3 Short Paragraphs (Or Not): The Killer's Game

2024, JJ Perry (Day Shift) -- Amazon/download

If I can say anything positive about Back in Action it is that it was exactly what it meant itself to be --- it just did not mean anything good. But it is true to itself, in tone and execution. I wish this movie had been so, because all in all, I really enjoyed this movie, it just ... was a bit uneven.

The elevator pitch -- a hitman finds out he is dying of an incurable disease, and goes to his competition to take a hit out on himself. Then he finds out they got the diagnosis mixed up with someone else and has to fight off everyone trying to kill him.

Dave Bautista is that hitman, desperate to shed his Drax suit, taking (thankfully) leading roles that place him as the well-rounded Cool Tough Guy Who Gets the Girl. The opening of this movie is about getting that girl, as Joe Flood (Dave Bautista, Riddick), a Europe-based hitman (another Hollywood movie banking on the incentives shooting in Europe provides) has a meet-cute during one of his jobs. The girl is Maize (Sofia Boutella, Rebel Moon: - Pt One: The Child of Fire), a dancer, and Joe kills an oligarch in her audience, but also helps rescue her from the ensuing chaos. They hit it off, and the movie does its best to avoid the Beauty & Beast scenario despite Bautista's looming over her. The most beastly thing about him is his haircut.

The opening sequence, the setup, is sobre, serious, even gentle. Uncharacteristic of these movies (assassin movies) Flood's handler Zvi (Ben Kingsley, Iron Man 3) is a friend and even helps Joe set himself up to get out of the business. That is, until Joe's headaches turn out to be Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, and his world comes collapsing down around him. Joe goes to Antoinette, a handler for a rival organization that hates him cuz Joe killed her father ("My name is Marianna Antoinette, you killed my father, prepare to die," in a French accent). She joyfully accepts the job, as well as Joe's conditions. Until Joe finds out the doctor switched the results, and Joe is not the guy who ate contaminated brains. He finds this out just as the first international assassin attacks him at his home.

It was at this point that the movie's tone shifted drastically, becoming almost comical in its depictions of Joe's rival assassins, the colourful killers who took on Antoinette's job, almost cartoon exaggerated characters, including a Korean gang, a pair of Scottish brothers, a pair of Ritchie-an London hit women, a dancing Mexican, etc. Antoinette refuses to cancel the contract and even goes further, increasing the bounty. Silly acting killers come out of the woodwork. It all comes down to a splodey fight in a castle, cuz "Europe-based".

Don't get me wrong; it's fun, but the shift in tone was disappointing. And it leads the movie down an irreverent path towards quips and snarkiness, which I generally enjoy, but I so much more liked the sombre introduction to the character. But assassin movies these days have to be flashy and full of dark comedy. Bautista was alright, though I am not sure he is able to act his way out of his bulk. Despite a vast amount of slimming down since his more bulkier roles, the man is still a giant, especially when standing next to Boutella. Sure, that is the point, but it wasn't the point of his character, who is supposed to be sly and maneuverable, a sniper rifle, not a sledge hammer.

What? You don't mention Terry Crews as sexi-fied assassin Creighton Lovedahl (best name EVER!) who flips on Pom, and helps a Bautista out? Or Alex Kingston as Zvi's ex-prostitute wife and how they're absolutely adorable together?!?