The Wayback Machine - https://web.archive.org/web/20231107231810/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-killer-2023/
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In Theaters Now
2023
R
Netflix
1 h 58 m
2023
R
Netflix
1 h 58 m
SummaryAfter a fateful near-miss, an assassin (Michael Fassbender) battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal. [Netflix]
SummaryAfter a fateful near-miss, an assassin (Michael Fassbender) battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal. [Netflix]
This is a perpetrator’s perspective on the business of violence, carried out with notions of professionalism while slowly shaking the sociopath’s sense of self. Michael Fassbender’s unnamed contract killer is as delusional as he is dead-aimed focused; it’s both chilling and humanizing.
This is just David Fincher making a bloody, fun, gritty movie about an angry assassin. The name of the movie is The Killer and our lead character very much does that.
This could be David Fincher at his most procedural and deficient in humanity. It's the kind of film that very well could rub audiences the wrong way, but I think the latest film from the acclaimed director asks a lot of compelling questions about humanity.
The Killer is an entertaining, crowd-pleasing banger that stands up to multiple views. It’s a superior hit-man romp that doesn’t outstay its welcome from a director who misses the target less than his protagonist.
Much of the pleasure of the film is in procedure: watching someone work diligently and knowledgeably towards a goal that just happens to be murder. But a darkly fun tension emerges between its anti-hero’s internalised principles and how he actually behaves when pressed.
In The Killer, David Fincher is hooked on his own obsession with technique, his mystique of filmmaking-as-virtuoso-procedure. It’s not that he’s anything less than great at it, but he may think there’s more shading, more revelation in how he has staged The Killer than there actually is.
Filled with expertly composed sequences undone by the protagonist’s relentless observations about the meaninglessness of existence, the movie feels like an attempt to highlight its own emptiness.
"Stick to your plan. Anticipate, don’t improvise. Trust no one. Never yield an advantage. Fight only the battle you’re paid to fight.”
The Killer is a hitman movie unlike anything you’ve seen before. Michael Fassbender plays a highly meticulous and very effective assassin, that is until he misses. After a job doesn’t go according to plan, the assassin battles his employers and himself while an international manhunt escalates.
Although adapted from comic book series, it still very much feels like a David Fincher movie throughout. It puts you inside the head of a serial killer for the entire film with an internal monologue from Michael Fassbender that reminded me of Michael C. Hall in Dexter only with much less humour. Fassbender is cold, calculating and devoid of empathy. His character is honestly chilling and this is the best performance we’ve seen him give for quite a while now. I wouldn’t be surprised if we end up seeing more of Fincher and Fassbender in the future.
In recent years we’ve seen lots of hitman movies with an older charismatic and likable actor whose generic job is really a cover for something darker. And when they get pulled back into the lifestyle they tried to leave, their special set of skills are revealed and they inevitably end up picking off all the bad guys in various locations around the world, etc. etc. David Fincher’s The Killer ain’t that kind of movie. It’s a slick, smart and stylish movie that paints a very accurate picture of life as an assassin. This is absolutely not your typical Hollywood version of hitmen, which means don’t expect it to be packed full of car chases and endless fight scenes. If you go into this expecting John Wick, James Bond or The Equalizer you may find yourself disappointed. It moves at a slow pace and doesn’t leave out the careful planning and waiting around that comes with the job of an assassin. The slow pace might bother some people but I thoroughly enjoyed The Killer, it’s tense, thrilling with a brilliant soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
The Killer is recommended for anyone looking for a good crime thriller this weekend. Also if there’s any fans of The Smiths out there, you’ll love this soundtrack.
The Killer was among my most anticipated films this year, and to be completely honest, my enthusiasm to see it was quite palpable, and while seeing the results I can consider it a competent film, taking into account its director and leading actor, I have to say that this film falls short of the mark.David Fincher constructs a sort of internal monologue centered on his main character, which gives him certain interesting characteristics in the first 15 minutes of its execution, since everything the character says and does is related to his objective. However, once this initial sequence concludes, Fincher applies the same method to all the events that follow and that's where the issues begin.While, in a sense, this is commendable because it shows how dedicated and focused the character is on his task, it also makes him completely one-dimensional, a problem that is reflected in Michael Fassbender's performance, who basically takes what he did with his character David in Prometheus and endows him with a mask of coldness that he never sheds, resulting in a functional but extremely monotonous character.I didn't find The Killer to be a bad film, it maintains a steady pace and progresses without major difficulties, however, it is so self-absorbed in a single tonality that it is inevitable to wonder what the hell David Fincher wanted to tell with this story, which unfortunately is below the quality of what he usually delivers.
