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Posted: |
Nov 14, 2023 - 4:15 PM
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By: |
Ado
(Member)
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I agree with the Chicago Tribune review, it is a film about nothing, pretty much a technically adroit venue for violence.
The most accomplished part of the film is the opening credits, which are terrific, but the film that followed was disappointing.
Spoiler-esque follows
.........................
And a central theme of the movie that motivated this character makes no sense whatsoever. This is a soul-less killer, so he would not have people he loves at his house, nor would he go on a revenge tour besides, it is essentially contradictory, which is perhaps what they wanted, but it just does not sell me.
And that smattering of texting and websites pop outs on the screen, that is just terrible stuff, I cannot stand it. Very Lifetime movie of the week stuff here.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/movies/sc-ent-the-killer-netflix-rev-1103-20231102-zqv6mrhsbbdddjfuugz7tgfhce-story.html
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joan hue, I'd posit that one of director David Fincher's biggest thematic tropes is characters who aren't what they think they are. That template applies almost across the board to the main (and smaller) characters in most of his films.
As seriously as the situations in The Killer cry out to be taken seriously, I'd argue this is an element of the movie's satire, as our protagonist is neither as competant or as moral as he thinks he is.
The satire is he's another amoral hatchet-wielder in a world of hatchet-wielders, the only limitation to the all-around pretension being indicated by the financial chart behind the big fish played by Arliss Howard in the climactic scene.
I loved Howard's Sub Pop records t-shirt. That says a lot.
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Posted: |
Nov 14, 2023 - 9:44 PM
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By: |
joan hue
(Member)
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joan hue, I'd posit that one of director David Fincher's biggest thematic tropes is characters who aren't what they think they are. That template applies almost across the board to the main (and smaller) characters in most of his films.
As seriously as the situations in The Killer cry out to be taken seriously, I'd argue this is an element of the movie's satire, as our protagonist is neither as competant or as moral as he thinks he is.
Hey BornOfAJackal, I've never considered the thematic tropes you mention in Fincher movies. Those tropes certainly fit The Killer.
I agree the protagonist isn't as competent as I thinks he is. I'm confused when you say he isn't as moral as he thinks he is. Because of his internal dialogue, I thought he never considered himself moral, just amoral. He never asks why he kills certain people. He doesn't care who his victims are. He just takes the money. Maybe I missed something.
We are all bringing different views to this movie, and that should be fine! Some people love this movie, some hate it, and some are like I am. I really liked parts of it, but after the glowing reviews, I expected more emotional engagement.
,
P.S. I'd just like to add that I think nuts-score and BornOfAJackal are amazing writers. Both of you display a written-word fluency and vocabulary that I envy.
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Yes, you told us. 5 times now.
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Posted: |
Nov 15, 2023 - 10:22 AM
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By: |
Thor
(Member)
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Just saw it, and absolutely LOVED it! I've always been a sucker for mainstream revenge thrillers, whether it's Jason Statham or Liam Neeson or Denzel Washington, but to see the relatively familiar tropes molded through the lens of David Fincher's vision and ambition, lifts everything up a few notches. All this complaining about voiceover, I don't get -- yes, there's a bit, especially in the amazing opening scene of the film, but it was surprisingly silent, allowing us to extrapolate and experience the worlds he inhabits on our own.
I thought the score worked well in context (mirroring the monomaniacal drive of Fassbender's character), although it's not something I would listen to alone (as opposed to their work on GONE GIRL or MANK).
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I agree the protagonist isn't as competent as I thinks he is. I'm confused when you say he isn't as moral as he thinks he is. Because of his internal dialogue, I thought he never considered himself moral, just amoral. He never asks why he kills certain people. He doesn't care who his victims are. He just takes the money. Maybe I missed something.
You're not missing anything, joan. In my book, when you've accepted the call to kill for money, you've tossed out any remaining shreds of your own morality. To then turn around and target those who target you for botching a job (however unintentionally) doesn't redeem you. Maybe in a mid-20th-century cowboy movie it does, but not this one.
This movie, to me, satirizes the vanity that many competant but shallow people mistake for moral backbone. The "I'm taking what's mine and I'm right to do so" mentality that characterizes too many arrived and wannabe public figures. The selling of anti-humanism as humanism.
All of it warned of by George Orwell.
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Interesting. And yes, I can see that, what they were trying to achieve. Compared to most films these days, it was quite lean n mean. How those 70s films were.
But comparing to classics of the era is a bit of a risky route. Although i liked The Killer, the biggest difference for me was the films he references had sizzling quotable dialogue. Cant say The Killer script did. It was functional and believable and lean but you couldnt say it was memorable.
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It helps to have had decades worth of re-watches to remember dialogue from any movie. This one just came out! Only time and it's intended audience over that time could determine if quotability should be held in such high standard.
I doubt anyone walked out of Charley Varrick in October 1973 quoting to his friends, "The problem is the big gorilla in the maroon car who's trying to kill me!"
I did. "Didn't figure you for Clint Eastwood" was one I remember on first viewing. And joe Don baker's lines were glorious. "Sonny Boy, you and me are just not communicating"
There's nothing like that in The Killer.
Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the film but 20 years n 5 watches ain't gonna make the dialogue any more memorable.
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On the list, nuts.
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