- Starring
- Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell
- Director
- David Fincher
- Rated
- R
- Genre
- Action, Adventure, Crime
- Where to watch
- Netflix
Overall Score
Rating Overview
Rating Summary
Le Tueur (The Killer) began its life as a French comic book series in in 2007. Since that time, five volumes have been published, including its most recent which was released in 2022.
The Killer
When a cold and calculated assassin commits the only sin of his profession, missing the target, he will go on a seething-rage-filled killing spree to exact revenge on those who would dare punish him.
The Killer is a straight revenge tail that doesn’t exactly turn the genre on its head. However, together, Michael Fassbender, who plays the titular role, and director David Fincher, best known for Fight Club, manage to freshen up the genre by delivering a quiet and noir-esque, deliberately paced, tension-filled thriller that forces your attention in a way that other seizure-inducing modern murder porn eschews for the sake of slick CGI and shocking gore.
With The Killer, the dynamic duo has managed to capture the best of French cinema with its pregnant silences and atypical camera angles. However, it has tampered down the more flamboyant arthouse vibe with a dash of American action and aesthetic.
Largely thanks to Fassbender giving a masterclass in subtle and silent intensity, as well as boasting a strong supporting cast, The Killer is a win for Netflix, which has a very spotty record of churning out sub-par fare like this summer’s Heart of Stone, starring Gal Gadot. That said, the conclusion doesn’t quite build to the peak promised by the journey and is, therefore, somewhat unsatisfying. However, there is enough good and sufficient source material to justify a sequel.
Ultimately, The Killer is a north-of-competent bit of streaming fun that wouldn’t necessarily be worth the price of a theater ticket, but is certainly Worth it for a bit o’ Netflix and Chill.
WOKE ELEMENTS
None. Blessedly, Fincher et al, had but one agenda, which was to turn out an interesting and engaging film to entertain and titillate.
James Carrick
James Carrick is a passionate film enthusiast with a degree in theater and philosophy. James approaches dramatic criticism from a philosophic foundation grounded in aesthetics and ethics, offering insight and analysis that reveals layers of cinematic narrative with a touch of irreverence and a dash of snark.
4 comments
Mary Mary E Sanza
November 17, 2023 at 5:58 am
I agree! Slow but worth it, primarily for Fassbender’s solid performance.
Phil
November 20, 2023 at 11:38 am
The purpose of woke is to upend societal norms and tear down civilization by inverting our sense of right and wrong. They do this in insidious and subtle ways such as, for example, making a vile, cold-blooded assassin the protagonist in a movie. Someone we are meant to root for.
This tactic is easiest to see in Disney’s recent slate of films that turn classic evil villains into misunderstood anti-heroes. How confusing it must be for children to be presented with Maleficent (maleficence: noun. the act of committing harm or evil) and Cruella Deville (literally cruel devil) and being asked by the film to root for them as if they are heroic. They will because children are easily influenced.
This is a very disturbing and calculating form of indoctrination and it is being done more and more often. Don’t make the mistake of thinking because the wokeness is subtle that it’s not there. If you can’t see it you are already indoctrinated.
MrDraxs
November 21, 2023 at 11:31 pm
the protagonist in the movie recognizes that he is bad tough not misunderstood just selfish and uncaring to all ecxept those emotional close to him
Lane Johnson
April 4, 2024 at 6:17 pm
How can something staring Tilda Swinton not be woke? Casting her, is an inherently woke act!