After a surprising turn with Mank, David Fincher has gone back to the early days of Seven and Panic Room with his gritty action-thriller, The Killer. The Oscar nominee returns with Michael Fassbender as the lead; the Netflix exclusive is about a hitman who kills off his employers one-by-one, following a failed assassination attempt on a high-level target. Other notable names in the film include Tilda Swinton and Charles Parnell.
The Killer has a relatively high rotten tomatoes score from the critics. Surprisingly, audiences aren’t as enthused as it currently stands at 59%. The last time a Fincher film received a rotten tomatoes score was Alien 3. Now, The Killer is not even close to the level of Alien 3. It’s a solid watch from beginning to end. But, it’s not on the level of Seven, Fight Club, The Social Network, or Zodiac. In fact, it’s just not on the same level as most of Fincher’s work. His filmography is top-notch, but The Killer is going to be buried within as an average film.
The Killer Is Straight-Forward And Predictable
The premise itself is nothing particularly new. However, Fincher is one of the best directors of the current generation. Somehow, the Oscar nominee would be able to make a film about a broomstick quite entertaining. But Fincher’s films always have a complex layer surrounding the central conflict. Fight Club isn’t just about Jack starting an underground fight cult; the film explores themes of masculinity, repression, modern society, and rebellion.
In Zodiac, the serial killer isn’t the main focus. It’s about the obsession and great lengths people will go to find the elusive murderer. Seven focuses on themes of religion and morality. I can easily pick apart each of Fincher’s films. There’s always a twist that catches you off-guard, but it ultimately makes sense for the story. The Killer is straightforward. You understand the themes of the film, but there’s not much meat to the content itself.
It’s an exciting opening when Fassbender’s character misses his target. We’re led on a false sense of security by believing he’s a top-tier assassin. That gives the film a fun thrill for the first act until he returns home. But even then, Fincher doesn’t do much with that concept. Once the focus of the film switches to him finding the people responsible for putting his girlfriend (Sophie Charlotte) in the hospital, it takes the easiest route possible for the remainder of the runtime.
From there on, you can easily guess how each chapter goes. The Killer is shot beautifully, which should come as no surprise. There’s also an exciting fight sequence with The Brute (Sala Baker). But the film lacks any true bite to be deemed as something memorable. The Killer is never boring, but it’s certainly not the great film that it could’ve been.
The Characters Are Decent Enough
It’s tricky having a villain of Michael Fassbender’s nature as the lead. However, films such as Taxi Driver, A Clockwork Orange, and American Psycho managed to focus on making the audience understand their characters. We understand The Killer (who goes unnamed in the film) and Michael Fassbender is a fascinating watch. There’s a nice layer of him trying to hold in his emotions. But the biggest issue comes from the lack of challenge that comes The Killer’s way.
Brute is the only threat in The Killer’s journey. We get some finely acted scenes from The Expert (Swinton) and The Lawyer (Parnell), but they don’t make much of a lasting impression overall. With the supporting characters not having much dimension, there’s not much to gravitate towards. The Killer is fine as the protagonist, but his journey gets quite boring near the end because he doesn’t particularly change.
He tackles his goals easily and the kills aren’t quite stylish and fun enough to appreciate the film. This is essentially a revenge story, but films like Kill Bill or John Wick have a thrilling arc because of the great characters and tremendous fight sequences. Unfortunately, The Killer doesn’t have that and the Netflix film feels empty once the credits roll.
The Killer Isn’t A Bad Film
Like I said previously, The Killer isn’t a bad film. It’s just one with missed opportunities. The problem isn’t that it’s straightforward. It’s just an extremely predictable piece that doesn’t try to excite all too much. The world itself is quite intriguing, and The Expert’s discussion with The Killer was interesting. It would’ve been great to get a deeper dive into these characters. Unfortunately, we’re left with a film that’s good enough to watch, but not great enough to stand up to most of Fincher’s best.
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