The Killer

This movie is perfectly fine. It is so perfectly fine, that I can´t think of a single explicit point of criticism at all. However, i can´t think of anything that made it particularly great either. It is too clean. Meanwhile that is the point of the movie. It is about a man whose entire life revolves around minimizing errors, being in control, and following a set of internalized rules without emotions ever coming in the way. And it is an interesting idea to see a hitman treating the profession of violently murdering people as just another repetitive 9 to 5 job, that you just have to get through day after day. But when it comes to telling a compelling story, that is a bit of a problem. Because what generally makes movies stand out - even thrillers like these - is the ability to get people emotionally invested, to have them feel with the characters. This is explicitly not, what is happening here. There is not a single emotion in this movie. It is kind of about revenge but not really. You are just watching a man go through his perfected way of getting his job done and this job just so happens to be killing people who show varying degrees of innocence. We don´t even know anyone´s name. There is however one amazing fight scene that has one of the best choreographies that I have seen in Hollywood in a long time and which had me at the edge of my seat for at least five minutes. Irnoically, this is also the only scene where the character decides to not follow his set of rules and ignores the fact that he might be a little bit too emotional to perfectly execute his task. And it is the most gripping scene of the movie. Maybe that means something...

7/10.

Fassbender and Fincher have crafted a cold and very slick thriller. It's incredibly unique and in many ways, brilliant. It will certainly not be for everyone and it should not be categorised as an action film.

David Fincher's directing is as crisp and precise as always. The cinematography is great and the film looks incredible. It's technically sound and visually stunning with its cold contrasted shots. Fassbender is as brilliant as always and commands the scenes.

BUT, my brain cannot seem to accept the simplicity of the story. I expected something completely different from this and i really believe that the synopsis provided is misleading. It does not feel like there are any stakes in this film nor character development and under no point is there serious danger. We get a brief (cliche) incident to get us started and then it is monotone the rest of the way, much like the protagonist. Maybe there's a hidden, beautiful parallel to that, i dont know.

I feel like i need to watch this again with a different mindset because it's not what i expected or what was advertised.

Despite my complaints, i liked this movie. I just wish the story and action sequences had been expanded a lot more. It's worth a watch, just not the watch you're expecting.

It's well compiled. The narration got me invested. Shot beautifully, the suspenseful music is excellent. The movie as a whole is...yeah it's fine? It lacks depth and some scenes lack logic as well. It makes for a fun watch nevertheless. Better than most of the stuff going around these days. A one time watch and you never think about it again kind of a watch. Not Fincher's best but not his worst either. Fassbender is decent in his role portrayed as a mysterious killer who has a knack for everything pretty much. Solid punches to the face by a guy twice his size does not faze him at all. That's about it really.

I don't understand why people give this movie 1-2 stars. It's not a great movie but how do you rate it so low when 90% of movies are much worse and have better ratings. It does start slow but then turns into a quite watchable and enjoyable action flick, with minor logical holes but a gem compared to movies that don't make sense at all.

Sure; it will be a waste of time for many, but what do you expect, to be enlightened and see something amazing and original that no one ever suspected? How many of such movies are released every year?

The Killer is simply a dose of decent entertainment when you do decide to waste some time and run out of amazing truly movies to watch.

A David Fincher film is always an event. With his infamous reputation for perfection and requesting, he has earned what every aspiring filmmaker wishes for: the proper time to get every element right. There's always glee and eager anticipation seeing his latest, knowing the film is in the reliable hands of a strong director.

For The Killer, David Fincher brings his trademark eye for detail, delivering an arthouse action thriller that moves with clockwork precision with its smooth camera moves and sharp edits, oozing cinematic coolness to the point of being completely cold.

Returning to acting after a 4-year hiatus doing F1 racing, Michael Fassbender fits his performance like a cog to a well-oiled machine. He acts through body language and voiceover, wryly playing a version of the director as a meticulous monologuing professional hitman who strictly abides by his own set of rules.

The Killer doesn't deliver the action thrills of a Jason Statham film or the psychological study in Collateral. It's in between and it rests on the audience to color in the meaning behind everything.

Is The Killer a deconstruction of the lone assassin film? Is it subverting all its tropes? Or is it a character study? Is Fassbender's killer even a sociopath?

Andrew Kevin Walker, the writer of Se7en, puts the audience in the assassin's head through an inner monologue, as he recites his rules and muses negatively about humanity.

The script doesn't provide a character to care about or even like. There's a particular moment when Michael Fassbender says "Hi!" like a normal person and it's darkly comic. For the common viewer, this can easily be an empty and cold experience.

The meaning I gleaned from the film, was the irony between what people say to themselves to create their identity, code or philosophy and how real life, indifferently by and chaotically, puts that to a test.

The technical details are what make this film.

It's the day in the life of an assassin, showing the mundanity of waiting for the perfect moment for the kill shot, the routines to stay incognito, the neat safe rooms, the dozens of passports in ziplock bags...

The decor of Michael Fassbender's home was striking, a big hollow living room with billowing veils where every corner is immediately visible.

The climatic hand-to-hand fight was impressive, well choreographed and shot. The moves had weight and the audience could feel the pain.

Zodiac is still Fincher's best film, as it has everything that he does best, making little factual on investigative details hugely significant and great natural performances chiseled from tiring the actors after multiple takes-I do wonder how many shots in Fincher's films are, in fact, the final take.

With Mank and The Killer, David Fincher seems to be entering a new phase of pursuing smaller niche topics experimentally and having cinematic fun for himself. Comparatively, The Killer seems like a fetishizing of obsessive compulsive behavior.

The best way to enjoy The Killer, I think, is to follow suit. Be OCD for 2 hours and see how many little details you can spot.