Hot take: this is actually up there as one of my favorite films by Fincher, not quite as methodically composed as Se7en within the thriller genre or as cinematographically immersive as Panic Room as another tension builder, but the first 20 minutes of this ? Some of the greatest suspense and sleek filmmaking I've seen all year and as a big fan of the novel, a lot of the visuals and mantra as well as the character of the killer were brought on so authentically by Fassbender and particularly Walker's script, which I think is the kind of minimalist, noir story and writing I love from films like this and that was another thing, I'm just a huge fan of this genre, of the assassin on a manhunt story and there's nods and homages to Le Samouraï and Don Siegel's work on a visual level that I think are superb and the film itself could've easily fit in that era of stone-cold killers with a personal mantra they keep to maintain sanity and order and I think Fincher tapping into something a bit more simple and genre-based is great, after Mank this is a very welcome change of pace and the fact that he returned to something like this as boldly and as efficiently as he did is an indication of a great director in my eyes, one who almost like the killer's character is able to blend in and ingratiate himself into any environment or circumstance. This is also like THE BEST Hitman adaptation we're ever gonna get lmao, Fincher throughout the film got agent 47's character BETTER than the two movie adaptations actually about him lol 🤣and that house fight is exactly what happens when things go wrong in the game and I thought the handheld camerawork (that he uses more than in any other film of his to date) was sublime, it has this almost like artificial enhancement and shake added in post, feels like it was on a tripod or steadicam when shooting and then someone started randomly beating the shit out of the camera operator and he just went with it and yeah it was cool as fuck, great review btw 🤗
Needed some more emotional connection for me get invested. Either with his personal life, or the people he's killing. Each chapter felt weaker and more distant. Definitely worth watching though.
yes, until tilda gets there i was completely frozen out of the movie. The first half hour sets you up for a much different experience then the one you end up getting
I agree with this take. This movie felt so cold and detached that I didn't really care what was happening. No heroe's journey. No emotional core. No characters to speak of, really. A 2 hour movie that felt like a 25 min short story - but not in a good way. There just wasn't enough drama or (as mentioned) emotion to really make you care. I have no idea how they managed to stretch such a paper thin story into a feature length movie. Realize that Se7en was roughly the same length but managed to cram SO much more story into that time. Sure, it was a good looking movie with that "beige/eggshell white/dove grey/walnut brown" color scheme that Fincher seems to like nowadays. Glossy and stylish in that sort of "interior design magazine" kind of way. But that was it. 2.5/5 stars.
Me and a few mates saw this and came away feeling wholly satisfied. The Killer is a lean, slick hitman film. No messing. After KOTFM I appreciated that.
My sole issue with the film is that his boss charged a mere $125,000 or $150k extra for "cleanup". So he hires a 63 year old British woman and a 48 year old Florida man (How much could they have possibly made on that job? $40k each?) to go murder his best likely most profitable hitman for...greed? Like if he had said $1M extra or something fine but this movie is about a $150k job??
Respect your opinion and I can even relate to some degree. I want to give it another watch or three before forming a final opinion. To offer a counter argument, I think that the voice over narration might be the defining feature of the film. I think it’s meant to buck the conventions normally associated with what many consider to be a lazy storytelling device. I think the narration both provides a unique artistic representation of the noise our brains make: the constant bubbling of thoughts and mantras coming up from our subconscious, helping us to get through whatever absurd task we have to accomplish amid a sea of chaos. I think it’s also meant to serve the opposite of function of most voice over narration: rather than overtly telling us what the character is thinking, or helping the audience out with the plot, The Killer’s wall-to-wall verbal diarrhea is more illuminating in it’s contradictions and omissions. He is the epitome of and unreliable narrator. Is it groundbreaking, zeitgeisty stuff like Fincher’s other movies? No. But I think there’s a little more going on than some give it credit for, even if it’s just Fincher experimenting with voice over and sound design.
You hear a man talk to himself about how such a well oiled machine he is and wonder as things play out is he trying to convince the audience or himself? And being that these are his inner thoughts, yes, he's trying to convince himself how good at his job he is while also revealing how bored with it he's become.
It was one I was looking forward to. I remember when I picked up the graphic novel and fell in love with it. Not that long after Fincher was announced to make an adaptation on it but it never happened. Then last year I found out it’s finally going to happen. I had a good time watching it, maybe cause I enjoyed it already the character, but there were some things that change that I wish were there, but I always say that’s just me personally. After viewing it I knew people weren’t gonna like it or consider it great. To me Social Network will always be his best. That’s the film that change my way of watching movies from the cliche, blockbuster films I use to watch. So that’s always on top. But I did like this one and plan on seeing again on Netflix. Great video.
This is probably Fincher's worst, most dull movie. I can see the testosterone Fight Club dudes eating it up though, wishing they could be this cool and macho.
I personally liked it, but I agree wholeheartedly agree with the last part of your comment. I've never been able to grasp what people find so alluring about Fight Club.
*spoiler* I knew I should stop watching when after all the pretentious philosophic intro crap talk, he proceeds to assembling the gun late and miss the shot. CoME oN!!!! I thought was FailArmy or other sort of comedy!
I agree with what you say but you don't really say enough to warrant a whole video, if you know what I mean. Get into some detail, some specific problems of what worked and why, what didn't work and why
It felt like a crappy imitation of one of his movies. And the editing and production looked cheap, almost like a TV show. The story was so threadbare and played straight. I only got mildly interested when he missed the shot but then it went back to how it was. Definitely my least favorite of his movies (those I've seen).
Hot take: this is actually up there as one of my favorite films by Fincher, not quite as methodically composed as Se7en within the thriller genre or as cinematographically immersive as Panic Room as another tension builder, but the first 20 minutes of this ? Some of the greatest suspense and sleek filmmaking I've seen all year and as a big fan of the novel, a lot of the visuals and mantra as well as the character of the killer were brought on so authentically by Fassbender and particularly Walker's script, which I think is the kind of minimalist, noir story and writing I love from films like this and that was another thing, I'm just a huge fan of this genre, of the assassin on a manhunt story and there's nods and homages to Le Samouraï and Don Siegel's work on a visual level that I think are superb and the film itself could've easily fit in that era of stone-cold killers with a personal mantra they keep to maintain sanity and order and I think Fincher tapping into something a bit more simple and genre-based is great, after Mank this is a very welcome change of pace and the fact that he returned to something like this as boldly and as efficiently as he did is an indication of a great director in my eyes, one who almost like the killer's character is able to blend in and ingratiate himself into any environment or circumstance.
This is also like THE BEST Hitman adaptation we're ever gonna get lmao, Fincher throughout the film got agent 47's character BETTER than the two movie adaptations actually about him lol 🤣and that house fight is exactly what happens when things go wrong in the game and I thought the handheld camerawork (that he uses more than in any other film of his to date) was sublime, it has this almost like artificial enhancement and shake added in post, feels like it was on a tripod or steadicam when shooting and then someone started randomly beating the shit out of the camera operator and he just went with it and yeah it was cool as fuck, great review btw 🤗
Needed some more emotional connection for me get invested. Either with his personal life, or the people he's killing. Each chapter felt weaker and more distant. Definitely worth watching though.
yes, until tilda gets there i was completely frozen out of the movie. The first half hour sets you up for a much different experience then the one you end up getting
Dude you gotta cool it with the cuts. The video is just cut cut cut cut. I can't watch this. Give it some time to breathe.
I think it’s because he used the teaser trailer footage on loop. That one is overly edited and has way too many cuts
I agree with this take. This movie felt so cold and detached that I didn't really care what was happening. No heroe's journey. No emotional core. No characters to speak of, really. A 2 hour movie that felt like a 25 min short story - but not in a good way. There just wasn't enough drama or (as mentioned) emotion to really make you care. I have no idea how they managed to stretch such a paper thin story into a feature length movie. Realize that Se7en was roughly the same length but managed to cram SO much more story into that time. Sure, it was a good looking movie with that "beige/eggshell white/dove grey/walnut brown" color scheme that Fincher seems to like nowadays. Glossy and stylish in that sort of "interior design magazine" kind of way. But that was it. 2.5/5 stars.
Me and a few mates saw this and came away feeling wholly satisfied. The Killer is a lean, slick hitman film. No messing. After KOTFM I appreciated that.
My sole issue with the film is that his boss charged a mere $125,000 or $150k extra for "cleanup". So he hires a 63 year old British woman and a 48 year old Florida man (How much could they have possibly made on that job? $40k each?) to go murder his best likely most profitable hitman for...greed? Like if he had said $1M extra or something fine but this movie is about a $150k job??
Respect your opinion and I can even relate to some degree. I want to give it another watch or three before forming a final opinion.
To offer a counter argument, I think that the voice over narration might be the defining feature of the film. I think it’s meant to buck the conventions normally associated with what many consider to be a lazy storytelling device. I think the narration both provides a unique artistic representation of the noise our brains make: the constant bubbling of thoughts and mantras coming up from our subconscious, helping us to get through whatever absurd task we have to accomplish amid a sea of chaos.
I think it’s also meant to serve the opposite of function of most voice over narration: rather than overtly telling us what the character is thinking, or helping the audience out with the plot, The Killer’s wall-to-wall verbal diarrhea is more illuminating in it’s contradictions and omissions. He is the epitome of and unreliable narrator.
Is it groundbreaking, zeitgeisty stuff like Fincher’s other movies? No. But I think there’s a little more going on than some give it credit for, even if it’s just Fincher experimenting with voice over and sound design.
You hear a man talk to himself about how such a well oiled machine he is and wonder as things play out is he trying to convince the audience or himself? And being that these are his inner thoughts, yes, he's trying to convince himself how good at his job he is while also revealing how bored with it he's become.
It was one I was looking forward to. I remember when I picked up the graphic novel and fell in love with it. Not that long after Fincher was announced to make an adaptation on it but it never happened. Then last year I found out it’s finally going to happen. I had a good time watching it, maybe cause I enjoyed it already the character, but there were some things that change that I wish were there, but I always say that’s just me personally. After viewing it I knew people weren’t gonna like it or consider it great. To me Social Network will always be his best. That’s the film that change my way of watching movies from the cliche, blockbuster films I use to watch. So that’s always on top. But I did like this one and plan on seeing again on Netflix. Great video.
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’m in the same boat with yah in believing that the Social Network is his best effort by far.
agreed
This is probably Fincher's worst, most dull movie.
I can see the testosterone Fight Club dudes eating it up though, wishing they could be this cool and macho.
I personally liked it, but I agree wholeheartedly agree with the last part of your comment. I've never been able to grasp what people find so alluring about Fight Club.
*spoiler* I knew I should stop watching when after all the pretentious philosophic intro crap talk, he proceeds to assembling the gun late and miss the shot. CoME oN!!!! I thought was FailArmy or other sort of comedy!
I love it.
The film was absolute garbage
Weak or stripped down? I think the latter.
Tilda Swinton stole the entire movie with her scene
I agree with what you say but you don't really say enough to warrant a whole video, if you know what I mean. Get into some detail, some specific problems of what worked and why, what didn't work and why
It felt like a crappy imitation of one of his movies. And the editing and production looked cheap, almost like a TV show. The story was so threadbare and played straight. I only got mildly interested when he missed the shot but then it went back to how it was. Definitely my least favorite of his movies (those I've seen).
end?!?!?!