The Killer (David Fincher)

pixelburp

If I find another thread we can merge it: first trailer out for David Fincher's latest. After the slightly disappointing personal project of "Mank" hopefully we get back to some grimy entertainment...

Drops on netflix in November, after a brief cinema run in October

https://youtu.be/vs1epO_zLG8?si=GF2LyzXtFS6Q5uFV

JP Liz V1

I like that trailer, slick and intriguing, stick to the plan 😄

Slydice

Reminded me of the Brad Pitt self speeches in Ad Astra

Ad Astra - Psychological Evaluations

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKpq4vFxDqQ

Sad Professor

I had been looking forward to this but that's an underwhelming trailer. If it wasn't Fincher the film wouldn't be on my radar.

pixelburp

New trailer out: early reviews are very mixed on this from what I've seen; the main criticism seems to revolve around the fact this "just" one of Fincher's dalliances mainstream thriller / entertainment & not one of his prestige works.

And having just watched Panic Room the other day, fine with me!

https://youtu.be/5S7FR_HCg9g

SheepsClothing

Seen this today. It's definitely recognisably a Fincher film, in that it has his cool, digital look and feel throughout. I agree with the critics on this one. It's definitely a step down on his best work, and even compared to something like Panic Room, it's probably lacking a bit of narrative oomph.

Nevertheless, I had an enjoyable day at the pictures. I'd give it a solid 7/10.

orangerhyme

I saw it in the cinema.

Very average really. Very well made but thin plot and characterisation. Nothing new or surprising or interesting. I was waiting for something to happen but then the film just ended.

I'm surprised they actually bothered making it to be honest.

I did laugh a couple of times at least though. The cheese grater.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121291187#Comment_121291187

Define "narrative oomph". Is it simply that there's no real plot in this?

SheepsClothing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293298#Comment_121293298

I think just through the coldness of The Killer himself, there is a lack of any real reason to feel invested in the events that unfold. There is a basic revenge plot (of sorts) here, but the inciting incident involves characters that don't feature at all in the lead up to the incident and who basically don't feature again in the rest of the film.

It still manages to be a propulsive watch and never drags, but is more of a passive character study, than something that transports you into its world.

weemcd

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293802#Comment_121293802

You've put this much better than I could.

Saw TheKiller last night. Very, very solid film but not spectacular. Soundtrack and main performance excellent. Fincher's films always look incredible. Perhaps slightly undercooked. A more realistic, grounded John Wick. Had a few genuine laughs. Maybe 7/10 at a push.

Did you smash it

Agree with the rest of the comments. I didn’t really why the killer’s management took the course of action they did. Why compensate unimportant blood with important volatile blood?

homerun_homer

I am a big David Fincher fan, and I enjoyed this knowing it would be more in line with his output like The Game or Panic Room. I agree that it is unusual that the character that motivate his actions through the film is barely featured, and to me contradicts the whole MO of the Killer and his many rules to live by.

He seems to break a few of his own rules through the film, either through being sloppy or just a being man of contradictions. I'm not quite sure.

johnny_ultimate

The material is C+ at best, but the direction is a solid A. Fincher just doesn’t have the ability to phone it in. The opening segment is obviously an exceptionally hyper-focused joy, but every sequence and shot has a precision to it that is pure Fincher.

Sometimes it’s fun to just see a director over delivering on the material. And Fincher seems to think so too. Hard to escape the wry meta-commentary of this being a follow up to Mank (a film I liked but was undoubtedly the most middling reception to a Fincher film since Benjamin Button) and the film focusing on an absolute perfectionist coming to terms with a rare miss. Fincher can always fall back on these expertly crafted trashy genre pics, ‘cos nobody does them better. I don’t know how much you can read into that, but it’s there, and adds a little bit of playfulness to what is a superbly crafted slice of hokey genre nonsense.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121293802#Comment_121293802

Thanks, was curious. Still looking forward to it, cos as Johnny alluded to only David Fincher will take C material and direct the ever living shít outta it. I genuinely think more "auteur" directors could do with an occasional píss about once in a while. Robert Eggers directs a New York Bestseller thriller or somesuch.

Seen it today myself. Was looking forward to it.

I thought the film started off very well but slowly went down hill from there on. Had no interest in the main character towards the end of the film. The fight scene in the house was done very well and more like a Bourne movie.

Overall 6.5/10.

Shred

I saw it this evening and loved it, 8/10 for me.

I was at the 6pm Lighthouse show and there was a decent amount of people at it, but when coming out there was a sizeable queue for the next showing which was good to see.

Decuc500

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121322718#Comment_121322718

I was at the same screening! I think the queue was for a different film though. Maybe Bottoms?

Anyway I loved The Killer as well. A typically icy Fincher movie. Ridiculously fast opening credits, immersive and sometimes disorienting sound design, weird ambient score, Smiths soundtrack and an unstoppable pit bull.

Shred

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121324477#Comment_121324477

Ah, good to see nonetheless!

Full_Circle_81

Speaking of the fight scene, could everyone actually see what was going on during it? I know it was a fairly dark film, but most of that scene was incomprehensible at my showing in Dundrum. Not helped at all by a light from the door area that lit up most of the left hand side of the screen........

homerun_homer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121347512#Comment_121347512

It is a purposefully dark scene but it wasn't as bad as your description when I saw it in Light House. It's frustrating when there is an exit door glow, or open door letting in light right beside the screen.

bogmanfan

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121350045#Comment_121350045

Those emergency exit signs are a pet hate of mine. Surely it's possible to screen them off one side so the light isn't cast onto the screen, and only back towards the audience? Couple of screens in Vue are ruined by them.

The Black Oil

Poster for this in Milan's metro.

Quiet Achiever

I wish Fassebender didn't use a generic American accent. Really uncharismatic and forgettable.

How much more impactful would it have been if he used or was allowed to use his thick Kerry accent!?

Agent Coulson

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121352793#Comment_121352793

Isn't that the whole point of the character though to be uncharismatic and forgettable.

If you are an assassin the last thing you want to be is charismatic and memorable

Quiet Achiever

Totally get that, you need to be a grey man. As a narrator it's tough going.

Tom Cruise was a grey man , literally, in Collateral, but still more engaging. I like Fassebender, i blame Fincher more.

Snake Plisken

Just finished it there and really enjoyed it a tight thriller and I would rate it higher then The Game or Panic Room. Love that the Killer was a big Smith's fan. A solid 8 out of 10 for me.

iffandonlyif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121351765#Comment_121351765

I simply cannot understand it. It epitomises in my mind Ireland’s inability to do things well.

pixelburp

I can see how this is dividing people; it's a bit more of a mood piece than movie, a bare bones narrative with more of a wry sense of itself than the ostensible Europacorp thriller nonsense another universe might have shat out. A very nihilistic, reflective vehicle all told, and not some revenge fantasy to cheer.

Of course the thing looked fantastic cos of course it did - I do love how David Fincher still directs these kind of films, where even a simple thriller looked better than 95% of cinema released this year. Not sure I fully bought into the idea Fincher was mocking himself through the main character but I did like the way the universe kep undercutting the assassin's attempted mantras.

Full_Circle_81

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121357416#Comment_121357416

I'm not sure if it was actually the exit sign or not. There was an emergency exit to the immediate right which didn't affect the screen at all. By the time we were leaving the doors at the end of the corridor were open so couldn't say what the actual problem was but I really should have complained because it was hugely distracting throughout (even during the trailers!).

But getting back to the actual film; I think this is one that I might actually enjoy more if I give it a rewatch after some time has passed. It being the first new Fincher film I'd seen in years (I've so far avoided Mank) and knowing it was also the writer of Seven, my expectations were maybe set a little too high.

It's probably one of my least favourite Finchers, but easily one the best Netflix films I've seen in years. The guy just doesn't know how to half-ass anything. It looked incredible and I actually enjoyed the jet black humour. But I felt more sympathy/compassion for Fassbender as the evil David in the Alien prequels than him as the killer in this. Not sure if that's down to his acting choice, Finchers direction or how the character (per the graphic novel) is supposed to be played....

Steviemak7

Looks great

turnfan

This and Haywire (Steven Soderbergh)makes a nice double bill.

Similar worlds, different take. Same Fassbender.

Shred

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121357416#Comment_121357416

Some of the screens in Movies @ Swords, screen 5 in particular, are ruined by this too; the exit signs are mounted at right angles to the screen and bleed all over it completely washing out both corners. I purposely won’t go there if what I want to see is on in that screen. It’d be so simple to resolve - just mount a plate on the screen side of both signs and they’ll still be 100% viewable to anyone in the room from a safety perspective and wouldn’t block the screen either.

2smiggy

decent film. nothing spectacular, but a solid 7/10. kept me entertained through out

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121366437#Comment_121366437

With a key difference being Haywire wasn't a complete and constant fúck up like The Killer was.

Strip the voiceover away and this would have presented a much different film IMO; the mantra kinda camouflaged the fact every action taken kept blowing up in The Killer's face 😂

Did you smash it

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121371063#Comment_121371063

spoiler…

the films do remind me of each other. The problem I have with the killer is the boss of a of the killer taking the decision that the killer had to be neutralized when the client didn’t have a problem.

chicorytip

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121350045#Comment_121350045

I've not visited a cinema in years. Do they still turn the house lights on just as the credits begin to roll ? Drove me mad.

iffandonlyif

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121368908#Comment_121368908

It would still be an issue for me because I find it very distracting if it’s in my peripheral vision

I’m in Germany at the moment, a maddeningly bureaucratic country, but none of the five or six screens I’ve been in has had an exit light near the screen. It just seems to me that a serious country says, Look, I know we want to ensure safety, but it’s just not credible to have an exit sign beside a cinema screen!

homerun_homer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121376459#Comment_121376459

I don't think it happens all the time now, but that used to drive me mad as well. On par with Netflix not letting the credits play without prompting what to watch next.

murpho999

Best part of this movie for me was trying to guess who the next famous US sitcom character he would use as an alias when travelling.

Apart from Fincher's direction style this film had very little substance and no soul.

murpho999

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121357416#Comment_121357416

Sorry whilst I agree that fire exit lights in cinemas is not good , there's no need to criticise the country as I've experienced the same issue in other countries.

El Duda

The Killer – 7/10

This appears to be David Fincher’s response to some of the less than favourable Mank critique. Mank stank, so it’s good to see him return to something a bit more familiar. He brings his playful side out and sprinkles a few bits of humour in here and there. I think what we see at times is Fincher deconstructing his own work and punctuating it with a bit of self-deprecating humour.

One-word springs to mind when watching this film. Slick. Fassbender, the cinematography, the use of The Smiths back catalogue, the score, the editing. It’s all just incredibly slick. The ending is abrupt but there’s a great set piece not long before, featuring Tilda Swinton, that felt like it should have been the real ending.

I file it alongside Sicario, Hell or High Water and You Were Never Really Here as the sort of mid-budget thriller that we don’t get enough of these days. Though I struggle to shake the feeling that Fincher is capable of better.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121470067#Comment_121470067

I file it alongside Sicario, Hell or High Water and You Were Never Really Here as the sort of mid-budget thriller that we don’t get enough of these days. Though I struggle to shake the feeling that Fincher is capable of better.

I think Fincher's Netflix work has had the smell of hands-off noodling about with any old script the director couldn't let go off; his slush pile of potential projects is kinda infamous but obviously this and Mank were the two Netflix liked enough to write their blank cheques.

Couldn't imagine either project being greenlit at another studio, not without some heavy edits or suggestions (though whether Fincher would take those on board is another matter). For sure Fincher can do better, cos we've certainly seen his heights with Social Network and Zodiac - while even his throwaway stuff has tended to be more watchable entertaining, like Panic Room or the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.