PLOT: A veteran murderer is identified with a life-threatening sickness and authorizes a kill on himself. After ordering the kill, a military of former colleagues pounce and a brand new piece of knowledge involves mild. Madness ensues.
REVIEW: There’s a sure kind of movie that has been relegated to streaming providers lately. Sadly, mid-tier motion movies sprinkled with comedy stopped being thought-about worthwhile theatrical investments. Thus, these motion pictures our grandparents would declare as “that great movie you need to see” have been left to be found on Netflix and Max. However one thing unusual is going on with Lionsgate this yr and so they felt a theatrical launch was justified for The Killer’s Sport. At first, I used to be intrigued as a result of Bautista is thought for selecting fascinating roles and the standard should be nice to warrant such a launch. As a substitute, I used to be met with a generic motion movie that switches gears so many instances it doesn’t know what it desires to be. And proving why these are higher left on streaming.
The idea of The Killer’s Sport is kind of intriguing with a veteran murderer, Joe Flood, being instructed he solely has six months to dwell. Having simply met the love of his life, he desires his life insurance coverage coverage to go to her, so he places a success on himself. Solely to search out out that the physician’s switched up his paperwork and he’s not truly dying. Sadly, he additionally discovers that the contract can’t be terminated. So with a military of assassins baring down on him, Joe has to battle to remain alive, so he can lastly dwell the life he’s at all times wished. It virtually feels straight out of the 90s and may be very charming. Sadly, it turns into so generic and stereotypical that almost each single story beat may be guessed.
As a Dave Bautista fan, I’m dissatisfied to say that he’s simply sort of middle-of-the-road right here. He’s basically simply enjoying a bland hitman with a coronary heart and it doesn’t go a lot additional than that. Even his line supply appears like he’s simply sort of sleepwalking by the half. Nevertheless, I did get pleasure from his chemistry with Sofia Boutella, who shocked me together with her vulnerability within the extra romantic moments. As somebody who tends to roll my eyes when she pops up in a film, it is a massive step for me. Terry Crews additionally has a enjoyable half as one of many hitmen on Joe’s tail.
The Killer’s Sport has this actually dangerous behavior of giving these massive grand entrances to the assassins, just for them to be taken out lickety-split. This wouldn’t be a difficulty if it simply occurred the one time nevertheless it occurs repeatedly, lessening the impression of every introduction. This desires to be Smokin Aces solely it forgot to really introduce fascinating characters that the viewers desires to see extra of. As a substitute, all of those assassins simply mix collectively and really feel as generic as the following. The one one that actually stands out is Crews, who is actually simply enjoying the identical man he at all times performs in motion motion pictures, and WWE’s Drew McIntyre, a non-sensical Scottish man who defecates in his personal pants. Pom Klementieff feels severely underutilized and so they actually don’t reap the benefits of her motion chops.
There are some enjoyable motion moments however most of them devolve right into a grenade exploding and our bodies being thrown in each route. There’s one scene that includes jiu-jitsu that appears like a enjoyable little chess battle. However in any other case, the motion feels so overly choreographed that it loses all realism and subsequently impression. I’m not saying I want a totally grounded movie however each stuntman is simply ready to be pummeled. And the CGI blood is totally uncontrolled and stands out as the most egregious of any 2024 launch. It’d be one factor if it truly regarded good however more often than not it simply seems like blueberry jam. I might have most popular no violence over this CGI nonsense.
Regardless of Bautista’s nice dramatic monitor file, he simply can’t appear to tug it collectively with regards to non-Marvel motion. I believe this may be attributed to the person clearly desirous to star in a Rom-Com, subsequently taking any position that even considerably resembles that. However this script is so weak that he’s unable to raise the fabric to any appreciable diploma. There are some enjoyable moments, however the whole lot about The Killer’s Sport screams generic and common. And with Bautista seemingly wrapping down his time as an motion star, I actually hope he figures it out earlier than it’s too late. As a result of god is aware of the person can act his ass off.
THE KILLER’S GAME IS PLAYING IN THEATERS ON SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2024.
