The Killer

Grade: B-

David Fincher has a frustrating habit of beginning his movies extremely strongly, but then is unable to maintain quality, and it loses its way. I’m thinking particularly of Gone Girl and Fight Club, which I thought had brilliant first acts and then lost direction a bit. The Killer is no different. I wanted to love it, and thought I would, in the midst of its fantastic opening sequence. But alas, after the hypnotic and innovative character study that was the first 25 minutes, it settles into a standard crime drama, and I started thinking about how easy it would be to send this up on SNL. The predictable Fincherisms creep in and bring little to the table that’s new. I am Jack’s repeated voice-over narration line.

Fincher was originally attached to direct Steve Jobs, which starred Michael Fassbender in the title role. The job ended up going to Danny Boyle, but Fincher and Fassbender finally did get to work together on The Killer. It’s very Netflixy how it’s split up into chapters. Even though it’s a movie, you might feel like you’re binge-watching a mini-miniseries. In the first chapter, we meet Fassbender, and learn about his life as a professional assassin, and what makes him tick. We never learn his name, but there’s a funny through-line where the aliases he uses are classic sitcom character names (Felix Unger, Oscar Madison, Lou Grant, Archibald Bunker, etc). Fassbender speaks quietly, dryly, and matter-of-factly about the task at hand. He calls it an Annie Oakley job. This opening part is the best, and could be its own short film.

He missed, and accidentally shot someone else who wasn’t supposed to be killed. We are brought into the next chapter, where he returns home to learn that his girlfriend was attacked and in the hospital, lucky to be alive. From here, it devolves into your ordinary action flick. Though it certainly has its moments, it doesn’t rise back up to the early promise it showed. It’s nice to see Fincher with his usual team: Andrew Kevin Walker on the screenplay, and Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross doing the honors with the score. There are effective supporting performances along the way, particularly from Broadway veteran Kerry O’Malley, and Tilda Swinton, whose scene is a highlight.

I perk up with interest whenever I see Fincher’s name attached to a project. He is obviously a skilled, established director. The Game remains my favorite of his. Decades ago, I watched Se7en with a friend. It was his first viewing; I had seen it before. My friend was BEGGING me to spoil a certain plot point for him in advance, because it was getting so tense. “Nope,” I replied. “I’m gonna let you find out the same way I did, and the way we’re supposed to. Just keep watching.” The Killer is fine for a Fincher Netflix exercise, and it will please many. But you won’t have any viewing companions nagging you to give away details up front.

Grade: B-