J.J. Perry’s The Killer Game is a test of endurance. It pushes you to the edge with its stultifying low intelligence, plodding derivativeness and plain awfulness. There’s nothing redeeming about the narrative and direction, plunging into the world of assassins: it’s as deathly dull as it is stubbornly uninspired. Not a thought is spared on etching vivid, specific characterization, or detailing motivations. You wonder what made a titan like Ben Kingsley agree to sign up for this. Probably the check was irresistible.
From the very opening, the film gives it away that it’ll just be another generic trainwreck so overconfident it stretches out into almost two hours despite an absolute lack of substance. The writing is flat, characters shorn of layers, friendships and romance cursory and yet deep it gets tricky to reconcile the weight they gather with the impetuousness of their execution. The film is full of foolish, vexing contrivances that feel manufactured and don’t yield any emotional force. A hitman film like this can do with a dash of humour or goofiness. But The Killer’s Game is too sober, its silliness so posturing it’s distracting and hollow.
The Killer’s Game (2024) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Is Dave Bautista Enough to Save This Action-Packed Misfire?
Joe Flood is an assassin terrific at his job. He can take down an army of men alone. He is fearless, savvy, and singularly ferocious, balking at nothing. When something is assigned to him, he sees the end of it. He is unstoppable, and Dave Bautista playing him is such a granite hulk that it doesn’t seem implausible when he massacres scores of men. But can Bautista really offset a slew of clunky issues that populate the film? He doesn’t have the liveliness, the ability to speak to the viewer beyond the trappings of action. it’s a ham-fisted script that bogs down everyone rushing through its unfailingly bland scenes.
Everything about the film is a resolute mess. The film opens with a mission at an opera house. Joe arrives to take down a patron. He is tasked to make it as bloodless as possible, just to take out the man. But of course, things don’t always go as per advice. Joe gets the job done, along with several other casualties and raking up a whole deal of drama in the opera house. In the middle of it, he and a dancer, Maize (Sofia Boutella) lock a fleeting glance. It is the start of an easy gravitating from one to the other.
Can Love Redeem a Hardened Assassin?
He whisks away from the opera house but realizes he has got something of Maize inadvertently. It is reason enough for him to meet her again. He goes to her dance class, hoping to return the thing to her but also to get to know her more. However, he is hesitant about his feelings. He barely has any private life, any outside making money and being on one mission after another. However, with Maize, it is different. He can’t but be drawn to her. She, too, is charmed.
The two fall headlong into love. The romance is immediate, sweeping Joe off his feet much to his own surprise and unexpectedness. How can this be possible? For years, he has staved off attractions. This feels unprecedented for him, a fresh experience glowing with joy and love and emotional tenderness aplenty. The miseries of the world feel like they can be borne. Perhaps it is time for him to step away from the world of hitmen, and consider a life of peace and safety, and rest. Retirement?
Why does Joe break up with Maize?
However, his period of happiness goes for a toss when he gets his recurring headaches diagnosed. His doctor informs him he’s got a neurodegenerative disorder. It is incurable. Joe has just three months before he loses grip on memory and comprehension. He’d rather die than stay in a vegetal state. He requests his mentor Zwi (Ben Kingsley) to order a hit on him. Joe says he will pay him two million. Zwi flatly refuses. It is inconceivable. The two share a long, intimate history. Compelled, Joe goes to Zwi’s rival Antoinette. She is too pleased to do the job since she holds a grudge against him for killing her father. Joe tells her he admired her father but he transgressed and broke the rules of the game.
He has a day to live before the assassin gets to him. Joe breaks up with Maize, who is stunned with shock. He assures her she will understand his decision soon. Several surprises await Joe. Just when it’s close to the scheduled time of the hit, Joe’s doctor contacts him. He is told there’s been a mistake. Patients’ data got accidentally switched. He has no disorder. His headaches aren’t anything life-threatening.
He immediately calls Antoinette and tells her to drop the mission. But she is persistent. She is dead set on her revenge. Joe drops Maize a voice note, urging her to leave the city right away. But Antoinette’s hired hitmen get to her. Joe rushes to Zwi’s home, telling him of the mistake in his diagnosis. Zwi’s wife does a sort of massage and resolves his headaches miraculously. Joe fixes a place, an abandoned castle, for all the assigned contract killers to assemble and decimate him. That’s where Lovedahl, who kidnapped Maize, is also headed.
The Killer’s Game (2024) Movie Ending Explained:
Is Joe killed by the assassin?
Unsurprisingly, at the castle, Joe, formidable as he is, manages to nail down practically every other killer. Maize manages to trick the kidnapper, gets Joe in the car, and drives away. She reveals she’s pregnant. She wants to marry him. He pledges honesty and the two head to a church where they plan to marry. Joe confesses his sins to the priest. Lovedahl and Max, the leader of the mercenaries, clash with Joe. The latter, once again, erase all threats and takes out them with Maize’s aid, who rises to the occasion with smarts and efficiency.
Zwi kills Antoinette for breaching the rules of the game. She took out mercenaries on a contract job. It is a violation of the game’s rules. Punishment is death. The film ends on a happy note as Joe and Maize officially get married at the church, surrounded by friends. Joe quits the assassin’s life, though Maize teases him that he could do it every now and then since they’d need money for the child’s upbringing. The action-filled film closes with fun, good cheer, and a promise of happiness in the future.
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The Killer’s Game (2024) Movie Trailer
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