Movie Review: ‘The Killer’

Review by James Lindorf

David Fincher is one of the most beloved and highly regarded directors. Only one of his directorial efforts has received a score under 70% from review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. His fans argue for hours over whether “The Social Network,” “Fight Club,” or “Se7en” is his best movie. The excitement is high for his latest film, “The Killer,” which is currently experiencing a limited theatrical release in preparation for awards season before heading to Netflix on November 10th.

The Killer (Michael Fassbender) is a meticulous and patient man. After a long and successful career, he has enough money to retire. But developing the intricate plans and the challenge of fulfilling a contract is all he knows and desires to do. However, despite his detailed planning, his latest target survived the attempt on his life, and now The Killer has become the hunted. To earn a chance at a new life, The Killer will have to take on his angry boss, The Lawyer (Charles Parnell), and two hostile coworkers, The Brute (Sala Baker) and The Expert (Tilda Swinton).

Featuring a main character without a name is unusual but not groundbreaking. Just look at The Man With No Name, The Driver, or Fincher’s own The Narrator for the power that can come from a character who can truly lose themselves in their mission or the banality of their day-to-day. The Killer is a bit of column A and a bit of column B. He is obsessed with completing his contracts, but he approaches it with the joy of a man who has spent 20 years in a windowless cubicle working on TPS reports. Unfortunately, that level of excitement is not only contained in the mind of The Killer; it is the same amount of joy Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker infused in this film. Given that this is the duo that brought so much darkness and character to “Se7en,” it is hard to believe that this was a failure of execution. Instead, it is most likely a misstep in planning or adapting the French graphic novel series it is based on.

There are only three elements that imbue the film with life. A running joke where The Killer uses a series of aliases from television shows of the 70s and 80s. They can be related to the activity, the location, or just a reference to a popular show. Trying to guess what name he will use next or figuring out the connection is the one consistent bright point throughout the film. An action scene between The Killer and The Brute shakes the screen with intensity and is fittingly brutal. The impressive array of unorthodox implements that come into play during the extended fight scene keeps the fighters and the audience on their toes. If Fincher put a little more trust into the actors and their stunt doubles and cut out the overabundance of unnecessary edits, the sequence could be up for the best fight of the year in a year with a John Wick movie. The final element is a dialogue-heavy scene between The Killer and The Expert about the hazards of the job and the merits of good food and spirits. It gives Fassbender and especially Swinton a few minutes to focus on their characters and act. My favorite interaction is between The Killer and a cab driver. Still, his chat with The Expert is the best exchange between any two characters in the entire film.

Unfortunately, two scenes and a running joke do not make a movie. “The Killer” has tons of technical expertise, like every Fincher film. However, its lack of fun and excitement will make it forgettable to all but the most hardcore Fincher fans and film nerds, earning “The Killer” a disappointing 3 out of 5.
Rating: R
Genre: Mystery & thriller, Action, Adventure, Crime
Original Language: English
Director: David Fincher
Producer: Ceán Chaffin
Writer: Andrew Kevin Walker
Release Date (Theaters): October 27th, 2023 Limited
Release Date (Streaming): November 10th, 2023
Runtime: 1h 58m
Distributor: Netflix
Production Co: Archaia Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Boom! Studios, Plan B Entertainment, Panic Pictures (II)