Michael Fassbender in “The Killer.” (Courtesy Netflix/TNS)
In the opening sequence of “The Killer,” viewers see Michael Fassbender as a contemplative assassin, staking out a target in a sniper’s nest. Through his narration, audience members listen to a monologue about how his profession is not for the easily bored.
This dialogue only grows more ironic as the film grinds along.
Director David Fincher has developed a reputation as one of the thriller genre’s best, known for “Fight Club,” “Se7en,” “Gone Girl” and even the more grounded Facebook origin story “The Social Network.”
The synopsis of “The Killer” promised to be another pillar of his riveting filmography: it follows an unnamed assassin who, when a job goes awry, seeks to eliminate the employers who punished him for his failure one by one.
Unfortunately, “The Killer” is far from a thriller.
“The Killer” is based on a 1998 graphic novel series created by author Alexis Nolent and artist Luc Jacamon, and the plot certainly seems better suited to a book format.
The movie even keeps track of time through “chapter” title cards, and with Fassbender’s narration being the primary form of dialogue, it feels like a book written from a first-person point of view.
To be fair, the film adaptation’s advantage is its outstanding cinematography. Every shot is brushed with a masterful blend of subdued blues, yellows and grays that help establish the gritty vibe that is a common thread in Fincher’s film.
There’s also an abundance of rack focuses — when the in-focus part of a shot changes to or from the foreground or background — which narratively draw attention to a professional sniper’s detailed gaze.
However, apart from an intriguing but far too brief appearance from actress Tilda Swinton as “The Expert,” there isn’t a whole lot else positive to say about the adaptation.
Fassbender’s role seems to be a cheap copy of a Patrick Bateman-esque character, as he practices rigorous self-care and cleansing routines to a prevalent number of tracks from The Smiths. His dry humor often falls flat, leaving watchers with almost no reason to grow emotionally attached to his character.
Additionally, because the villains are only introduced when he is actively trying to kill them, there’s no sense of building stakes, and it doesn’t fit well within the story.
It also must be mentioned that there is quite possibly the most obvious form of product placement in a film ever in the form of persistent interjections from Amazon in a scene where Fassbender’s character has to order a door-hacking device.
“The Killer” isn’t offensively bad, but in a way, that ends up being its downfall — it doesn’t take enough risks to be anything more than vaguely entertaining at best.
The film lacks a certain pizazz necessary for such a common anti-hero revenge story. It ends up being a “John Wick” without a dog, a “Die Hard” without Christmas or a “Drive” without Ryan Gosling. Unless an audience member is a huge fan of either Fincher or The Smiths, they’ll likely leave feeling disappointed.
At the end of the day, “The Killer’s” biggest victim ends up being its audience’s attention span.
Rating: 2.5/5
