The Killer

THE KILLER (15)

D: David Fincher

Netflix / Plan B / Boom! Studios / Panic Pictures (William Doyle, Peter Mavromates & Ceán Chaffin)

US 🇺🇸 2023

118 mins

Action/Thriller

W: Andrew Kevin Walker [based on the graphic novel by Alex ‘Matz’ Nolent & Luc Jacamon]

DP: Erik Messerschmidt

Ed: Kirk Baxter

Mus: Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

Michael Fassbender (The Killer), Tilda Swinton (The Expert), Charles Parnell (The Lawyer), Arliss Howard (The Client), Kerry O’Malley (Dolores), Sophie Charlotte (Magdala)

It’s a genuine rarity for a David Fincher film to go under the radar, but that’s what happened with his 2023 release, The Killer, which received a very limited cinema release before it went to Netflix’s streaming platform. A true shame, as it’s a film which deserved a bigger audience and box office success.

Michael Fassbender plays the unnamed eponymous character, credited only as The Killer, a professional hitman who has a meticulous craft to carrying out his duties.  Following a failed assassination attempt (his first), he finds himself a target for those who hired him and goes on a quest for revenge after his girlfriend comes to harm.

It’s a general plot which has been done many times before, but Fincher’s slick style lends itself to the material perfectly, as well as a solid performance from Fassbender, who delivers very little dialogue aside from his narration.

Based on a French graphic novel, it is quite deliberately paced, which may come as a disappointment to those expecting a John Wick or Jason Bourne style action thriller, as it’s far more grounded than that and takes place in a world where people do make mistakes.

Cinema audiences should have given a greater opportunity to catch this one, since it is one of the better films 2023 had to offer.  Perhaps it might not have made a killing at the box office, but it deserved a better shot.

8/10