Michael Fassbender, it’s been a minute. We haven’t seen the once-up-and-coming next big thing in a movie since 2019’s Dark Phoenix or anything good since 2017’s Alien: Covenant, it’s been over a decade since his incredible back-to-back-to-back collaborations with director Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame, 12 Years a Slave). Fassbender seems to deliver his best performances when coupled with an established director. His portrayal as the lead in David Fincher’s (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Social Network) fantastic assassin-for-hire The Killer is another example of proof.
The long and the short is that The Killer is worth the watch. Fincher returns to the dark, mysterious, and somewhat twisted worlds that defined the earlier parts of his career (Alien 3, Se7en, The Game, Fight Club, Panic Room, Zodiac). These anxiety-including movies are created with
We spend the entire movie with Fassbender’s character, who isn’t named, simply referred to as “The Killer.” There is also “The Lawyer” (Charles Parnell – Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning, Part One, Top Gun: Maverick), “The Expert” (Tilda Swinton – We Need to Talk About Kevin, Snowpiercer), “The Client (Arliss Howard – Moneyball, Concussion), and the Brute (Sala Baker – Braven, Parker). Each is integral to The Killer’s revenge story, but we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
The Killer is a global assassin. We first meet him in Paris, where he describes to us the exhaustion of doing nothing. We spend several quick scenes with him as he sits in a chair of an upper abandoned warehouse, staring out the window at an adjacent residential building. His target is a man we don’t know much about and someone we never meet. After days of waiting for an opportunity at his kill shot from window to window, the moment arrives. Lining up his target, the top-end sniper does something we least expect. He misses, killing an innocent guest instead of the intended victim.
With his life now in danger, as his employer is left to clean up his mess while explaining to the client that the mission had failed, The Killer, aware that the hit is now on his back, retreats to his Dominican Republic, only to find that his girlfriend, Magdala (Sophie Charlotte – River of Desire, Bald Mountain) has been beaten so severely that she’s been sent to the intensive care unit of a local hospital.
The remainder of the movie is The Killer’s quest to exact revenge on those who harmed Magdala. While there are certainly action sequences, particularly in hand-to-hand combat, this is more methodical and tension-building than a Liam Neeson or Steven Seagal shoot-them-up or beat-them-up action flick. It’s smart and, stays true to form, leading to a handful of memorable sequences with each of our supporting characters.
Don’t be fooled by Fassbender’s leading man looks or wry smile. He is a cold-blooded killer whose principles never steer far. Even when the tables are turned, and he becomes hunted and needs aid from otherwise innocent people to further his revenge story, he still operates with the same code. “Anticipate, don’t improvise.” “Trust no one.” “Forbid empathy.” While we might expect a director to soften The Killer to offer mercy towards the innocent based on a newly discovered vulnerability, Fincher isn’t our typical director, and our protagonist isn’t a run-of-the-mill character. Instead, The Killer is a linear character and a cold-blooded, obsessive perfectionist hellbent on completing his revenge mission.
Fans of Fincher and Fassbender will love this film. It reminds us why we became fans of these two men. Filmgoers who enjoy revenge films likely will also enjoy The Killer, particularly those who go in with the mindset that this film is more like The Bourne Identity than John Wick.
Plot 7.5/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 7.25/10
Acting 8.75/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 9/10
Cinematography 9.25/10
Sound 10/10
Hook and Reel 9/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
86.25%
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