You might’ve heard about Hit Man, Richard Linklater’s latest film that got shafted with a nominal theatrical release before landing at Netflix. It’s receiving a lot of flattering attention as a highly entertaining romantic comedy that takes a dark noirish turn.

Glen Powell (Anyone but You, Top Gun: Maverick) gets his best shot yet at major stardom playing Gary Johnson, a nerdy college lecturer teaching philosophy and psychology classes, with a part-time job working for the New Orleans Police Department that develops in a bizarre direction. He starts off working tech support for an undercover cop posing as a hit man to entrap people in murder-for-hire schemes. Then Gary finds himself unexpectedly asked to step into the fake hit man role. His natural flair for the work instantly impresses everybody. There’s an amusing montage of Gary adopting various disguises, behaviors, and accents, based on his psychological research into what hit man persona each client will find compelling.

Powell, an actor with a lot of easygoing charm, seems to get a big kick out of playing a dorky bird-watching teacher and his various fantasy hit man projections. My personal favorite was the effete British “ginger” hit man whose vivid auburn-haired bowl cut and thick overlay of freckles contrasted so well with his all-black outfit and sinister, tight-smiling politeness.