Like Tomb Raider and Doom before it, this cinematic adaptation of the bestselling video game series is far less entertaining than its digital source material. The hitman of the title is Agent 47 (Timothy Olyphant), a charmless, genetically engineered contract killer employed by a shadowy international organisation. After an assignment goes wrong, the bald antihero is double-crossed by his employers and pursued by an obsessed Interpol agent (Dougray Scott). Despite globetrotting through exotic locations, this fight-filled thriller rarely matches the game's cinematic flourishes and brazenly ditches the backstory for a far less inspired mythology of its own. French director Xavier Gens brings flash but little substance to the numerous action sequences that pepper the convoluted plotting from writer Skip Woods (Swordfish). It's typical of the enterprise's general air of ridiculousness that Olyphant's assassin can sport a barcode tattoo on his shaved head without anyone ever noticing it.

A genetically engineered assassin with deadly aim, known only as "Agent 47" eliminates strategic targets for a top-secret organization. But when he's double-crossed, the hunter becomes the prey as 47 finds himself in a life-or-death game of international intrigue.