The Killer

Stoic man with a violent past must get back into his roots in order to save someone? Yawn. We've all seen that before. It's a tired trope really. But the thing is... this movie knows it - mocks it even at some point.

Instead of focusing in the plot and emotional depth like The Man from Nowhere, The Killer pour it all out on straight action. The fight choreography is impressive, and the John Wick vibe is noticeable from the stylish neon-lit hallway brawls, melee combats, to gun fus.

8/10 One of the best korean martial arts action movies.

The action sequences are entertaining as hell and the lead actor is a Korean John Wick. His wife has a friend with a daughter and the hitman is convinced to watch over the teenage girl for a couple of weeks. It seems simple enough until the teen is abducted by a sex trafficking ring run by the Russian mafia.

The story becomes a bit confused as the hitman climbs the ladder of bad guys, killing legions along the way, using his hands, feet, knives and occasional gun to accomplish his mission.

He is a combination of Bruce Lee and John Wick and has the charisma to carry the film to its' predictable conclusion.

Do not expext Citizen Kane here but just sit back and enjoy the ride for an hour and a half.

No pun intended - whenever I hear the Killer ... I always think of John Woos classic movie. A movie that really changed a lot for me - and I suspect not just for me. I like movies from everywhere and try to watch as many as possible (which you may have already figured out) ... but Killer and Hard Boiled were quite the revelations for me.

Now this has nothing to do with that movie and stands on his own. Like the titular character. He knows what he is doing ... and he still will do anything his girlfriend tells him to do ... even babysitting. Which is not an easy thing to do anyway - but even worse when the subject is attracting evil people ... and trouble. I would not entirely blame her - spoiled as she might be. But it also helps the story move along ... and gives us a lot of action sequences ... very well choreographed ones at that.

The stoic nature of our main character, the knowledge that he is better than others ... well maybe you can identify with that - like I do. I'm just kidding of course ... we wish. Great action cinema ... paper thin story, but enough to keep it all moving along. With a main bad guy, we get to see fight our guy over and over again ... what more could you wish for?

The action sequences were well crafted and shot. This movie is filled with terrific fight choreography and cutting edge fight sequences.

Also appreciated how self-aware the story is, with characters often commenting on other similar movies or with small gestures with certain props (no spoilers, sips a coffee).

One of the few gifts of the COVID-19 pandemic has been the use of Korean films to provide cinema screens in the Western world with content/programming. Until the pandemic hit, I'm unsure whether I had watched more than a handful of Korean movies over the course of my near half-century on this Earth. Since then, I've watched several every year, especially when the reviews are good, and I've rarely been disappointed. If you can handle subtitles, if you can take this in on a big screen, if you're open minded enough to watch foreign films, and if you enjoy action movies, then you should enjoy The Killer. It's recommended viewing for fans of the genre.