Hitman: Agent 47 muddles along in monotony

WITH the Marina Bay skyline featuring prominently, along with key scenes of easily identifiable locations such as Changi Airport and a popular downtown hotel - plus a high-speed chase along some suspiciously traffic-free city streets - you might be forgiven for thinking that Hitman: Agent 47 is tied to the ongoing spate of events marking SG50 celebrations.

Sadly, you would be mistaken. The Singapore scenes are merely window- dressing, an extra talking point for local cinemagoers.

Directed by Aleksander Bach and written by Skip Woods and Michael Finch, Agent 47 is based on the video game series and a reboot of a 2007 edition of Hitman (also scripted by Woods and with Timothy Olyphant in the title role). It's also a shameless attempt by 20th Century Fox to bottle the box-office success of the earlier film.