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The Killer - David Fincher/Fassbender

Hugare

Member
Yeah, I’m done watching Netflix movies for a while. Every time i force myself to watch one i can’t help shake the feeling that I’m watching a cheap made for TV movie.

These directors need to realize that the old guard Hollywood execs that didn’t greenlight every piece of trash they wanted to make actually knew what they were doing and the yes men Netflix has hired to give talented director’s enough money to make whatever they want actually have no clue on how to manage these directors to get the best out of them.
Yeah, really feels like Netflix says "just do whatever, we just need your name on the cover". And everyone accepts the deal 'cause its a buttload of money.

We could have gotten a new Mindhunter season instead of this 6/10 movie
 
Yeah, really feels like Netflix says "just do whatever, we just need your name on the cover". And everyone accepts the deal 'cause its a buttload of money.

We could have gotten a new Mindhunter season instead of this 6/10 movie
So disappointed we never got another season of Mindhunter. My MIL lived in the same neighborhood as Kemper and she was a teenage girl around that time. It was so interesting to watch it and learn about how he and the FBI started that whole division, even in it's dramatized fashion. Shame we never got more.
 

Superkewl

Gold Member
meh, it was ok. Like others have said, doesn't feel like a Fincher film. I like "How soon is now" but generally don't like The Smiths, and the use of their music annoyed me every time it played.
 

Days like these...

Have a Blessed Day
meh, it was ok. Like others have said, doesn't feel like a Fincher film. I like "How soon is now" but generally don't like The Smiths, and the use of their music annoyed me every time it played.
I love the Smiths and hate that they're music is in this. I won't watch for that reason.
 

Ellery

Member
Movie was okay and there is nothing I could pinpoint that is blatantly wrong with the movie, but it neither made me emotional nor glued to my seat thrilled to see what events might unfold next.

Camera and acting good, but it felt like Fincher didn't respect Netflix? No idea
 

NikuNashi

Member
Solid movie. A story based around a strong white, straight male (something that hollywood cant make anymore). Great fight sequence. Great music (as a smiths and morrissey fan).
Fassbender was excellent.

I will say some of the supporting actrs were weak and did look like they were acting in a tv show not a movie (the taxi driver and the brother).
 
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stn

Member
Pretty decent, I'm a huge fan of the comic so it was a nice surprise. Wish more of it took place in Paris, the American locations were boring.
 

dan76

Member
I enjoyed it, as much for the things it doesn't have. No back story, the main character doesn't change, no gotcha's. It was simple, straight, no tricky cinematography. It sort of reminded me what films for adults used to be like. I'm not a huge Fincher fan, but I really like Seven, and Zodiac. It was solid, sparse and economical with its storytelling. Fassbinder was great.
 

John Marston

GAF's very own treasure goblin
What I loved about it is the 15 minute setup when the movie starts about this badass dude with his rituals and patience and then he just fucks it up!!

I am not familiar with hitman contracts but I assume more forgiveness if you messed up one time.

Anyway it was a fun journey to be a part of and that house fight in Florida was brutal & desperate.

I also thought the woman in his house was his maid not his girlfriend.

RACIST PRICK! 😄
 

Majormaxxx

Member
I love Fincher, but this was so mediocre

The story is so basic. I was waiting for some twist to make it more interesting until the last second ... but it never came

It's technically impressive, of course, and Fassbender is great as always.

But it was so by the numbers. So predictable.

Worse Fincher movie that I've ever watched
This is the perfect description.

Have in mind that 1. Netflix writers are mid and 2. Most Netflix movies are made to be watched while doing something else.

Extraction was also like that. So was that Affleck special ops movie in south America
 

Majormaxxx

Member
What I loved about it is the 15 minute setup when the movie starts about this badass dude with his rituals and patience and then he just fucks it up!!

I am not familiar with hitman contracts but I assume more forgiveness if you messed up one time.

Anyway it was a fun journey to be a part of and that house fight in Florida was brutal & desperate.

I also thought the woman in his house was his maid not his girlfriend.

RACIST PRICK! 😄
How dare you!
 
I decided to randomly watch it today and I was mostly impressed.
I love Fincher, but this was so mediocre

The story is so basic. I was waiting for some twist to make it more interesting until the last second ... but it never came

It's technically impressive, of course, and Fassbender is great as always.

But it was so by the numbers. So predictable.

Worse Fincher movie that I've ever watched
Weirdly enough I felt this was almost the opposite of by the numbers. There have been so many agent/assassin movies that have gone in a direction that this movie didn’t…

When he was talking to the handler and assistant I was honestly expecting him to break his code and let them go.

When he asked the cab driver about the whereabouts of the other assassins I expected him to break his code and let the cab driver go.

When he confronted the client I expected him to kill him like a typical movie would do to nearly wrap things. He didn’t.

Even when certain characters had long speeches for him, he decided not to have a long conversation with them and did not talk back with his own long speech. He instead mostly listened and calculated the best course of action to solve his problem. He didn’t care to ask them many questions or discuss aside from the last guy who he asked if there was a problem. Even then he left it at that.

Moments like the spoilers are what I expect from those movies(which those types of sloppy decisions would then lead to more and more action scenes) and it kept proving me wrong and sticking to its own code to such a degree that I was impressed. There are so many moments where ‘basic action movie’ could have happened but the main character just went ‘no, this will be by the book.’

To be fair though I’m not sure what people were wanting with the movie but to me it felt like a peek into the life of an assassin, how odd one like himself might think and behave, but also how that odd way of thinking and behaving works for him throughout the movie.
 

sankt-Antonio

:^)--?-<
Watched yesterday, because Fincher. Fell asleep for a while. Question regarding the ending:
Why didn't he kill the rich guy at the end? I didn't get it.

[...]
Good stuff with the "product placement" where fincher seems to set a sort late stage capitalism landscape where luxury items are no longer on display (I think there was even a James bond joke in there), just mega corporations and ordinary items that can be purchased on Amazon to facilitate murders done by the killer. McD app for food? Great for no human contact and keep his alias. Wework office that leaves their offices totally dormant? Perfect place to set up an assassin's lair. Unimprenetrebale high tech fortress? Easy, Uber eats. There's a lot more in there I need to rewatch, Just brilliant stuff [...]

None of this is brilliant. A McD App is not anonymous or untraceable. Using a place as a hide out that gets random visits by staff is not brilliant, the movie trying to tell us billionaires use these cheap shit doors to go from their garage to an elevator without a receptionist in sight is actually funny.
 
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Hugare

Member
I decided to randomly watch it today and I was mostly impressed.

Weirdly enough I felt this was almost the opposite of by the numbers. There have been so many agent/assassin movies that have gone in a direction that this movie didn’t…

When he was talking to the handler and assistant I was honestly expecting him to break his code and let them go.

When he asked the cab driver about the whereabouts of the other assassins I expected him to break his code and let the cab driver go.

When he confronted the client I expected him to kill him like a typical movie would do to nearly wrap things. He didn’t.

Even when certain characters had long speeches for him, he decided not to have a long conversation with them and did not talk back with his own long speech. He instead mostly listened and calculated the best course of action to solve his problem. He didn’t care to ask them many questions or discuss aside from the last guy who he asked if there was a problem. Even then he left it at that.

Moments like the spoilers are what I expect from those movies(which those types of sloppy decisions would then lead to more and more action scenes) and it kept proving me wrong and sticking to its own code to such a degree that I was impressed. There are so many moments where ‘basic action movie’ could have happened but the main character just went ‘no, this will be by the book.’

To be fair though I’m not sure what people were wanting with the movie but to me it felt like a peek into the life of an assassin, how odd one like himself might think and behave, but also how that odd way of thinking and behaving works for him throughout the movie.
Sure, the movie subvert expectations in some ways.

But by doing that, it keeps the character boring. He gets no development during the whole movie.

A much more interesting take would be him getting sloppier as the movie goes 'cause he is emotionally damaged from this job. But nope, he is just a hypocrite who keeps making mistakes despite all of his rules.

If he didnt make any mistakes during the movie, than subverting expectations like you mentioned would have landed better. But I dont buy this "perfect assassin" vibe when hen also keeps making mistakes.

And they should have 100% developed more his relationship with the girl. I dont care about him, about the girl, about anyone in the movie.

Movie had no plot twists, no character development, nothing. You have no connection to any character. So whats the point? Pretty images?

Even the Hitman game series understand that establishing a connection between player/character is vital, so they gave Agent 47 a backstory and character development. Same for John Wick and etc.
 
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Movie had no plot twists, no character development, nothing. You have no connection to any character. So whats the point? Pretty images?
I don't think we're supposed to have a connection and I think that's on purpose. There is nothing to like or connect with when it comes to the profession of hitman/assassin, and the movie shows this with how he behaves and thinks and the protagonist even points out himself he is simply just someone in a crowd. We simply saw a slice of life film. This wouldn't have been out of place as an A24 movie. Because of that I also think the no twist part is on purpose. As you've stated, you're watching constantly expecting a twist but it simply never comes.

I guess I can find myself liking an A+ movie like Collateral with Tom Cruise and a movie like this(which I'd say is a B rating) at the same time. After watching The Killer, it made me wonder, why in the world did Vincent(from Collateral), a veteran of assassination, give such a damn about a random cab driver so much? Why play with his food like he did and take that chance with this random guy? He's probably met hundreds of dreamers like Max, but Max was the one he decided to take a liking to? He would have instead did what The Killer did in this movie with his cab driver and end him the minute the cab driver knew he was a killer. However, cinematically I understand why people see that as the boring option. I guess I respect the fact that this movie took that option and stuck to it's own ideal.

Even the Hitman game series understand that establishing a connection between player/character is vital, so they gave Agent 47 a backstory and character development.
At the same time, wasn't the game that did this the least liked Hitman game among the series(Absolution)?
 

AJUMP23

Member
I watched it during the break, and it was ok. I liked the opening, but the movie didn't grab me. Not something I want to watch again.
 

manfestival

Member
Seems like a lot of totally mid movies are getting a bunch of praise lately because the bar has been set so horrifically low. Real shame about the current state of the movie industry. I heard mixed things about this one. Will probably watch it eventually on a flight for christmas or something.
Reminds me of that one scifi movie I watched a couple months ago that I forgot the name of with Denzels son. It was mid but enjoyable despite the huge set of issues I had with the movie.
 

thefool

Member
Fincher should rethink his career.

Watched yesterday, because Fincher. Fell asleep for a while. Question regarding the ending:
Why didn't he kill the rich guy at the end? I didn't get it.



None of this is brilliant. A McD App is not anonymous or untraceable. Using a place as a hide out that gets random visits by staff is not brilliant, the movie trying to tell us billionaires use these cheap shit doors to go from their garage to an elevator without a receptionist in sight is actually funny.

Too much heat killing a billionaire.

He explains his reasoning beforehand, police match their effort in direct proportion of a victim net worth
 
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NecrosaroIII

Ask me about my terrible takes on Star Trek characters
Was kind of boring. Fassbender was okay but the narration got old real quick. I didn't find it particularly amusing or stylistic. Hard to believe Fincher worked on this project for like 15 years apparently
 
I found it boring. Boring, pretentious and up its own arse. Looks good though with some artsy shots - heck, even the sound track of The Smiths (fave band) couldn't make me like it.

Style over substance.
 

Outlier

Member
Didn't see any trailer and won't watch it, but how does it compare to something like "Mr. Brooks" (if any one remembers it)?

"Mr. Brooks" deals with a character who wants to live a normal life, but is bound to his inner demon.

"The Killer" seem to be about a psychopath hired to kill and I dunno what else.

I remember people went wild for Mr. Brooks in the theatre, but I have no idea why. Movie wasn't all that.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
Just finished this and I really, really enjoyed it. This movie just ticks all the right marks for me. I went in completely blind so I had no idea what to expect aside from Fassbender being an assassin and I absolutely loved the slow, methodical pacing.

It doesn't have the grit or grime that often comes with a Fincher movie, but it still kept me on edge the entire time. The sequence with Tilda Swinton especially was superb.

Incredible soundtrack yet again from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. They and Fincher are a god-tier combo.
 

SJRB

Gold Member
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Vyse

Gold Member
Bit late to the party, but watched The Killer last night and really enjoyed it. One of the best parts for me was the alias's he used on his credit cards. Made me laugh every time. Lou Grant. 🤣🤣🤣
 

Filben

Member
really liked it and will watch a second time somewhen. I liked the minimalistic approach without unnecessary side plots or extra lore and more trying to justify or padding the plot. No police trying to get him, no side romance or anything like that. Straightforward and to the point, also without any unnecessary action, making that one action scene really tense and impactful.

Also, first person narrative is quite rare these days in films and I enjoyed having this killer intimate perspective and seeing how he sometimes contradicts himself.
 
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