In 1995, there was a movie named “Seven” (aka “Se7en”) that was directed by David Fincher and written by Andrew Kevin Walker. Some people consider it David Fincher’s best movie – including me. I would say it’s also Andrew Kevin Walker’s best movie, but I haven’t seen any of his other movies. I’ve seen “Se7en” several times. Sometimes I notice something new when I rewatch it. It took almost 30 years for the director and writer to work together again – unless you count the “script doctor” work that Walker did on a on couple Fincher movies. Their second collaboration is called “The Killer” and is playing in a few movie theaters and on Netflix. I’ve seen this movie twice – once in a movie theater and the second time on Netflix. I watched it a second time to see if I missed something the first time – but I don’t think I did.
“The Killer” is based on a comic book series written by Alexis ‘Matz’ Nolent and illustrated by Luc Jacamon. It makes sense that the movie is based on a comic because the movie storyline is in chapters, sort of like issues of a comic book series. Chapter 1 is in Paris where the main character named “The Killer” (Michael Fassbender) – I don’t think they ever say his real name – is waiting for his next target to show up. He’s been waiting several days. As he’s waiting, his voiceover – which continues throughout the movie – describes what he believes it takes to be a hired killer. “Stick to the plan. Anticipate, don’t improvise” and things like that. Eventually, the target arrives at the location, but things don’t go as planned and the target isn’t killed. Instead of completing his assignment, the Killer quickly leaves much to the dismay of “The Lawyer” (Charles Parnell) who gives him his targets. The lawyer is very upset that – for the first time – the killer didn’t get the job done.
Chapter two is in the Dominican Republic where the killer has a hideout. When he arrives, he discovers that people had come and almost killed the woman he lives with (Sophie Charlotte). After making sure that she’s OK in the hospital, he finds out everything he can about what happened. He determines that since he didn’t complete the assignment, people are cleaning up all the loose ends, which includes getting rid of him.
The rest of the chapters in the movie are the various cities that the killer goes to looking for revenge including speaking to the lawyer and the people who harmed the woman (I don’t think they mention if she’s his wife or his girlfriend). The storyline basically turns into a revenge movie. That’s the main reason I watched it a 2nd time. I thought maybe I missed a plot point, but I didn’t see one on the second viewing.
Don’t get me wrong, I liked this movie a lot. Although, I may not have liked it if David Fincher didn’t direct it. He does great things with the very simple storyline. He creates tension from the smallest incidents like when someone may be following the killer. There is also a very well-done fight scene. Michael Fassbender is great playing an emotionless and focused killer. There’s also excellent cinematography. This movie really needs to be seen in a movie theater.
However, I have a lot of problems with the storyline. It’s essentially like the revenge movies Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in such as “Collateral Damage” or “Commando”. The killer wants revenge because people hurt someone close to him. There are even a few jokes in this movie like in the Schwarzenegger movies, although they aren’t the corny one-liners. The killers’ aliases on credit cards are names from TV shows in the 70s (Lou Grant, George Jefferson, Felix Unger, Oscar Madison) and there is a very funny joke that “the expert” (Tilda Swinton) tells during an unusual conversation with the killer.
The first time I saw the movie I thought that maybe the storyline was like that because it was being faithful to the comic book series. I didn’t read the comics because – in the words of a comic bookstore employee – “they completely sold out once they announced the David Fincher movie.” I even thought that maybe the jokes in the movie were from the comic book series. However, after I saw the movie, I read a synopsis of the first few issues of the comic book series. The first issue is the killer waiting for his target in Paris – just like the movie – but in the comic there is a lot of backstories. For example, the killer thinks back to the first time he had to kill someone. He didn’t have a gun, so he beat the person to death. That wasn’t in the movie. Also, as far as I can tell the jokes in the movie aren’t in the comic.
The movie storyline even contradicts itself in some places. He says “anticipate, don’t improvise” yet he has never anticipated what to do if he didn’t complete a mission? Also, the people who attack the woman said they didn’t want any witnesses, but she wouldn’t have witnessed anything since he wasn’t home. Why did they go into the house before the killer arrived?
The other thing I didn’t like about the movie is the blatant product placement. I usually don’t mind seeing a brand name or a real company name, but this movie goes beyond that. For example, he eats at McDonalds and the voice over LITERALLY talks about how many people eat at McDonalds. The most blatant product placement is for Amazon (which is odd since Amazon Studios is a competitor to Netflix who produced this movie). The movie shows the killer ordering something from Amazon on his phone and then later picking the item up from an Amazon locker. It’s a commercial that plays in the movie.
Overall, I think “The Killer” is a good David Fincher movie. It’s definitely a movie to see in a movie theater so you can really see Fincher’s’ style and see all the great cinematography. I missed that when I watched it on Netflix. However, it’s not a good Andrew Kevin Walker script. Even the comic book series the movie is based on seems to have a better story (according to the synopsis I read). If you’re hoping this movie will compare to “Se7en”, you’ll be very disappointed.
Overall: 6.5 OUT OF 10 STARS
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