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R
for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual material, brief drug use and nudity.
Starring
Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautista, Ben Kingsley, Pom Klementieff, Ice Cube
Director
J.J. Perry
Producer
Steve Richards, Andrew Lazar,
Genres
Action/Adventure
Comedy
Released by
Lionsgate on
9/13/2024
Nationwide
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Trailer
Review
Stunt coordinator-turned-director J.J. Perry, making his sophomore feature, knows what he wants from his movie and understands the B-movie aesthetic necessary to get it. And there are times when The Killer's Game works on that level. The stunts and fights, influenced by the John Wick movies (Perry worked on the first two chapters), are done mostly with real people rather than on computers. Much of the humor is either intentional or intentionally unintentional. At its best, The Killer's Game can be enjoyable in an undemanding sort of way. At its worst, it's damn near unwatchable.
The problem is immediately evident. Although lead actor Dave Bautista has dipped his toes into dramatic parts in the past, he is generally unsuited for them. Here, he seems to be channeling Steven Seagal, who looked good in fights but did a passable imitation of a plank of wood otherwise. The screenplay contains far too many "dramatic" scenes that would require an actor of some range and ability for them to work as intended. There's also minimal chemistry between Bautista and co-star/love interest Sofia Boutella, but the awkwardness of their romantic interaction isn't sufficient to make these scenes enjoyable on a campy level. They're just bad.
The movie introduces Joe Flood (Bautista) as one of the world's most prolific assassins, although he only kills bad guys (as determined by his handler, Zvi, played by Ben Kingsley). But Joe has a problem - a recent bout of severe headaches and double vision represent symptoms of a degenerative brain disease that will reduce him to a bedridden, blind, incontinent mess before killing him. Unwilling to endure such a humiliating and debilitating end, Joe decides to take himself out of the game. Since suicide would invalidate a life insurance policy he's leaving to his new girlfriend, rising ballet star Maize (Boutella), he opts to take out a contract on his own life. Marianna (Pom Klementieff), the woman he negotiates the deal with, is all too happy to oblige: she has a vendetta against Joe and puts some of her best teams on the job.
That's when Joe gets the "happy" news. The doctor calls. He is not, in fact, terminally ill. There was a mistake. The lab mixed up the vials of blood. Now Joe has a big problem since Marianna is unwilling to cancel the contract. In fact, she doubles down on the bounty, which attracts more candidates. In order to survive, Joe has to take them all out - a K-Pop group, a pair of bikers, two Highlander brothers (whose heavily accented English comes complete with amusing subtitles), a lesbian duo who go by the name of "Party Girls," a Spanish dancer, a team of mercenaries, and - most formidable of all - a grizzled veteran looking for a retirement nest egg (Terry Crews).
Although Bautista, who has been dubbed as a "poor man's Dwayne Johnson" in some quarters (due in part to their shared wrestling background), is the film's intended draw, he is only the second biggest name in the cast. Top honors in that department goes to Ben Kingsley, who seems to enjoy these sorts of low-effort, high paying jobs. He doesn't exactly phone it in but neither is he 100% invested. He is easily outshone by Alex Kingston, who plays Zvi's wife with a scene-stealing gusto. Also appearing is Bautista's Guardians of the Galaxy co-star, Pom Klementieff, but their reunion is limited to a single scene early in the proceedings. Terry Crews is underused.
It's a bit of a chore to get to the good stuff in The Killer's Game because the exposition-laden, action-lite first half hour requires the actors to things they aren't suited for. Then things pick up. Although the fights lack the verve of John Wick, they ramp up the energy level and keep things moving. The humor is hit-and-miss. The stuff with a dumb rapper sidekick and a bemused priest would have been better left out but there are instances of black comedy that are good enough to earn the Quentin Tarantino seal of approval. As for the last kill...it's perfectly executed and wonderfully brief.
Perhaps the most curious thing about The Killer's Game is why Lionsgate opted for a theatrical release. This doesn't seem like the kind of movie likely to pack-'em-in at the multiplexes. It looks and feels like a direct-to-streaming release if there ever was one. There's nothing about the generic choreography of the action scenes that demands a big screen and the inconsistent pacing of the first half-hour could be mitigated by at-home watching. The movie falls into the category of something a viewer is likely to stick with once sitting there but it lacks anything sufficiently unique or compelling that would make it worth seeking out.
© 2024 James Berardinelli
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