Richard Linklater has been cemented as a favorite filmmaker of mine for a long time and he seems to justify that status with every new movie he makes. Even films of his that may not hit every right note still do something to me that I have a hard time describing. At the risk of sounding corny, Linklater speaks a language in his movies that has always resonated with me in a number of fascinating ways. He does it again with his latest, the fun yet uneven “Hit Man”.

“Hit Man” is one of those Linklater movies that doesn’t hit every right note yet it had me in its corner from the very start. It’s a bit erratic, especially in regards to tone. And there were several times where it didn’t seem certain of the kind of movie it wanted to be. For example, the first third is vintage Linklater, brimming with his signature style and oddball humor. A little later the humor somewhat dries up as the movie takes a more romantic turn. Even later it turns into a Coens-lite crime thriller involving murder, dirty cops, and a big coverup.

Linklater’s “Hit Man” is based on a 2001 article of the same name that was written by Skip Hollandsworth and published in Texas Monthly magazine. It tells the “somewhat true story” of Gary Johnson, played by the current everywhere-man and regular Linklater collaborator, Glen Powell. Gary is an unassuming guy who seems to live a pretty mundane life. He’s a straitlaced psychology and philosophy professor at the University of New Orleans and lives quietly alone with his house plants and two cats, Id and Ego.

But Gary has a second job working in a surveillance van for the New Orleans Police Department. And that’s where his life takes a wild and unexpected turn. After the slimy lead undercover cop (Austin Amelio) gets suspended for beating up two teenagers, Gary is thrust in as a desperate last-minute replacement, wired and posing as a contract killer, tasked with getting the unsuspecting mark to hire him. Not only does he pull it off, but he’s stunningly convincing.

Gary becomes the police’s go-to undercover guy, drawing from all his geeky knowledge of movies and pop culture to tailor his hitmen for every individual client. Most of them are everyday ordinary folks with one small exception – they want to off their spouse, neighbor, business partner, etc. and are willing to pay for it to be done. Gary’s costumes and personas progressively get more outrageous and over-the-top, but his arrest rate only grows.

Admittedly it all sounds utterly preposterous. Would the police toss a civilian into such a situation with such little thought? Was there really an epidemic of people hiring hitmen that the cops needed a special task force dedicated solely to it? Isn’t this some shady form of entrapment? Linklater doesn’t bother with any of those questions and often just goes along with the absurdity of it all. How much these things stick out to you may very well impact how far you can go with “Hit Man”.

Gary’s transition from nerdy nobody to super-cool undercover agent is threatened following a coffee shop meeting with a women named Madison (a saucy Adria Arjona in full femme fatale mode). Distraught, reluctant, yet flirty, Madison wants him to kill her abusive slimeball husband. But Gary, working as a hunky self-assured charmer he calls Ron, discourages her from going through with it and saves her from being arrested. The move confuses his colleagues but leaves quite the impression on Madison. Before long they’re secretly dating on the sly which sees the movie take on a distinctly noir flavor.

Powell’s performance is a key ingredient that makes the film tick. Admittedly, it takes more than a pair of glasses and his hair parted to the side to truly sell him as a nerdy professor. Yet Powell makes it work thanks to his innate sincerity and slightly goofy charm. But its his leading man versatility that stands out most as the actor seamlessly transforms from one identity to the next. Arjona shines as well and builds some great chemistry with Powell despite the relationship between their characters needing more depth.

There’s a lot to like about “Hit Man” from the first-half humor, to Linklater shooting on location, to the unpredictable directions the story goes. Yet despite all of that, the movie is never quite as funny as you expect it to be, nor quite as sexy as it clearly wants to be, and not quite as thrilling as it could be. Still, Linklater is a filmmaker who always puts something compelling on the screen. That may sound like a strange compliment, but it testifies to what he delivers with “Hit Man”. “Hit Man” premieres June 7th on Netflix.

VERDICT – 3 STARS