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A lot can be learned throughRoger Ebert’s reviews. Some even consider his four-star system to be a cinematic bible of sorts. That could very well be the truth, considering the man is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize award and has examined over 10,000 films in his professional career, whether they were downright abysmal or perfect. While he tried his best to stray away from “terrible” movies (those he eventually gave zero stars, there were a little more than 50), there were plenty more out there that he let float just above the waters of the theatrical abyss with a score of one.
You would never possibly imagine then that just afterMark Wahlberg’s perfectly scoredBoogie Nightsfrom 1997, the same actor would turn around the following year and be in a film that procured this very worrisome rating. From starring in a highly praised drama about the adult film industry to a stylized action comedy mimicking the likes of John Woo and Tarantino. From four to a one in 12 months, how is that possible? Was 1998’sThe Big Hitreally that bad or was it more a case of culture crossover flying over everybody’s heads?
Mark Wahlberg Leads a Team of Assassins in ‘The Big Hit’
The Big Hit
Ebert calledBoogie Nights“an epic of the low road, a classic Hollywood story set in the shadows.”On the other hand, one of his first statements in the review forThe Big Hittethered the film to a wholesale Hong Kong order. He says that instead of importing movie stars or directors, Hollywood pulled on the entireWestern-oriented action genrewith this one. There are plenty of scenes where bullets are flying left and right, but a person only gets hit when the script needs to move a bit. OK, that part may be true.
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The Kirk Wong-directed movie even starts outwith a chaotic gunfightwhere our main troop goes unharmed and ends with a penthouse explosion — with the introductory bad guys killed, of course. The assassin team of Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabàto Jr., and Robin Dunne then devolve into a clumsy, goofy, and almost uncoordinated group of second-rate hitmen. You do have to wonder how they got this far if they’ve continuously acted like this. Obviously,Ebert did not like this attempted balance between gunplay and crude-talking high school buddies.
‘The Big Hit’ Mixes Action and Comedy
Comparing his review ofThe Big Hitwith another run-and-gun movie of the mid to late ’90s,Bad Boys,we start to see some similarities in taste. He once again mentions the liberties taken with the protagonists always having the upper hand for the sake of the plot. Ebert also talks about repetition in both reviews.The different kinds of explosionsseem to be a nitpick rather than an entertaining feature. But looking at all of this from a broader angle, do all action movies have to be sophisticated? Does the genre always have to constantly evolve in order to be seen in a positive way?The Big Hitis ungodly cheesy, and the dialogue is akin to a high school writing class. However, those same traits are pointed out by those who talk about this movie favorably.
Analyzing the movie andthinking about what you seewhen it comes toThe Big Hitis not suggested. By name alone, a device called the trace buster buster is obviously a parody. While Melvin Smiley (Wahlberg’s character) is doing all the work, his partners in crime are standing guard just outside the chaotic hotel room, somehow sipping on cups of coffee. How did they acquire them? Who knows? But it’s this type of slapstick comedy that has some using the words “zany”, “absurd” or even “cartoonish” in their glowing write-ups over on Rotten Tomatoes.
‘The Big Hit’ Came a Little Too Late
It’s not like Sony (the distribution company behindThe Big Hit) tried to lie to anyone. The original andunique trailers for the movie(still now found on YouTube and such) were not edited in any way to hide the movie’s unique sense of mockery. The comedic angle was instead used to its fullest extent.In such a thematic realm, would it mix well if the haphazard heroes were ever severely wounded? The tone would come undone, and the beats of the movie would slow to a crawl. As the title says, this was Mark Wahlberg’s first action movie. From 1994 to 97’sBoogie Nights, he was in just about everything else — comedies, dramas, and even a psychological thriller.
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Fortunately, another famous film critic by the name ofLeonard Maltin graciously gave the film somewhat of a second life through a positive retrospective review published 12 years later. But at that point, it was too late. Not only did Wahlberg initially suffer a fall from grace, but this was the last theatrical film to date for director Wong. Even with the likes of Wesley Snipes, Terence Chang and John Woo himself helping to produce it, the longevity ofthis underrated pictureonly comes from those who accept it as a ridiculous hybrid of spoof and seriousness.The Big Hitis available to rent onYouTube,Prime Video, andApple TV.
