Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Simple
- Violence
- Graphic
- irreverent
- ludicrous
- kinetic
- dudes night
- 1990s action marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film an uneven and excessive blend of action and black comedy, though some later viewers appreciated its deliberately ludicrous guilty-pleasure appeal.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Melvin's hitman work, relationship troubles, kidnapping, and escalating violence are presented with deliberately excessive comic absurdity.
Melvin's fixation on being liked and maintaining two relationships motivates his debt and kidnapping decisions.
Kirk Wong's Hong Kong background and the film's stylized action merge with profanity-heavy American crime satire.
Melvin falls in love with the kidnapped victim while his associates treat her as ransom leverage.
Films like The Big Hit, and why
Grosse Pointe Blank
shared darkly comic criminal protagonists, stylized action, profanity, and genre parody
Bulletproof
shared collision of crime violence, absurd comedy, and heightened 1990s genre aesthetics
The Whole Nine Yards
shared irreverent hitman premise, black humor, and action-comedy hybridity
True Romance
shared Tarantino-influenced criminal banter, stylized violence, and nonlinear-feeling genre playfulness
Movie Details
- Director
- Kirk Wong Chi-Keung
- Release Date
- 1998-04-24
- Runtime
- 91 min
- Rating
- 6.0 / 10 (497)
Cast
- Mark Wahlberg
- Lou Diamond Phillips
- Christina Applegate
- Avery Brooks
- Bokeem Woodbine
- Antonio Sabàto Jr.
- China Chow
- Lainie Kazan
- Elliott Gould
- Sab Shimono
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Big Hit about?
- A debt-ridden hitman turns a routine kidnapping into a chaotic collision of romance, betrayal, and flamboyant crime-comedy violence.
- What is The Big Hit like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Big Hit as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as simple.
- Is The Big Hit violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Big Hit as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Big Hit?
- Critics broadly found the film an uneven and excessive blend of action and black comedy, though some later viewers appreciated its deliberately ludicrous guilty-pleasure appeal.
- Which films are like The Big Hit?
- Films with a similar feel include Grosse Pointe Blank, Bulletproof, The Whole Nine Yards, and True Romance.
- How long is The Big Hit?
- The Big Hit runs 91 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Big Hit?
- In United States, The Big Hit is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
