's because the girl is the goddaughter of the gang's ruthless crime boss. But, even while dodging bullets, Melvin has to keep his real job secret from his unsuspecting fiancée, Pam (Christina Applegate).
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The Big Hit

The Big Hit

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Critics Consensus

The Big Hit seeks to blend the best of Hong Kong and American action cinema, but ends up offering a muddled mush that mostly misses.

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Critics Reviews

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Danny Leigh Sight & Sound 03/05/2002
2/5
...vacant and ill-conceived... Go to Full Review Jack Mathews Los Angeles Times 02/14/2001
3/5
The Big Hit is nothing more, or less, than a big goof. Go to Full Review Lawrence Van Gelder New York Times 01/01/2000
2/5
Insatiable moviegoers are advised to wait till this action-comedy, written by Ben Ramsey, thuds into video stores; tasteful moviegoers will avoid it altogether. Go to Full Review Wesley Lovell Cinema Sight 01/07/2023
0.5/4
The film fails on so many levels that it’s hard to even remember the ONE extremely funny scene about one hour into the film. Go to Full Review David Nusair Reel Film Reviews 07/23/2020
3/4
There's a lot going on within The Big Hit and filmmaker Wong, making his North American debut here, generally does a nice job of juggling the various digressions and subplots... Go to Full Review Rob Gonsalves Rob's Movie Vault 07/23/2007
F
The script, by rookie writer Ben Ramsey, is among the most disgraceful screenplays ever to be produced by a major studio. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Trevor G @JaySherman Dec 27 This was a great vintage 90s movie coming on the heels of Face Off and while it won't match the latter's timeless place in cinema history, The Big Hit was a great movie. Mark Wahlberg played a reluctant part-time kidnapper, full time hitman with plenty of black comedy and nice action scenes. His unlikely romance with Keiko Nishi played by China Chow was a sweet touch. China Chow has dated Wahlberg, Keanu Reeves and Billy Idol, this was when the actress - more like socialite - first linked with Mark Wahlberg which is interesting. The pacing worked well, the actors had chemistry, you didn't have to think too hard about what the plot was and the action scenes were well choreographed. So, WTF do you care what the official paid critics have to say? Weird to see such a backlash on a genuinely good movie. See more Prismonic Jun 4 Very cute and fun movie. Entertaining with a bright cast. I have come back to see it three or four times over the years. See more Blu B 09/24/2024 Terrible. This is trying to be a Rom-Com and a Kidnap Crime Comedy and never in the slightest can make the two work together in the slightest. The editing is further compounded because every third transition is so obnoxious and noticeable, edited like a MTV music video, and trying to be hip and cool. This is so gloriously dated late 90's early 00's nonsense. The jokes are terrible also, not once do they ever get a laugh and are like watching a middle aged person in 1998 trying to be hip. The music is subpar and just as dated with everything else being terrible. This is completely brainless with no wit or anything clever about it. The acting is so bad, terrible dialouge, poor Elliot Gould. It's just over the top nonsense in the fights which half the time it's kind of hard to tell what's going on. At least it's only 90 minutes. Skip This. See more Jimmy P 01/20/2023 Did no one see this film when they were deciding that Marky Mark could be a big actor? See more 06/23/2022 Lots of stars. Horrible script. I guess it was intended to be a spoof but it came out as just bad. See more 05/28/2021 Yea it was silly and stupid but it was also fun 3.1 See more Read all reviews
The Big Hit

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Cast & Crew

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Kirk Wong

Director

Mark Wahlberg

Melvin Smiley

Lou Diamond Phillips

Cisco

Christina Applegate

Pam Shulman

Avery Brooks

Paris

Bokeem Woodbine

Crunch

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The Big Hit

The Big Hit (1998) The Big Hit (1998) The Big Hit (1998) View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis Affable hit man Melvin Smiley (Mark Wahlberg) is constantly being scammed by his cutthroat colleagues in the life-ending business. So, when he and his fellow assassins kidnap the daughter of an electronics mogul, it's naturally Melvin who takes the fall when their prime score turns sour. That's because the girl is the goddaughter of the gang's ruthless crime boss. But, even while dodging bullets, Melvin has to keep his real job secret from his unsuspecting fiancée, Pam (Christina Applegate).
Director
Kirk Wong
Producer
Warren Zide, Wesley Snipes
Screenwriter
Ben Ramsey
Production Co
TriStar Pictures, Lion Rock Productions
Rating
R
Genre
Action
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Mar 9, 2014
Box Office (Gross USA)
$27.1M
Runtime
1h 31m
Sound Mix
Surround
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