When the realities and pressures of growing up begin to descend upon Joe (Philip De La Cal), he does the only sane thing he can think of: he joins the French Foreign Legion. Three years later, after being dishonorably discharged, he returns to his hometown to live in his parent’s basement. No longer embraced by his ex-girlfriend Marie (April Grimes), and unemployed, Joe is lost.
Except that he’s also in ridiculous debt due to college, and debt collection laws have changed quite a bit over the years. Now, collection agencies, like Max Luxemberg Recovery Systems, exploit the law to take out life insurance policies on debtors, ensuring that they get paid, one way or another. When Joe is targeted by Luxemberg associate Frank (Pascal Yen-Pfister), he is given two options: work for them as a collection agent alongside assassin Simone (Amanda Holston) to pay off his debt, or become just another dead, uh, deadbeat.
Hitting Home – Pilot is unique for a number of reasons. For one, it’s quite the mix of tone, throwing social satire and comic absurdity into the skin of an action series. It works, but it’s definitely not a style you see every day. Still, the action is sufficiently exciting and the humor is my brand of silly, so no complaints there.
And credit is due for crafting a narrative that seems to be goofy for the sake of goofy at times, but still wraps up with an enticing hook. It’s one of those experiences where I was entertained, but not necessarily intrigued, but then things end and I found myself interested in seeing what was next. I was hooked, and I didn’t even notice when it happened.
On the technical side of things, it’s a competent result. The imagery has that “everything is in focus so nothing is tremendously interesting” digital look to it, but at least it’s acceptable and not, say, twenty minutes of boom mic cameos. Most gunfire effects appeared to be CGI, which is definitely becoming the norm nowadays. It’s not the type of project that blows you away with its craftsmanship, but it doesn’t slack off either.
The acting is pretty strong too. While De La Cal’s Joe is predominantly the silly comic relief, he pulls it off in a charming fashion. Somehow you believe that this guy is so clueless he can’t do much in life, but also accept that he’s capable of kicking someone’s a*s as an assassin. That’s a tough balance to strike.
Overall, I’m curious about what Hitting Home has up its sleeves next. I’m also curious as to if the format will remain the same, or if it will drop to a shorter duration. Running almost an hour works here because of everything it is establishing, but I do wonder if it could sustain itself at that timeframe over and over again. Guess we’ll have to wait for the next installment.
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