The Big Hit (1998)

Director: Kirk Wong

Writer: Ben Ramsey

Composer: Graeme Revell

Starring: Mark Wahlberg, Lou Diamond Phillips, Christina Applegate, Avery Brooks, Bokeem Woodbine, Antonio Sabato Jr., China Chow, Lainie Kazan, Elliott Gould

More info: IMDb

Tagline: Hit Happens

Plot: To payoff his second girlfriend's debt, hitman Melvin Smiley undertakes a kidnapping job with his usual associates. In a world of prospective Jewish in-laws and late movie fees, the hitman falls in love with the victim and must settle the score with those out to double-cross him.

My rating: 5.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I guess I don't dig much on Wahlberg.  So many times I find his performances adequate but not quite there when it comes to the tons of other guys who could do better.  Still, he's done some great work like in THE DEPARTED (2006).  Maybe it's his character that I wasn't digging on.  Anyway, he's OK in this but he's completely out-shined by Lou Diamond Phillips, a guy who's also hit and miss like Wahlberg.  He's pretty damn funny in this picture and he's probably the best thing about it.  The story gets too bogged down with the budding romance sub plot but I did find myself laughing from time to time when I wasn't otherwise bored.  It drags in spots but it's punctuated by bouts of action and comedy. The Columbia DVD has a few extras including a director's/producer's commentary, a screenwriter's commentary, 3 deleted scenes and the non-anamorphic widescreen theatrical trailer.