Time: 118 Minutes
Age Rating: R16 – Violence & offensive language
Cast:
Michael Fassbender as The Killer
Tilda Swinton as The Expert
Charles Parnell as The Lawyer
Arliss Howard as The Client
Kerry O’Malley as Dolores
Sophie Charlotte as Magdala
Emiliano Pernía as Marcus
Gabriel Polanco as Leo
Sala Baker as The Brute
Director: David Fincher

The Killer was one of my most anticipated movies of 2023. David Fincher is one of my favourite directors, so naturally I was looking forward to his next film. I’m one of the rare people who really liked his last movie Mank, but his newest film The Killer seemed to be going back to what people expect from a Fincher movie. I watched the movie on Netflix and unfortunately not in cinemas in its limited theater run, but I thought it was quite good.

The Killer is definitely up there alongside Panic Room as David Fincher’s most simple and straightforward movie. The film is split up into chapters or sections, and in each one The Killer would plan out and execute a kill. It shows us his process, how he prepares, and how he works. I should mention that despite the trailers, this is not an action thriller. The first 20 minutes of the movie alone delves into thorough depth about The Killer’s process, and it really takes its time. It is a slower moving film so you’ll quickly figure out whether you are on this movie’s wavelength or not. It is also something of a character study, with the constant unbreaking focus on Michael Fassbender’s protagonist, and the use of his narration giving you an insight into his thoughts. The narration might not work for everyone but I thought it worked for the film. It does more than just giving exposition, it gives an insight as to his thoughts, or at least what he’s telling himself. It also provides some of the movie’s more dark comedy. You could say that The Killer is David Fincher’s coldest movie, outside of a couple scenes in which we get glimpses into The Killer’s personal life and what spurs him on his path of killing for much of the movie. However, this very detached approach works for this story. That said, I admit I wasn’t as invested in the movie as much as I thought I would be, I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing. It’s certainly put together masterfully, I wasn’t bored, and it had my attention the whole time, but it was difficult for me to call the movie riveting. There’s not much depth, there isn’t a whole lot of the movie, and one could call it more of a genre exercise compared to his other work. That said, it’ll likely be one of the best made genre exercises that you’ll see.

The movie stars Michael Fassbender in his first role in a couple years, playing the titular killer. Fassbender is perfectly cast here, and gives a very subtle and convincing performance as this perfectionist assassin. The rest of the cast including Charles Parnell are also good and play their roles well. The standout however is Tilda Swinton who is excellent and really makes the most of her screentime.

David Fincher’s direction here definitely goes back to what you would expect from him, falling in line with his sleek approach with Gone Girl and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. As expected from Fincher, its meticulously crafted and well put together on a technical level. The cinematography is slick, the sound design is excellent (the movie relies heavily on it), and the editing is top notch. The score is also great, with Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross creating the right feeling for the movie, while not being overbearing. All the elements come together to help build up the atmosphere and tension, as well as putting you in the mindset of the lead character. As said before, the movie definitely isn’t an action movie, the killing scenes are executions more than anything, and the violence is fittingly brutal, but fast. The exception is one confrontation which was one of the highlights of the movie, and was one of the best fight scenes I’ve seen in a recent movie, especially from a non action movie. Finally, I will say that I watched this at home on Netflix, but it undoubtedly would’ve been much better experienced in the cinema.

The Killer is a straightforward and simple yet effective and meticulously crafted thriller, greatly directed, and with solid performances. It is far from David Fincher’s best (in fact one of his weaker movies), and I’ll admit it was slightly disappointing from what I expected. Nonetheless, it’s quite good for what it is, and is worth watching.