Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday is the sequel to Accident Man (2018) which is based off a British comic book by the same name. Being inexperienced with the titular comics, it is unclear just how much influence the two films draw from the source material. Theatrically, however, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday borrows many elements from other movies within the same genre such as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels Snatch, Smoking Aces Lucky Number Slevin, as well as Deadpool (2016) and even hint of Suicide Squad.
Accident Man shares many elements like freeze framing, rapid high-velocity action, witty banter, black comedy, British slang, jump cuts, comic book-styled introductions, and protagonist narration with more than a few martial arts tossed into the mix. It really offers nothing new to the genre is simply cookie-cutter.
Obviously, the film centers on the Accident Man, Mike Fallon (Scott Adkins), whose specialty is rigging assassinations to look like…well, accidents. Fallon is, essentially, a teenager wrapped in a muscular man’s physique possessing the smooth voice of Jason Statham and the appearance of a “melted Ben Affleck,” as quipped in the film. Struggling to find his personal autonomy from an overbearing mentor and father figure, Big Ray (Ray Stevenson), while coping with the guilt of having killed off Big Ray’s clientele and employees which grounded the first film,
Unlike some of the better action-hero characters out there, Fallon is virtually perfect right out of the packaging. He rarely makes mistakes, does not grow as a person, and despite adjusting his killing methods for specific jobs, violence easily resolves all of his problems.
Strip away the action candy coating, impressive martial skills, and CGI gore and we are left with a perfect, nearly fifty-year-old man-child whining about his daddy issues whilst turning his home into a twenty-year-olds dream bachelor pad.
Accident Man is set against a backdrop of an equally talented, supportive cast rendered immature and asinine. There is the buddy character, Finicky Fred (Perry Benson), who is a lovable but naive buffoon though handy with gadgets—a veritable foil to make Fallon look even better; the aforementioned Asian stereotype, Wong Siu-Ling (Sarah Chang), who exists without real agency and as that token female friend who thinks she’s the crème of the crop not realizing that the boys allow her to one-up them.
The film’s overarching redeeming quality rests in its production value. Barring some bad, early 2000s-level CGI when it comes to gore and blood splatter, Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday is well made. Set design, props, costuming, lighting, framing, establishing shots, and musical score are all appropriate while the filming sequences themselves are skillfully done.
Overall, despite the immaturity, pop culture gimmicks, and lack of gravitas marking the target audience early twenty-somethings (thanks in large part to the R rating), Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday, has the feel of a high-end professional film worthy of a two-star rating for being a fair film.
Accident Man: Hitman’s Holiday would be a good addition to any comic book-related collection of films on public library shevles due to its influential source material and comic book-inspired thematic elements. However, because of its gore, violence, and strong language it is not a film appropriate for general public screenings and for those under 18 years of age. Perhaps it is best to refrain from academic screenings below the college level.