Dave Bautista may be the best wrestler-turned-actor working today. As much as we love when he takes on more serious roles like in Dune, Blade Runner 2049, and Knock at the Cabin, he shines whenever he’s going full action-comedy. He’s excelled in films like Stuber and the My Spy movies and is back for more in The Killer’s Game. When super-assassin Joe Flood (Bautista) finds out he is terminally ill, he orders a hit on himself. But right before the contract begins, he finds out he’s not actually dying, and he must now fight off all the assassins trying to kill him.
This is a fun action movie that knows exactly how to entertain you without taking itself too seriously. When the film and premise were announced, I knew I was in for a treat. The idea of an assassin trying to stay alive as dozens of hitmen try to kill them is no stranger to anyone who has seen the John Wick movies. This film bears many similarities to John Wick. Still, while those movies feature grand, elegant action sequences with beautiful cinematography, The Killer’s Game only wants to have some fun without a strong concern for quality.
J. J. Perry directs this film. He’s a stuntman-turned-director whose first film was the Netflix vampire action-comedy Day Shift. This film feels along the same vein, where it’s completely unserious. The opening action sequence in The Killer’s Game is a bit small and underwhelming, but from there, Joe meets a dancer named Maize, played by Sofia Boutella. Bautista and Boutella have both worked with director Zack Snyder in Army of the Dead and Rebel Moon, respectively, so seeing them together under the helm of a new director is fascinating. They have surprising chemistry and believability as a couple in the opening act.
But once he gets this diagnosis, we see more of Bautista’s dramatic chops. Joe comes face-to-face with Marianna Antoinette (Pom Klementieff), a woman with whom he has a rough past. Klementieff seems to have as much fun with this role as she did in last year’s Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. She’s also shared the screen with Bautista in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where they play Mantis and Drax, two characters with very different demeanors and dynamics. They are an excellent foil for each other, and soon enough, Marianna sends out a hit on Joe.
There’s a funny idea that also feels similar to John Wick, where the characters have an app for killing similar to Uber. The Killer’s Game is also the king of character intros. We have many distinct killers who all have their own flavors. The way Perry introduces each of them, from how they kill people to the way their names appear on screen, is absolute gold. Once we cross the threshold and Joe is stuck in the thick of it, with bad guys closing in on him left and right, this is where the movie starts to have a ridiculous amount of fun.
From bloody kills to tiny details that make each action sequence pop slightly more, this film has no shortage of hilariously awesome violence. This is not a serious movie by any means. This is a movie where a guy kicks ass and says cool things while he does it. It pays tribute to the breezy fun and one-liners of classic ’90s action cinema, even though it doesn’t reach the heights of the greats. The Killer’s Game is a bit more disposable than your average action flick, but the stuntwork, camerawork, and action scenes are so fun that this is far better than the direct-to-DVD disaster it could have been.
This movie works best when it’s pure chaos, throwing ludicrous action at the wall and seeing what sticks. We have a conveyor belt of killers, some split-screen fun, and even Scott Adkins, who is a welcome addition to every action movie he appears in. The movie works less in its predictability. The action scenes can feel tensionless because it’s non-stop insanity with an indestructible hero with no weaknesses. Furthermore, while the character drama worked well in the first act, the writers tried to bring it back in during the third act to far lesser success.
As the movie had already gone off the rails, returning to more romantic ideas felt contrived and strange. But it succeeds spectacularly whenever it commits to making you laugh. It’s an ass-kicking good time with a very simple plot. Sure, the supporting cast’s dialogue and acting can be mediocre, and the cinematography is bland and evenly lit. But when you don’t think too hard about The Killer’s Game and simply relish all the fun kills and this lead performance from Bautista that manages to be dark and hilarious, the movie is surprisingly worth watching once, and maybe not again after that.
SCORE: 7/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 7 equates to “Good.” A successful piece of entertainment that is worth checking out, but it may not appeal to everyone.
