Hollywood seems to start figuring people like me out visually. It’s well documented that I am not a “blood and guts” kind of guy, and the more graphic the less likely I am to see a film. However, films like The Killer’s Game is able to do this in a way that makes a fun film more watchable for a guy like me.
Dave Bautista plays Joe Flood, one of the most well-known hitmen in all of Europe who ends up crossing paths with ballerina Maize (Sofia Boutella) during a job at one of her performances. Joe has been dealing with serious headaches and tunnel vision as of late, making him re-think his future. After a diagnosis that tells him he has a rare and uncurable disease that only gives him three months to live, he ends up taking out a $2 million contract on himself through a former rival named Marianna (Pom Klementieff) after his mentor, Zvi (Ben Kingsley), won’t. Mere moments before the contract becomes active, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed, and when Marianna won’t cancel the contract, he goes on the run to survive and make a future with his new love.
Stuntman J.J. Perry is in the director’s chair for the first time after the Jamie Foxx vehicle Day Shift in a film that he uses his former job in almost to an extreme. There is plenty of action and violence here, but the way he does it is in the way films and television are leaning towards in that “we know this is CGI, and we know that you know that we know it’s CGI, so let’s just have fun with it” way that reminds me of a graphic novel (especially in the way they use that violence to put the names of the characters on the screen when they are introduced). There is a lot of fun to be had here, and it definitely roped me in with a script that kept things in less than two hours. The only downside to that script is how rushed the third act seemed to be; I get that there is some groundwork that needs to be laid for the story (which is really well done in the opening by introducing Joe during a job and getting him and Maize to meet fairly quickly alongside his relationship with Zvi), but by the time the contract is official, the pacing puts the pedal to the medal in a way that I would have loved to see Joe fight more with his colleagues and rivals to show how awesome all of them really are played out to be before facing him.
What impressed me the most here is Bautista himself. Being a longtime fan of his even before he moved into acting, he seems to have worked his career path at the correct pace before taking a film that is truly one that he has to carry. There have been things like the My Spy films (enjoyed the first one but have not seen the second one yet), but The Killer’s Game really is Joe’s story, and Bautista really has gotten to the point in his career that he is able to handle that responsibility well. He shows good range while keeping the toughness that his character has from a lifetime of being the “assassin with a moral code” balance in place. With a great cast around him and some cool twists and turns, I truly enjoyed this film more than I thought I would. I still would have appreciated more from the opponents he faces to show more of what Joe is up against, but this is still a fun way to spend a couple of hours, so check it out!
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