Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.5

Diary of a Hitman Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 21, 2024

Roy London's "Diary of a Hitman" (1991) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of MGM. There are no supplemental features on the release. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Dekker (Forest Whitaker) is getting ready to end a successful relationship. For years, he has been taking out targets for Koenig (Seymour Cassel) but has run out of juice. The mental exhaustion, not the physical exhaustion, has been the bigger issue for Dekker. He has started questioning the morality of his work too, which is always a clear sign that it is time to exit the business. Professional hitmen who ignore it always end up self-destructing.

But before he checks out for good, Dekker agrees to do one last job for Koenig, who does not know anything about his upcoming retirement. The job, Koenig explains, is a bit unusual but pays double what Dekker gets from him. What makes the job unusual? Dekker will have to take out his client’s wife and their baby, so it is a twofer. Or, to be precise, a job-and-a-half. After all, a baby is like half of a conventional target, isn’t it? Dekker has never taken out a baby, but the double payment is exactly what he needs to close the deal on his brand new apartment.

Before he goes to work, Dekker agrees to meet his client, which is against his rules. But Koening insisted, and since the client is paying double, he would do it.

The client, Alex Zidzyck (Lewis Smith), turns out to be a real creep, someone Dekker would easily pop for free. Dekker could barely tolerate his fractured, full-of-lies tirade highlighting the reasons he decided to seek his services. It is so annoying that right before they part ways in the freezing parking lot, Dekker nearly changes his mind to take his money and do the job.

A quick visit to an overworked optometrist (Ken Lerner) and an unexpected encounter with a not-so-brilliant detective (James Belushi) further annoy Dekker and make him question his decision to do the job. Money is important, but often life can be a lot simpler and far more pleasurable if money does not dictate how one lives it. Who said this? Dekker has trouble remembering. But whoever it was, he was right.

Once inside the tall, almost empty apartment building, Dekker turns off the philosopher and turns on the executioner. He reaches the right apartment, rings the doorbell, and moments later the target, Jain (Sherilyn Fenn), throws a piece of pie at him. They are both surprised, but Jain is a bit more than Dekker because she does not have a clue that this is the final act of her life. Jain has been waiting for her husband to arrive because today is his birthday and she has prepared several of his favorite treats.

While quickly reassessing the situation, and especially the fact that Jain is not the target her husband described to him, Dekker unintentionally pauses the executioner and lets the philosopher back in. Shortly after, he is forced to welcome Jain’s overly excited, very flirty older sister, Kiki (Sharon Stone), who has all sorts of different meaningless details to share about her upcoming trip to Las Vegas. When Kiki is finally sent back to where she came from, Dekker puts on a big silencer on his gun and prepares to do the job he was paid for. But, much to Dekker’s surprise, the philosopher refuses to step aside and let the executioner work, and he begins improvising.

Diary of a Hitman remained Roy London’s only feature film, which is a shame because bits of it reveal the same wicked sense of humor that transformed Quentin Tarantino into an international sensation. With more practice and some good polishing work, London could have directed some pretty special genre films.

The original material for Diary of a Hitman came from Kenneth Pressman’s play Insider’s Price, but London’s cinematic version of it is different enough to consider it unique. What makes it different is not so much the treatment of the original material, but Pressman’s management of the main characters, and Dekker in particular.

Indeed, Dekker is essentially a human container where two very different characters struggle to coexist -- the calmer and gentle philosopher and the pragmatic but increasingly jaded executioner. When Jain appears, the two stop pretending that there is enough room for them to tolerate each other and Dekker begins a fascinating transformation. However, the entire transformation is made interesting by London and Whitaker’s humanization of the character, rather than the exact nature of it. (For what it’s worth, the complete transformation is hardly surprising).

London’s inexperience shows the most in the engagement of the supporting characters. A few, like Belushi and Stone’s, just move in and out of Diary of a Hitman without adding anything of significance. This is very unfortunate because the opportunities for memorable laughs or fireworks are virtually everywhere.

Diary of a Hitman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Diary of a Hitman arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of MGM.

The release is sourced from an older master that is good but has some obvious limitations. Delineation, clarity, and depth are usually pretty good, and there are no serious stability issues. However, in certain areas, highlights are not as convincing as they can be. A few darker areas can reveal superior shadow definition as well. Even though there are no traces of problematic degraining corrections, grain exposure could be better. In fact, just some careful encoding optimizations could have made grain exposure more convincing and certain visuals appear more attractive. Color balance is good, but there is room for improvements in terms of saturation. Several supporting nuances can be expanded as well. I did not notice any troubling surface imperfections, but a few blemishes pop up here and there. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray release. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your player regardless of your geographical location).

Diary of a Hitman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this Blu-ray release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The narration and dialog are very clear and easy to follow. Dynamic intensity is very good, too. Some unevenness is present, but I do not think that addressing it in a future remaster would make a substantial difference. The upper register is very healthy and stable. So, while some minor cosmetic improvements can be made, I think that the overall quality of the current lossless track is very good.

Diary of a Hitman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Most unfortunately, there are no supplemental features to be found on this release.

Diary of a Hitman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While it is a flawed film, Diary of a Hitman has that unmissable vibe some of the biggest indie gems of the 1990s shared. It is the one and only film Roy London directed, which is unfortunate because I think that his sense of humor was very similar to Quentin Tarantino's. This recent Blu-ray release from MGM is sourced from an older but rather good master. However, it does not have any bonus features. RECOMMENDED.