Killshot

This B-ish movie packs a pretty strong cast that provides the platform for an enjoyable movie.

The plot is fairly rudimentary but the character development is above the norm for this type of movie as they consider who they are and who they want to be.

Its tough watching Rourke if you watched him when he was younger, he face (from apparent damage) has a reduced ability to express emotion which makes him come across as wooden. As an actor he is/was pretty amazing so to see this reduction in his abilities is a shame. Check out Angel Heart to see what he can do with DeNiro!

Killshot is much better than the coverart would suggest :)

A mob hit-man (Mickey Rourke) teams-up with a young psycho (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and they go after a separated couple (Diane Lane & Thomas Jane) who witnessed a botched hit. Rosario Dawson is on hand as the twerp's girlfriend.

"Killshot" (2008) is a thriller/drama by John Madden that supposedly had post-production problems, sat on a shelf, was reedited and whatever else. As such, some criticize that it doesn't flow well. Don't believe it. This is a very professionally-made film and I never got the sense that the story didn't flow, regardless of what they edited out, reedited or what have you. The story's easy to follow and makes sense.

Mickey Rourke is always a highlight even though he essentially plays the same character, which I guess most actors do. His character here is the same likable, brooding one seen in "The Wrestler" (2008) and "Passion Play" (2010) with the variation that he murders people for a living. Yes, that's a big difference and it does cause the viewer to disapprove of him but it's hard to hate him, unlike his two-bit partner. Somewhat likable or not, the Rourke character HAS to pay for his misdeeds (or should pay, at least).

Speaking of the twerp partner, Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines here as a scumbag with almost zero redeeming qualities. Something happens to him at the end and you just can't help saying "THANK YOU."

Thomas Jane is always a solid masculine protagonist as is Lane in the feminine department. The film is just as much about the potential reestablishment of their relationship as it is about the thugs trying to find them. But this is definitely a thriller/drama. You get a lot of quality drama interrupted by sudden and intense thrills.

The score's nice and atmospheric and there's a great song on the soundtrack ("Monkey" by Low).

The film runs 1 hour, 35 minutes, and was shot in Port Perry, Uxbridge and Toronto, Canada, as well as Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Detroit.

GRADE: B.

Rosario Dawson Week: Day 5

John Madden's Killshot went through the ninth ring of production hell before it was finally released in 07 or so, after like three years of gathering dust on the shelf. The resulting film didn't win anyone over who waited all that time with baited breath, because you can see the cuts, chops and gaps in story where it's been muddled around with, no doubt by the fuckwit studio. I still love it, flaws and all. Based on an Elmore Leonard tale (you can never go wrong with his work, it's a sombre tale of psychopaths, assassins and one hapless estranged couple (Thomas Jane & Diane Lane) caught in between. When legendary native American hit-man Arman 'The Blackbird' Degas (Mickey Rourke) botches a job for the Toronto mafia, he's forced on the run, and hides out with aimless young lunatic criminal Ritchie Nix (Joseph Gordon Levitt), who somewhat reminds him of a litte brother he lost years before. Rourke pulls off the native angle quite well, and shows vague glimpses of a humanity that was once there and has long since been buried in violence. When Jane and Lane accidentally witness him murder someone, he won't let it go, pursuing them beyond rationality or reason, even to his own end. Levitt never gets to play the wild card, and he rocks his redneck sociopath brat role with scary aplomb. Rosario Dawson has an odd appearance as Ritchie's girlfriend, an elvis fan who is seemingly a little bit challenged upstairs. Watch for a cameo from Hal Holbrook as a crusty old mobster too. You'll just have to imagine the federal agent character played by Johnny Knoxville though, because he never made it into the film and can now only be seen in ages old trailers that were a false start. Despite it's issues, I find it to be an atmospheric little pulp outing that does have the classic Leonard feel, a hard bitten, cold-hearted turn from Rourke that's one of his best characters in recent years, and a mean, unforgiving narrative set in picturesque northern Canada. Give it a shot, it deserves way more love than its received so far.

When the professional killer Armand 'Blackbird' Degas (Mickey Rourke) falls in disgrace with the Mafia, he flees to another city in Canada. He stumbles upon the psychopath Richie Nix (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who lives with his girlfriend Donna (Rosario Dawson). Armand teams up with him and moves to his house. Richie summons Armand to participate in a scheme to take money from a wealthy real estate agent, but he commits a mistake and the couple Wayne Colson (Thomas Jane) and Carmen Colson (Diane Lane) witness their action. They are forced to join the Witness Protection Program by the FBI and they move to another town. But Armand and Ritchie are hunting them down since they are a thread.

"Killshot" is a surprisingly good thriller, with great story and cast. The screenplay is well-written and builds tension, despite the commercial conclusion. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Killshot - Tiro Certo" ("Killshot - Right Shot")

I've watched this film after getting suggested by a friend of mine. First of all, I did take a look at the cast: Mickey Rourke, Rosario Dawson, Diane Lane, Tom Jane... I thought that I couldn't go wrong even with Rourke and Dawson alone like in Sin City, but I was mistaken.

Rourke pretends to be a Native Indian, and does his job real good, but he is no Native Indian even nearly. The character of Rosario Dawson is wasted totally, you can cut it off and forget easily. Diane Lane did her part just fine. Tom Jane tried to perform like a super-man from The Punisher, but he was clearly no supposed to.

The story line is predictable extremely. Even though the whole thing starts up pretty promising, it degrades in quality quickly and leads to a dumb, really dumb end. I cannot believe that a professional hit-man can do so many mistakes one after another. And I do know for sure what a close shot of Remington 870 means.

So, we have a mediocre thriller to watch once upon a time and never return. Without Rourke and Lane it wouldn't even score 6/10 in my opinion.