You may remember that back in 2007 there was a film based on the popular “Hitman” videogame franchise and this could very easily be a sequel or a remake, it really doesn’t matter. “Hitman: Agent 47” is filled with shootouts and fistfights but there is no real substance, it’s far too synthetic.

In “Hitman: Agent 47”, Rupert Friend now stars as the legendary Agent 47 assassin. After several chase scenes, he meets up with a girl named Katia (Hannah Ware “Cop Out”) and then proceed to shoot their way through endless hordes of goons in order to stop the restarting of the same programme that created Agent 47.

Rupert Friend is alright as Agent 47 but you never really feel like he’s a true assassin because he acts more like a machine than a smart assassin. I don’t whether I prefer Friend to Timothy Olyphant from the 2007 film or not. Hannah Ware is okay as Katia but the character isn’t too great. There is very little chemistry and their interactions are often awkward. The bad guys aren’t very interesting and spend most of the film being shot, blown up or killed in some other fashion. The other characters are quite dull.

“Hitman: Agent 47” is properly slightly more enjoyable than the 2007 film because at least it’s quite fast in its pace but apart from that, there isn’t any significant improvement here. If you liked the first film then you’ll probably like this one but I think most people will find this yet another dud videogame film. You end up feeling a bit sorry for Agent 47; he’s had two films to his name and neither have really delivered an entertaining assassin flick. I doubt he’ll ever get another cinema shot but if he does then let’s hope the filmmakers actually try to give us something with some real substance.