TL;DR – It is an odd but compelling film where we dive into the mind of a professional killer when everything falls apart.

Post-Credit Scene – There is no post-credit scene.

Disclosure – I paid for the Netflix service that viewed this film.

The Killer Review –

A revenge film can be a challenging beast to pull off. Because if you don’t work on making the motivations land, then you just have a slasher flick. However, what if you had a cold, distant killer taking on interesting characters, and you can pull that off thematically? Well, that is the film that we are looking at today.

So to set the scene, it is a quiet morning in Paris as The Killer (Michael Fassbender) waits for The Target (Endre Hules) in a cold and gloomy room. He waxes philosophically as he sits there waiting. He has one job, to kill his target, and he does not care who it is as long as he is paid. But what happens when, at the last second, someone gets in the way of your target, and your whole reputation disappears instantly? How many redundancies did you really plan? Are they enough? And are you prepared for the coming storm?

To say that this movie takes a bit to get going is a bit of an understatement, as we spend a good chunk of time right from the start with just The Killer and his thoughts as he waits for his chance to kill. We sit there as the weight of time bares down on him, as he ponders morality, choice, and the inevitability of his actions, which is why the theme song from Charmed comes out of nowhere when things finally start moving on. I am not sure we needed that much build-up before the incident, but you can’t say you don’t understand his perspective before things fall apart.

In many respects, this is a film that mirrors the experience that many describe from their time in the armed forces, where you spend a long time in this odd solitude punctuated by these moments of high intensity. We get a constant tug between efficiency and empathy in those quiet moments. These long drags should feel oppressively frustrating; however, they are helped by several factors. The first is the jump around the world, so each chapter feels like it has a fresh coat of pain with the setting. Also, the characters he meets are always fascinating. Kerry O’Malley does so much in her time as Dolores, and performances like that help make the film.    

When it does come to the action, it is all well-choreographed. There is a particular hand-to-hand sequence that is brutal, with every punch feeling like it has the weight of a sledgehammer behind it. Bloody, raw, and uncompromising. It is not professional or clean. It is a brawl, meat hitting meat until one meat stays down. Significant attention is paid to the scenes’ filmography, so you always follow what happens. This is appreciated because so much of the film takes place at night.   

This is an interesting character study of a man who presents as a methodical killer but has to keep repeating the same mantra to keep himself unravelling. The Killer achieves this almost unrelenting vibe through a strong production. I was particularly taken away by the framing used throughout. This could have been all dull nightscapes, but instead, they are always presented in exciting ways that help bring us into the mindset of a man who kills for money. Then, the musical score oscillates between these weird metallic rolling waves to nothing and lets the location’s landscape create the soundscape.    

In the end, do we recommend The Killer? Well, it is not an easy film to watch at times, and it does take a bit to get going. However, the strong narration, the bursts of action, and the intriguing character study combine to create a compelling narrative. If you like The Killer, we would recommend to you The Northman.  

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

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Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of The Killer
Directed by – David Fincher
Screenplay by – Andrew Kevin Walker
Based on – The Killer by Alexis “Matz” Nolent & Luc Jacamon
Music by – Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Cinematography by – Erik Messerschmidt
Edited by – Kirk Baxter
Production/Distribution Companies – Plan B Entertainment, Boom! Studios, Panic Pictures & Netflix
Starring – Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Kerry O’Malley, Sophie Charlotte, Emiliano Pernía, Gabriel Polanco, Sala Baker, Endre Hules & Monique Ganderton
Rating – Australia: MA15+;