David Fincher’s latest release is a crime thriller titled ‘The Killer’. The Killer is a repetitive and predictable film, which kills the excitement of the viewers.
David Fincher has delivered only one Classic in his entire career. Fight Club is amongst one of the finest thrillers ever made in World Cinema. The mind-bending thriller drives you crazy and takes you on an unbelievable ride.
The Killer is not even half of it and is a strictly average film coming from David Fincher. The film making level is extremely ordinary which doesn’t give much justice to Fincher’s standard.
A professional assassin (Michael Fassbender) is hired to kill an unnamed target in a Parisian hotel room. While waiting, he narrates his routine activities and reflects on his cynical and empathetic nature. When the target arrives with a dominatrix, the killer misses his shot, accidentally shooting the dominatrix. He discovers that his hideout in the Dominican Republic has been compromised, and his girlfriend has been attacked by assassins sent by Hodges (Charles Parnell) to eliminate loose ends. He tracks down the assassins and eliminates them.
Michael Fassbender as The Killer has killed it with his performance. He literally kills each and every single person out there with his fabulous act. Even though the film’s narrative seems repetitive and predictable, Michael Fassbender keeps the viewers hooked with his staggering act. The way he delivers dialogue, the way he performs killings, the way he performs action, each and everything is top-notch. He is truly a one man show in The Killer. The best part about The Killer is that Michael Fassbender has 90-95% of screen-space. His performance is so convincing that you won’t be able to take your eyes off even for a second when he is on-screen. The rest of the cast is decent but comes nowhere close to Michael Fassbender.
David Fincher is a renowned director known for making thriller films. There are many films of Fincher which are regarded as Classics but are actually sort of overrated. Fincher every time tries to do something different but is not able to present it in a much effective and engaging way. Fincher does the same with The Killer by keeping it very simple.
The dialogues of The Killer are extremely powerful. Even though Michael Fassbender delivers the same dialogues again and again before killing someone, you won’t feel bored listening to it. Some dialogues have really deep and wise meaning.
The runtime of The Killer is 2 hours and it has a fast paced screenplay. The screenplay is pacy enough for a thriller but it fails to engage the audience till the end. Each and every killing with something innovative and creative writing would have made this film much better.
A thriller should have a less runtime and The Killer gets this thing right. A thriller should be engaging, gripping and interesting, which is lacking here. A perfect thriller should also have an intellectual writing which can keep the audience invested. The Killer looks more like a Discovery Channel show which gives the vibes of documentary in between.
David Fincher tries too hard to make The Killer a crime thriller but ends up making a predictable crime drama with nothing much in store for thriller fans.
The Killer will be enjoyed by the fans of David Fincher. The movie lovers who are familiar with David Fincher’s cinema will find this film a bit disappointing. The Killer does not add up anything but kills down the legacy created by David Fincher. The Killer should be given a try for Michael Fassbender’s honest performance and nothing else.
Rating – 2.5/5*
