O Assassino

Fassbender and Fincher have crafted a cold and very slick thriller. It's incredibly unique and in many ways, brilliant. It will certainly not be for everyone and it should not be categorised as an action film.

David Fincher's directing is as crisp and precise as always. The cinematography is great and the film looks incredible. It's technically sound and visually stunning with its cold contrasted shots. Fassbender is as brilliant as always and commands the scenes.

BUT, my brain cannot seem to accept the simplicity of the story. I expected something completely different from this and i really believe that the synopsis provided is misleading. It does not feel like there are any stakes in this film nor character development and under no point is there serious danger. We get a brief (cliche) incident to get us started and then it is monotone the rest of the way, much like the protagonist. Maybe there's a hidden, beautiful parallel to that, i dont know.

I feel like i need to watch this again with a different mindset because it's not what i expected or what was advertised.

Despite my complaints, i liked this movie. I just wish the story and action sequences had been expanded a lot more. It's worth a watch, just not the watch you're expecting.

I don't understand why people give this movie 1-2 stars. It's not a great movie but how do you rate it so low when 90% of movies are much worse and have better ratings. It does start slow but then turns into a quite watchable and enjoyable action flick, with minor logical holes but a gem compared to movies that don't make sense at all.

Sure; it will be a waste of time for many, but what do you expect, to be enlightened and see something amazing and original that no one ever suspected? How many of such movies are released every year?

The Killer is simply a dose of decent entertainment when you do decide to waste some time and run out of amazing truly movies to watch.

The Killer is very understated for a movie that is ostensibly a thriller, so I'm not really surprised that many viewers don't quite know what to make of it. But if you're willing to give it the attention and consideration it deserves I don't think you will regret it.

It's particularly interesting that so many people are faulting this movie for the protagonist frequently not living up to what he says about himself. That's kind of the point. The voiceover throughout the movie isn't narration, it's internal monologue. He's not telling these things to us, he's telling them to himself.

What makes the character interesting is hearing the things he says in his head, and then seeing how his actions either conform or conflict with them. When he tells himself "reject empathy" over and over, and then shows someone a sliver of kindness, we understand that he's violating his personal code of conduct and we're left to ponder why. Maybe deep down he's still a human being, no matter how much he might want to believe that he's simply a killing machine.

We all have an idea in our heads of the person we'd like to be, but we're seldom able to live up to that idea. In that way the Killer is just like us. Except he kills people for a living.

What happens when a hired killer makes a mistake?

After a twenty minute introduction, something finally happens, and you're left with a film that's beautifully shot, well acted, with a somewhat interesting story.

The trouble is, if this film were a song, it would be something by The Smiths, there's definitely a fan base, but for some of us, it's all just too slow, too dull, and ultimately a depressing affair.

The voiceovers become a little irritating after an hour or so, and that constant first person narration slows the film down to a snail's pace.

Neo noir style, nice to look at, and I did like Michael Fassbinder's performance, but ultimately I couldn't stop myself from yawning for the full two hours.

5/10.

It's well compiled. The narration got me invested. Shot beautifully, the suspenseful music is excellent. The movie as a whole is...yeah it's fine? It lacks depth and some scenes lack logic as well. It makes for a fun watch nevertheless. Better than most of the stuff going around these days. A one time watch and you never think about it again kind of a watch. Not Fincher's best but not his worst either. Fassbender is decent in his role portrayed as a mysterious killer who has a knack for everything pretty much. Solid punches to the face by a guy twice his size does not faze him at all. That's about it really.