David Fincher is one of my favorite directors of all time and possibly my favorite still working today. Oppenheimer put Christopher Nolan back into top 2 contention. Upon hearing that some new Fincher was on its way and headed to Netflix, I could not have been happier. What is this? His movie is an adaptation of a book, he is reuniting with the writer of Se73n, it stars Michael Fassbender, and is titled The Killer? My soul is yours and I am ready to go!
On Friday November 10th David Fincher’s The Killer officially released onto Netflix. The film stars Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton and reunites Fincher with Se7en screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker.
After a botched hit job, a killer returns home to find that the organization that hired him has taken this personally. He then sets out to get his revenge on everyone who wronged him. Spoilers are ahead, as always. Also as always, let us start with the negatives. Sorry, David.
The Negatives
My biggest issue with this movie is the script. Everything holds water and makes sense, but if Fincher was not directing, this would not be a good movie. Several points were clear that Fincher’s directing was where the real strength was coming from. Making The Smiths a major part of the movie was not something I expected and liked, but, again- no Fincher, no good.
Maybe my Fincher blinders prevent me from bad mouthing my dad, David, but this film really falls apart without him. All of his films feel like his and that is what makes them all feel so special. His ability to take moments of nothing and fill them with dread and total unease. Not many scenes instilled much fear in me. This brings me to another issue I had: tension.
Negatives Continued
There was not a whole lot of tension for me. My orifices remained unclenched for a majority of this movie. The scene in the beginning with the botch job is very well made and tense as hell. There is a fight sequence that was bonkers and brutal. When The Killer arrives home and there are some footprints to his house, he runs around ready to kill someone and that was great. These scenes and a few other moments were the proper amount of stress I was hoping to feel this whole film.
The Killer is great and its greatness is clear. Truthfully, though, if I paused the movie or lost power and could not continue the movie, there would not have been anything too enticing to come back to. This is a David Fincher movie, and I like him. Michael Fassbender is in this movie and I like him. The Smiths make good music and they sound nice in my ears. If my power went out None of these would have brought me back.
The final “issue” is a light nitpick that is not going to impact the final thoughts: The Smiths. I love The Smiths and hate Steven Morrissey as much as the next fella, and The Killer is literally me, but I thought there was a bit much of them. One or two songs could have been taken out and not much would have changed.
The Smiths
On the contrary to everything I just said, I liked hearing The Smiths while a killer seeks vengeance. There is a Light That Never Goes Out is on my yearly rotation playlist this year. It has been on my brain every day this year. Somehow it did not occur to me I would be hearing it in this movie. When the credits began I was floored. If you have seen (500) Days of Summer or you listen to music before 2000 then there is a chance you already know all the words.
But, seriously, if a double decker bus crashes into us- to die by your side is such a heavenly way to die. Also, I think that if a ten ton truck killed the both of us then the pleasure and the privilege is mine. I digress. I maintain that there is more of The Smiths than there should have been, but pairing their moody lyrics with David Fincher is a perfect marriage
The Killer
Although it may seem like I did not enjoy this movie, I promise you, I did. Fincher is so back and it feels so good. The best thing about any Fincher movie is knowing that it is his movie and everything is Fincher certified greatness. Pairing a multi-talented director with an equally multi-talented actor like Fincher and Fassbender, respectively, is a badass combo.
I would very much like to see another collaboration between the two at some point. Hopefully that is in the very near future. Michael Fassbender is great at understanding the tone and how he needs to be in each scene. In almost every movie of his that I have seen Fassbender is a good talker. His line deliveries always feel right and part of what makes him so great, to me, is his elevation ability.
Put Fassbender in any role and he is almost guaranteed to make it his own. Frank is stupidly underrated and not enough people talk about Fassbender’s comedy chops in that. He is a great talker and he is funny- that has been established. The Killer also proves that he is great at deadpan silence.
In his scene with Tilda Swinton, I believe, he says a total of three sentences while she panics her way out of everything. That was great. Earlier in the movie he sneaks into the office of the man who sent other hitmen after him. Fassbender’s line of questioning was nerve wracking, but the silences in between were just as eerie. Either The Killer is written so perfectly for Fassbender, or Fassbender fit so perfectly into The Killer.
The Story
Now that I am removed from the movie and know how it ends and what happens, I definitely would like to watch this again. Although this is not a complicated story to wrap your head around, there are plenty of twists in here. The direction after each kill is a good progression that is consistent and enthralling.
After the botched hit, I expected things to get significantly more violent, but the methodical approach to the violence was worth it. Setting a focus on the pain-stakingly boring waiting hitmen do, was actually anything but. These quiet moments tantalized my brain and made me wonder what exactly it was that he was going to do here.
Generally if something goes awry for the protagonist, the natural thing to do is get nervous and wonder what could they possibly do next? In the case of The Killer, that never occurred to me to ask what the next movie could be. I have no idea what else he could do, but he knows what else he can do.
He did not tell me what he will do, but I know he will be going to the right person next. A quality like that is hard to convey with a character like The Killer, but it is done so well here. Props again go to Fassbender’s stoic performance.
The Remainders
To wrap things up there are a few things outside of these mentions that stuck out to me. Firstly, the look of The Killer is awesome. The all white fit is crazy. Man was fly as hell and rocked it like it was nothing. Respect. Since Fassbender basically took up 80% of the performance time, there is not much point in dedicating a whole section for performances. However, everyone else featured in this cast was good.
It is always lovely seeing Tilda Swinton. She is another actor I would very much like to see collaborate with Fincher in the future. That is if Fincher keeps going, but that is besides the point. Earlier I mentioned a fight sequence and that was brutal and cool.
I also mentioned the scene in the office and that was my favorite scene. The nail gun in the chest was insane. The Killer is definitely that. At no point does it feel like just a name or a cheat to keep him cold and unnamed. The tone is great. This is a very consistent movie and with David Fincher that is pretty much all I could ask for.
The Killer by David Fincher
There are a lot of praises for me to sing for this movie, but simultaneously I wanted a bit more. This was all based on one watch. From everything I have seen from everyone I know that watched The Killer there has been nothing, but consistent praise. I get it, I do, but it is not as strong for me. That said, The Killer is good and definitely worth a view. The Killer is available on Netflix now and is a 7/10. I like it a lot, but I wish I got more out of it.
