Becoming The Muse

The Killer Movie Review

The Killer is a 2023 American action thriller film  directed by David Fincher. It is based on the French graphic novel series The Killer written by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. The Killer premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on 3 September and began streaming on Netflix on 10 November 2023.

The movie stars Michael Fassbender as The Killer, a professional assassin who does the unthinkable and misses a killshot… and now he has to go against his employers, associates -and himself as he bends and breaks the rules he lives by…

The Good

This slow burn action thriller has the trappings of a classical assassin story straight out of  Frederick Forsyth’s The Jackal, …

Fassbender as the The Killer is methodical assassin whose internal monologues are brought to life in the opening sequence where the hardest thing for an assassin is the wait for the mark to be in position…

"It’s amazing how physically exhausting it can be to do nothing"

— ~B 🇿🇼 (@Beatonm5) November 14, 2023

Fassbender carried the movie with his inscrutable expressions that gives nothing away yet compels you to keep watching….unlike James Bond he has an illegal license to kill.  His character doesn’t have a name but goes through fake passports and hilarious aliases named after sitcom characters…

Its a surprisingly hilarious, provocative and unsettling exploration of the dark side of human nature via the flaws and contradictions portrayed by The Killer who may or may not be growing a conscience.

A cameo appearance by Tilda Swinton as a well-spoken hitwoman described as being like a Q-Tip, offers an interesting diversion with the best lines in the movie even though she does not get a lot of screen time, she is a scene-stealer.

The Bad

Its formulaic and mostly predictable, and the slow burn pacing might even have one who prefers their adrenaline rush call it boring…..

It’s a tad absurd… but hey suspend disbelief and watch the mayhem unfold, you have watched one man armies in the form of John Wick, The Equalizer and countless others.

The Ugly

The twisted plot seems to glorify the violence and has a warped moral compass where the protagonist isn’t a model citizen but a stone cold killer, its not a story about redemption, its about revenge, merciless, swift and brutal.

The violence can get a tad disturbing and gratuitous and it has a dark and nihilistic nature offering a bleak and cynical view of the world

Stick to your plan. 
Anticipate.
Don't improvise.
Trust no one.
Never yield an advantage.
Fight only the battle you're paid to fight.
Forbid empathy.
Empathy is weakness.
Weakness is vulnerability.
Each and every step of the way, ask yourself,
"What's in it for me?" This is what it takes. What you must commit yourself to. If you want to succeed.
Simple.

Final Thoughts

Like a slow cooked meal the movie and the main character grows on and by the time the credits roll in you are surprised you clocked almost 2 hours.

Have you watched it, is it something you would watch?

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