Runtime: 104 minutes
Directed by: J.J. Perry
Starring: Quite the cast
From: Lionsgate
If you want Great Value Guy Ritchie/Tarantino/John Wick/Smokin’ Aces…
Truth be told, it wasn’t a surprise when I learned that director J.J. Perry gave us the Netflix movie Day Shift; this has those vibes. The main reason for me to see what likely would have gone DTV or streaming if not for last year’s strikes: the cast. It’s full of B-action and B-movie actors: Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Marko Zaror, Pom Klementieff, Ben Kingsley, Alex Kingston, and even WWE’s Drew McIntyre.
The plot concerns hitman Bautista developing a relationship w/ Boutella but discovering he has a real-life terminal illness so he pays for a hit on himself, only there are complications… yeah, it’s all absurd. Imagine a multiverse where in the 90’s Rupert Wainwright would have directed this w/ Wesley Snipes as the lead, or in the early aughts, John Woo directing Michael Keaton; this based on a novel script has been around for that long. Subsequently, is that why it feels like Ritchie or Tarantino lite, complete with character introductions? For crying out loud, this even uses a song that was in Kill Bill, Vol. 1!
Perhaps I am just too old-mid 40’s-but this is just a goofy, crude film filled with garish stereotypes and certainly tries hard—too hard, IMO. The humor regrettably did not land for me all that often. The cast does try-some just have roles that were smaller than I would have preferred. Many do like this claptrap more than me, so YMMV. On the other hand, everyone can agree: this has horrid CG blood, made worse by how frequently it’s seen. The Killer’s Game may not look so bad on the small screen, where I imagine it will do decent business.
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