The Killer

David Fincher is back for his twelfth feature film, aptly named The Killer. It opens with a hitman (Michael Fassbender) botching a job he was confident in. After fleeing the scene, he learns his girlfriend has been attacked and travels the world to get revenge.

In typical Fincher style, the action and direction was very clinical and precise. Every word and movement of both characters and camera had a purpose. It felt designed in a laboratory and implemented by robots – I mean this in a good way!

The action is very grounded and realistic. Every bullet, punch, and wound feel real, like it could happen to you. Most action films have unlimited bullets and nearly invincible heroes and villains. This was a very fun watch for this reason – the stakes felt so real. I had no idea if The Killer was going to be stopped at any given time. He was not John Wick. He was just a guy.

Another big strength of this film was its incredible soundtrack and score. Using almost exclusively songs by The Smiths and a score that evokes tension at every moment, this film never fails to remind you that it rocks.

A big factor of the world building in this film involved reminding you that The Killer was just a regular person like you or me. He eats McDonalds and orders supplies from Amazon – he lives in the modern world, making the movie a little scarier than it would be if made 20 years ago. By using technology to his advantage, The Killer is taking his effectiveness to the next level.

I didn’t love the voiceover. The longer it went on, the more I was annoyed by the constant narration. It was repetitive and didn’t add much for me.

I’d give this film a solid 7/10. I would totally watch this again, and it made me want to go through and watch the rest of Fincher’s films that I haven’t seen yet (The Game, Panic Room).