HIT MAN (1972) ***

Hit Man is George (Miami Blues) Armitage’s blaxploitation remake of Mike Hodges’ Get Carter.  While it lacks the punch of the original, not to mention the fun of the 2000 remake starring Sylvester Stallone, it’s a solidly entertaining revenge picture.  It also happens to be a great vehicle for the late Bernie Casey.

Casey comes to LA for his brother’s funeral.  Almost immediately, dudes come crawling out of the woodwork to convince him to leave town.  He starts poking his nose around and discovers his brother was killed by some nefarious pornographers.  Casey then goes out for revenge.

Hit Man is a rather straightforward revenge tale.  It contains more than its fair share of sex, violence, and exploitation goodness.  It takes its time unfurling its premise, maybe a bit too much.  Once it gets going, it’s a rather satisfying thriller.

Casey is front and center in nearly every scene.  Even though the pacing gets a little pokey in places, his performance is so strong that you are with him every step of the way.  The supporting performances are uniformly fine.  Roger E. Mosley is threatening as a tough street hood and Sam Laws is a hoot as Casey’s partner in crime.  Pam Grier and Marilyn Joi are around as the eye candy, although you’ll wish they had more to do.  Still… if you ever wanted to see Pam Grier get eaten by a lion…