LONG BLOG
What's in a Character: Agent 47
There were some inaccuracies with my original post. I've rectified the information so that the plotlines are correct. Thanks goes to Rudorlf for pointing them out to me in a polite manner.
With yet another bomb of a video game movie out, I'm beginning to think Hollywood is picking the wrong games to adapt to film. When I heard of the first Hitman movie, I wondered how the hell it would even work as a film.
For starters, Agent 47 isn't really a character. He has an iconic style and is very precise, but he doesn't show much emotion or development. He is a link from which the player gets to enact their prowess. He exists solely so you don't have to get attached.
That is the basic premise behind his design. He is bald, white and of average build. He is a John Doe if there ever was one. What makes him work is that the game world built around him is incredibly detailed and fully interactive.
The Hitman series is more about how you, the player, approach a situation then how Agent 47 would do it. If you suck and just want to shoot everything in sight, you can. If you actually want to painstakingly follow NPCs and murder by numbers, you have the options and tools at your disposal.
Hollywood seems to think that 47 has something to develop, so I figured that we could take a look at his various incarnations to see if there ever was a chance of him becoming an interesting protagonist.
Hitman: Codename 47
The start of the Hitman series is actually rather bland. While it had some cool new technology in the way of rag-doll and cloth physics, the game was a bit of a mess. Sloppy controls, frequent crashes and unstable performance; Codename 47 felt rushed out to the market.
In more recent times, the game's issues have mostly been worked out, but it still remains a rather unremarkable game when placed against it's sequels. I suppose it is more faithful than Hitman: Absolution, but that game is basically a mess.
Anyway, Agent 47 doesn't really get much development in this game. From our actions, we learn he is super intelligent and very detached. His work is what he was bred to do (literally) and he is a master of his craft.
These aren't really personality traits more so than a skill set. I guess 47 is really angry; he does emote that much. Having a single characteristic doesn't really make for a compelling lead. Like I said above, 47 works because he is so bland.
I really love his suit and tie, but he is an efficient killer. There are no hairs on his head because that would leave traceable DNA. He wears a black suit to hide blood stains. He is always wearing gloves to not leave fingerprints (though knowing him, his fingerprints were burnt off long ago).
Even the end of the game doesn't really show off much. 47 kills his creator and doesn't shed a tear or even get too frustrated. It's just another day on the job for him. So is the way of a genetically altered super killer.
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
Hitman 2 is where Eidos started to make this series worth a damn. I can accept that the first game was too ambitious for it's time, but to fail to improve for the sequel would have been a crime. That thankfully didn't happen and Hitman 2 became a genre staple.
Expanded levels with more choices then ever; better controls and smoother flow; smarter AI and greater detail to their path finding; Hitman 2 was an instant classic upon release in 2002.
Was anything done differently for the story? Yes, actually. Agent 47, apparently, had a desire to get out of the game. Faking his own death to get out of the agency, he is now a groundskeeper for a monastery in Sicily.
The plot kicks off when some thugs come and capture the father at the church. Their motive was getting 47's DNA to make their own super assassin. They leave a ransom note for 47 to collect an obscene amount of cash or else they will kill the father. 47 gets pulled back into a life he tried so desperately to escape.
It's a fantastic start to a game that has some great moments, but 47 remains a blank slate throughout. Even if we got a little bit of development during the introduction, nothing else of substance happens. Again, this works in the context of a videogame about killing people, but not so much in making a fascinating lead.
There are some moments where 47 gets in touch with his agency to get an update on the father and those do show a bit of concern on his part. He obviously feels guilty for getting an innocent person involved in his past. He should have been smarter then to think he could escape his rivals.
But other than fleeting moments, the game just ticks along until you kill everyone and get to a dramatic finale. It's a well executed and paced mission in which the thugs from the beginning storm the monastery looking for you and 47 has to stealth around to find equipment.
After you load up, you get to bring the lead to your foes. In a game focused on making you silent, it's cathartic to let lose and give it to some truly despicable people (then again, you could be a psychopath the whole game).
Killing everyone sees 47 saving the father and then giving up his peaceful life. He obviously isn't longed for a world where he doesn't assassinate. Whatever the agency had started, 47 is going to have to weather this burden until he can discover the real reason behind his existence.
Hitman: Contracts
Contracts is an interesting game. At the time of release, the game was seen as a bit disappointing following the stellar Hitman 2, but I believe the years have been kind to it. Hitman 2 has some wonky AI, even if it is an improvement over the original game.
Contracts is a lot more consistent with it's enemies. It also remakes some of the first game's missions in a much more refined engine. Getting to redo the assassination in China is beautiful.
The plot line is a bit convoluted, but it starts when 47 retreats to a secluded hotel room after being wounded. In typical Tarantino fashion, the game is starting from the end and working backwards.
47 ingests some pills and begins to hallucinate about his past. Mixed in with missions from the first game are some new levels. This game basically exists as a retelling of the first title. While I can't say I truly understand what the plot is about, the game is fun.
The level design remains vast and diverse and the improved AI makes for a more challenging and fair game then Hitman 2. The game takes a step back, plotwise, and focuses more on gameplay.
47 doesn't get a single hint of development in any facet. He's never really angry and he doesn't explain his feelings towards the past or his present predicament. You just experience a setting and are thrust into his shoes.
The final mission is mind-blowingly awesome (which seems to be a trend with the series). After that, 47 escape into the night and we are left to wait for the sequel. It's kind of a bummer, but whatever.
Hitman: Blood Money
Blood Money is, hands down, the best game in the series. While I once argued that Hitman 2 was the pinnacle, time hasn't been entirely kind to it. I'd rather take a game with more complex level design, better set-pieces and extremely proficient AI over what feels like random chance.
Blood Money seems to understand that 47 isn't really a two dimensional being, either. Missions in the earlier portion of the game give you incredibly detailed descriptions of your targets with all of their evil deeds being mentioned.
By the end of the game, your agency contact kind of gives up. You are basically told the target is well guarded and has a few habitual problems. No lecture about how evil they are or whether life is too good for them. You're a detached killer; why would any of that matter to you?
The narrative does at least try to set up some Bourne style intrigue. Apparently the plot in Contracts was more important then one would have believed. 47 was attempting to discover the location of his enemies and take them out.
Having failed at that, his contact at the agency, Diana, devises a plot to fool everyone. She poisons 47 with atropine lipstick and fakes his death. With 47 disposed of, the director of the CIA steps in to brag about his accomplishment and extract 47's DNA in a vein attempt to recreate him.
The game works in a similar fashion to Contracts in that the story is told through the eyes of his enemies. You play out levels that were basically heard second hand by the victim's survivors. It's really neat and the multitude of options makes for playthroughs that are rarely the same.
This game also sets up a sort of mystique about 47. His enemies believe him to be a mystical being with super human powers. He is cold, efficient, precise, brilliant and unrelenting. His targets will die; the question is just when.
We get the most vocal proclamation of 47's personality in Blood Money. When Diana "betrays" him, 47 lets out a, "YOU BITCH!" That is about it. Through that short exclamation, we can deduce that 47 trusted Diana. It's something, even if it's vague.
The finale, once again, is excellent. Diana kisses 47 with the antidote to his fake death and you rise off the cremation table to kill every last witness. I love how the series builds up to some dramatic climax and then delivers better then most action games.
With all of his enemies defeated, 47 is left with questions about why Diana had double crossed him. Unbeknownst to him, she was trying to protect him. Still, he isn't exactly happy and is looking for revenge.
Hitman: Absolution
I could go on about how much I loathe this game. I could detail about why I think it is a crappy action game and a terrible sequel to an excellent series. That isn't why I'm writing this blog.
I took the time to detail some of the reasons why I loved the series in the previous game descriptions, but Absolution doesn't deserve that. It's basically a failed attempt to make Hitman and 47 "modern."
With that said, his game is truly where Eidos tried to create a fully defined character for 47. I believe they failed, but that isn't to say there aren't moments where he is given clear motives for his actions and some characteristics to bounce off the scenes.
The game starts with Diana goes rogue from the agency. After the events of Blood Money, she reveals that the agency was corrupt. 47 apparently never got the memo, as he rejoins the agency under a new handler.
This man tasks 47 with killing Diana and bringing in the little girl that was with her. Upon pulling the trigger on Diana, 47 comes to a realization that he is being played (*nudge* *nudge*). 47 then defects from the agency and goes on a quest to figure out why this young girl is important.
There are a lot of Bourne Identity style twists and turns and the game loses a lot of focus as it goes on. Instead of making the central antagonist the shadowy agency, the story introduces some redneck by the name of Blake Dexter. He's wonderfully acted, but he's so unnecessary and goofy in terms of what Hitman is.
The series never really put much effort in establishing villains. That may sound insane for a series so focused on eliminating targets, but the deliberately ambiguous backgrounds to your foes is what made you truly feel like a hitman.
Learning the how and why to a person's actions kind of takes away from your severed connection to the game world. You aren't supposed to be more interested in what makes a bad guy tick. You're just tasked with finding them and killing them.
It's similar to how Grand Theft Auto V included a torture scene. It was purely for dramatic click-bait headlines, but it also tremendously impacted the effect GTA has. The game has never up close and personal about it's violence. Now this one scene came and made the game very intimate.
Anyway, 47 eventually goes through some ridiculous plot points (need to hit that shooting range!) and kills people for reasons unknown and eventually tortures some guy. You make a rudimentary choice that obviously shouldn't even exist (47 kills people for a living!) and then you proceed through more action set-pieces.
Somehow 47 makes a connection with the young girl and won't let anyone take her. It's basically the same thing with Kratos in God of War III and Pandora. There isn't much reason to have this tertiary character other than a shoddy attempt at character growth.
I'm also really baffled why some levels are basically cut-scenes. One has 47 go to a shop and get a new suit. That's beyond pointless; it's padding for the sake of making a "cinematic" game. I don't want cinematic qualities; I want to kill people!
Eventually the game wraps up with a generic action scene on the roof of a building. While the final missions were typically the best of the bunch, Absolution throws a wrench into the mix and makes this one a chore.
If you love quick-time events, then I'm sure you'll dig the closer to this story. Otherwise, we get some anger out of 47 and nothing more. After erasing the villain from existence, 47 drops the girl off at a church and the game ends.
So, what does this whole blog show? Basically, I don't know how Agent 47 was ever supposed to make for a quality movie leading man. As I've hopefully demonstrated, 47 doesn't evolve much as a character.
While that should be a death knell for any narrative driven experience, the Hitman games have functioned on their mechanics. Like how Miyamoto bases his games on ideas first, Hitman is all about the central premise and not much else.
I know Eidos has tried with their "genetically engineered agent" backstory, but all of that doesn't matter much. It's just an excuse to have 47 wind up in shootouts. The ability to avoid those shootouts is awesome.
Still, the series has made some kind of impact on the gaming world. It's surprising how we've seen the likes of 2 movies based on this series and the game is looking to reboot soon. I never thought gamers would gravitate towards a bald, emotionless man.
It speaks to the ingenuity of game mechanics and how gripping gameplay will almost always take central stage. Even if a story is the most dramatic thing ever written, a game is about how you control the outcome of certain events.
Something like Bioshock may have a great story, but I've never really clicked with it due to the gameplay being simplistic. That isn't to lobby a complaint, but I just feel like that series could do a whole lot better.
On the other hand, I think that stealth action games tend to try too hard. Splinter Cell, for how awesome those games are, has a very mind-numbing plot that takes way too much precedent from the 4th game onwards.
Metal Gear Solid is an entirely different beast, basically relying on story more than gameplay. It makes for thrilling and industry defining stuff, but I've never really felt that it was a true stealth game.
Hitman, though, nails it. It even allows you to forgo stealth if you want. That makes for a rather short and unfulfilling game, but the option is there. There is more than one solution to any given problem (something that Absolution forgets).
So while the games will continuously be enjoyable, I don't think 47 is ever going to make a great protagonist in a film. Removing the connection a player makes destroys pretty much everything that makes Hitman fun.
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