THE KILLER’S GAME – A Review by John Strange
Dave Bautista has certainly embraced the acting profession. His portrayal of Drax in Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) grabbed everyone’s attention, but his start was via the WWE. We have had an influx of former wrestlers enter the movie game over the years but were they acting in their roles as wrestlers or was it all real? In the long run, who cares?
In The Killer’s Game, Dave plays Joe Flood, THE master assassin. A master assassin who is told by his doctor that the headaches he is experiencing are a symptom of a fatal illness that gives him only a short time to live.
Have you heard of this story setup before? So have I. But I have now watched this plot used in a way I enjoyed watching! This film has notes of the action from the John Wicks films and just a little bit of a hint of John Cusack from Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). The fight scenes involve some wild weapons and wilder characters. The bad guys/assassins are played by scads of faces you know from other action and martial arts films, portraying characters that are very nearly caricatures of what might be deadly killers.
Add in a good love interest with Maize (Sofia Boutella) who gets to flaunt her dancing ability, and you get a film with good comedy, wild action/fights, and a LOT of dead bodies (with a plethora of body parts)!
And I loved ALL of it! I wish I could give this film a 5-star rating but the body parts predicate that I lower the rating at least a bit. So… 4.5 stars.
Director: JJ Perry
Cast: Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, with Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley
MPAA Rating: R (for strong bloody violence throughout, language, some sexual material, brief drug use, and nudity)
Selig Rating: 4.5 Stars
Runtime: 104 Min.
Release Date: 09/13/2024
Language: English
Genre: Action, Comedy
Movie Site: THE KILLER’S GAME Official Website
Trailer: THE KILLER’S GAME Official Trailer
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie/show, well worth the time and price.
4 Stars – Good movie/show
3 Stars – OK movie/show
2 Stars – Well, there was nothing else…
1 Star – Total waste of time.
