Last Updated on September 20, 2024 by
The Killer’s Game is a 2024 action Movie Directed by J.J. Perry. The film stars Sofia Boutella, Dave Bautista, and Pom Klementieff, with a 1h 44m runtime, and will be released on September 13, 2024.
Many wrestlers in the past have tried their luck in transitioning from the wrestling arena to the movie screen. Among them all, I believe that the best among them can be summed up in how Dave Bautista has been a relatively interesting screen persona in the last several years. Oh yeah, he does fit the good villain mold in terms of physical presence, though not quite as muscle-bound as Washington, which can make him very believable when he sticks to just action roles. Still, he’s much more than that—he has proven that he has quite good comedic timing in the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies and “Glass Onion” and while the role he had in “Blade Runner 2049” was short, Sometimes he becomes involved in half-baked movies such as the “My Spy” movies but the very presence of him on the screen will have most of us glued to the screen. As goofy as ever in the painfully dreadful “Killer’s Game” action-comedy, even Bautista cannot help salvage this snoozefest that reverts to a mere 100 minutes of bloodbath boredom.
He portrays a character known as Joe Flood who is a hired killer estimated to have been in service for many years and based in Budapest. Do not worry, for he is perhaps the most ethical of such characters to grace the big screen in many a moon—he only accepts cases to exterminate those who truly deserve it, has a strict code of ethics relating to his profession that he will not transgress under any condition, and the character of Zvi, his mentor/ticker, is played by none other than Sir Ben Kingsley, the man who once portrayed the Mahatma. The guy is so fortunate that at the extermination during a dance recital which forms the first scene of the film, he is lucky to meet Maize, the lead dancer played by Sofia Boutella with whom he falls in love and decides to quit being a hitman for good after catching feelings as what a much better hitman comedy would have referred to as “a new appreciation for life”.
Unfortunately, Joe also has severe migraine attacks and the doctor states he has inoperable brain cancer and has three months to live. Seeing the pain behind Maize’s eyes, saying she doesn’t want to see him in agony anymore, he gets the idea of hiring someone to assassinate him, but when Zvi declines his offer, he goes to another assassin handler, Marianna (Pom Klementieff), for someone to kill him. Because Marianna’s father is one of the many men that Joe has taken out in the past, she has no qualms about bringing people in for the job. However, as common sense would dictate, at the time the contract is signed—Spoiler Alert!—Joe’s doctor calls to explain that there was a mistake with the results and that Joe is actually in good condition. When Joe attempts to cancel the contract, not only is he denied by Marianna, but she also brings in every killer and mercenary she can muster.
It is a familiar story indeed—the one where a man hires a hit man to extinguish someone else’s life, only to regret his action, and then be unable to countermand it, which was given an original twist in the hands of the late Graham Chapman in “The Odd Job” (1978) title and was used creatively in ‘Bulworth ‘starring Warren Beatty Livingstone.
Despite these scenarios being mostly grim, Bautista manages to make the best out of the hand (along with other body parts flying around) dealt to him and whatever sense Pineapple Express makes is solely owed to the performance of the former WWE wrestler, Once the premise of the film is established, it turns into a series of scenes where Joe faces off with all sorts of colorful hired killers including lesbian strippers, two Scottish brothers who speak in subtitles, This could have been fine if these fights were seen with the kind of kinetic, visual dynamism you’d find in those films, but in the hands of director J. J. Perry, whose only other feature was the recent, vampire hunter starring Jamie Foxx film “Day Shift,” it’s all noise and no energy, made exponentially worse by the abundance of laughably terrible CGI blood and guts seen here. As much as he had to know that doing something of this nature was probably a step backward after being involved in more elaborate productions like the various MCU movies, “Dune” parts 1 and 2, “Knock at the Cabin,” etc., he wanted to at least try to do his best, and for that reason, it is more palatable than it could have otherwise been.
The rest of the cast is also filled with several powerful actors, including Terry Crews and one of the hired killers, but they too are left underdeveloped or utterly miscast – the fabulous Boutella Qi, for example, gets to play nothing more than a worried girlfriend, while Kingsley seems to be phoning in his performance and any hopes that there would be much of on-screen chemistry between Bautista and KlementieBoring to watch and tired in conception, The Killer’s Game is a cut out assembly-line product of the Golden Age of Cinematic Product that does not even warrant the indignity of a mention in passing as it slips off quickly and quietly into the stream–with no comment or lament–to the streaming channels from whence it came.
This is a shame as the potential for the characterization of Bautista, even at this early stage of his acting career, should be given much better material than was provided in this film. Perhaps by the time that he finally becomes a full-fledged movie star of note, nobody would remember that it was ever made. Damn right most people will probably forget it ever existed by the end of this month.
The Killer’s Game 2024 Parents Guide Age Rating
The Killer’s Game is rated R by the Motion Picture Rating (MPA) for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual material, brief drug use, and nudity.
Violence & Gore: The portrayal of violence is very high in the movie, and there is a high level of depiction of bloodshed in the movie. The movie also has many scenes of violent action, including shootings, hand-to-hand combat, and explosion, since the protagonist, Joe Flood, is a professional murderer. There is much emphasis on blood and gore to the extent of constituting one of the major aspects of the movie. Few violent scenes where characters die graphically, and the use of CGI blood is seen mostly during fight sequences. This in a way entails beheading, amputations, and gun battles where a character is depicted as being fired at or shot, stabbed, or blown up. One specific and violent crisis is a bloodbath that takes place during the scene in which Joe kills a man during a dance recital. Audiences witness weak and harmless people getting caught in the crossfire. This makes the sound design additional brutal since most fights incorporate CGI blood and overemphasized violence. Perhaps it can be disturbing to viewers due to its unrealistic, even absurd, portrayal of violence and the fact that it happens quite often. Some of the action scenes build up as Joe is hunted down by various assassins, and there are more chaotic and rampageous scenes. These include fights with lesbian strippers, Scottish brothers, and other colorful killers, where some elements are comical.
Profanity: Profanity is present in most parts of the film with little to no moderation. Chance of hearing the F-word and other less-vehement vulgarities such as ‘st’, ‘b*h’, and ‘a**hole’. Characters use abusive and vulgar language against each other mostly in dramatic or funny scenes. There is some basic denigration towards certain groups, but it is all in good fun for the most part.
Sexual Content: There are a number of sexually suggestive scenes in the movie but these are not as prominent as the action elements. There is a scene where women are shown being strip dancers and although no part of the women’s body is completely exposed, the dancing style and the outfits worn by the dancers are suggestive of sexual activities. Romantic relationships are depicted but limited: examples include Joe’s affair with Maize. If there is kissing, there can be some sexual tension, though full-on sex scenes are not prominent on this show. Foremost, next to the movie’s rating, there from time to time are explicit sexual jokes or comments passed in a humorous or casual way.
Drugs, Alcohol & Smoking: Some of the episodes depict characters indulging in the use of alcohol particularly during parties or while at a bar. It may include the use of drugs, but it appears that this phenomenon is only relevant to those characters who are secondary or someone depicted as a joker. Any drug use depicted in the film seems to be in line with the action-comedy genre of the film.
In conclusion, “The Killer’s Game” deserves its R rating because of the intensity of the violence, the use of abusive language, and some hints at sexual relations. It attempts to blend comedy and action, but the overuse of violent scenes and brief instances of blood and gore may not be suitable for the audience of the vase.
