David Fincher’s The Killer is a Misfire

“Stick to the plan. Anticipate, don’t improvise. Trust no one. Yield no advantage. Forbid empathy,” the Killer narrates. Unfortunately, the buildup of anticipation misses the target in this assassin thriller.

Adapted from the French graphic novel series bearing the same name, the storyline revolves around an unnamed assassin, portrayed by the talented Michael Fassbender, who, following a momentous near-miss mission, confronts his employers and embarks on a global pursuit he maintains is not driven by personal motives.

Make no mistake – David Fincher holds the top spot as my favorite director, and I’ll make every effort to watch any project he brings to life. Fincher fearlessly dives into complex films, from Se7en to The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and even Mank, exploring diverse themes. Regrettably, with The Killer, Fincher falls short of delivering the brilliance I had anticipated.

The Killer premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and the reactions to the film were mostly positive. After a four-year hiatus, Michael Fassbender returns to acting with a fairly simple character study of a hitman. Make no mistake, this is a role he was built for; a decade ago I rallied to have him become the next 007, but that time has passed.

Less seems to be more in this narrative, and with Fassbender’s affectless drone throughout the film, I wasn’t sucked into Father Fincher’s world. Because like superhero movies, we’ve been fed assassin flicks since the dawn of cinema, but the touch of Fincher does the genre justice. Time says it best:

“It’s a genre that springs eternal, but rarely do modern directors stick to the basics; they think they need to make these stories more elaborate and convoluted to keep an audience engaged, when maybe the opposite is true. That’s what makes Fincher’s movie a cut above. Instead of overloading his story with fussy layers, Fincher pares everything back to the genre’s essence. What we’re left with is a killer and his conscience, or whatever he’s got that might pass for one.” via Time

While many reactions to the movie are positive (it currently holds an 88% on Rotten Tomatoes out of 165 reviews), some positive critiques that resonated with me the most included ones from Total Film and the Irish Times:

“If you ever wondered what Fincher’s Bond might have looked like, this could be it.” – Jane Crowther, Total Film

“Though it doesn’t have the complexity of Zodiac or the resonance of The Social Network, this may be Fincher’s sleekest and most uncomplicatedly entertaining film of the current century.” – Donald Clarke, Irish Times

With that being said, it just didn’t encompass the greatness that I know David Fincher to create. The Killer presented a plight that I didn’t care about. Do I root for him? Do I care about him? I wasn’t sure, and that was a huge issue I had with the movie. For a movie directed by one of the greats, I just expected more.

The Killer is currently in theaters and premieres on Netflix November 10, 2023.