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The Most Surprising Hitmen in Movie History

February 8, 2017 by Gary Collinson

Last year we saw the return of 47, Square Enix’s famous video game assassin, both to the big screen and the computer/console screens. 47 (or Agent 47, as he is sometimes referred to) has a long history and a complex backstory – he was born (bred?) on the 9th of May 1964 in a Romanian asylum and trained from youth to become a silent assassin.

During his career, 47 starred in nine video games, not counting the Hitman slot machine you can try at the 7 Sultans online casino. Released in 2007, ahead of the first movie in the franchise, the Hitman slot became an instant hit at the 7 Sultans. The game filled with the “tools of the trade” is to this day one of the most played 7 Sultans titles, and not just by the fans of the video game. Many 7 Sultans play it for fun, others try their luck and attempt to be paid for completing 47’s missions in the game.

Agent 47 is an assassin bred to be professional, silent, and deadly. There are other assassin/hitman characters in movies that have all the same traits but spiced up with some others that are quite surprising.

Léon, the “cleaner”

At first sight, Léon doesn’t look like a contract killer. The first thing that comes to mind when you see the character played by Jean Reno in Luc Besson’s 1994 thriller Léon: The Professional is “bland”. Léon Montana is an illiterate hitman – he likes to refer to himself as a “Cleaner” – with a passion for milk, old movies, and his house plant. He lives in an apartment house where one of his neighbors is Mathilda, the 12-year-old (but surprisingly mature) girl, and her dysfunctional family. His father is a violent drug dealer who gets into a quarrel with corrupt DEA agent slash drug addict Norman Stansfield (Gary Oldman), who kills the whole family, including Mathilda’s four-year-old brother. Léon decides to take care of the girl, and later – after she finds out what he does for a living – agrees to teach her the tricks of his trade. In return, Mathilda runs errands for him, takes care of his plant, and teaches him to read.

As you might expect, the couple’s adventures end in a bloody chaos – but I won’t spoil the experience for you.

Jules Winnfield

Jules Winnfield is a sensational character invented by Quentin Tarantino for his masterpiece, Pulp Fiction. As usual for Tarantino movies, there’s not much backstory related to the character – we know he is from Inglewood, California, and he did spend quite a lot of time studying the Holy Bible. At first sight, Jules looks like a preacher, and even acts like one – he recites passages from the Bible, he refrains from eating pork, and he is eager to attribute his survival of a shootout. In the end, he repents his life of crime, and leaves to “Walk the Earth”.

Originally published February 8, 2017. Updated November 12, 2018.

Filed Under: Special Features

About Gary Collinson

Gary Collinson is Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Flickering Myth. He is a film, television and digital content writer and producer, whose work includes the gothic horror feature The Baby in the Basket and the suspense thriller Death Among the Pines. He is also the author of Holy Franchise, Batman! Bringing the Caped Crusader to the Screen.

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