The Killer's Game

When I saw the trailer for this thing my immediate thought was: "This looks really stupid... but, it might be MY KIND of stupid." And boy, was I right on the money! I take a risk on movies like this from time to time, fully expecting that I'm either going to love it or hate it. Cocaine Bear, for example, I freakin hated. This movie? I had a fantastic time from start to finish.

It's fun, it's action packed, it doesn't waste time. If you haven't seen the trailer, I wouldn't even watch it, because you'll probably enjoy it even more going in blind. It's a stylish, over the top action thriller with a script that got me to genuinely LOL a few times. That's a rare enough thing.

It's also Dave Bautista's first outing as a leading man. He's proven himself a competent performer in the Dune films and a few other supporting roles. I wouldn't call him a great actor, but he's a hell of a lot better than The Rock is ever going to be.

Sadly, The Killer's Game is getting no traction at the box office. Want another reason to support it? It's exactly the kind of mid-budget movie that barely exists anymore. A 30 million dollar risk on something that's not a sequel or established IP. Those are precisely the kind of films that deserve your money, especially if you're tired of the bleak, planned universe dystopia and rehash mill our theaters have become.

This is, frankly, the summer movie more people should've seen instead of Deadpool & Wolverine. If you like cheesy, fun, action fare like "Shoot Em Up" And "Bullet Train", you should definitely give The Killer's Game a watch.

The Killer's Game delivers straightforward action with enough entertainment to keep you watching, though it's nothing revolutionary. The fight scenes are decent, but not on par with the gold standard that is John Wick. The cast of quirky assassins that span the world add some fun, almost like they're from Street Fighter just with less depth. Dave Bautista does his usual tough-guy routine, and while he's good, it's familiar territory for him.

The concept-an assassin accidentally putting a hit on himself due to a medical mistake-is unique, but the execution is predictable. There are laughs and a few solid action moments, but nothing that really stands out.

Overall, it's a fun and gory film that's enjoyable if you're looking for an easy, action-filled watch. Just don't expect it to leave a lasting impression.

This is a fun little movie, isn't very original nor very memorable but fun while it is on. To be clear, this had to be filmed as a movie not intended to go to theaters but it was better than expected. Dave Bautista, while looking odd, does a great job as he finally gets an action movie where he is the lead man

The plot is simple, introducing zany comic book type assisins and then killing them off in incresingly comically violent ways. Ben Kingsley and a Catholic priest are the comic relief and surprisingly that works really well, some good laughs. Scott Adkins and Terry Crews have smaller roles but always bring something fun to their performances.

I also appreciated the excessing grenade use in this film. I feel in real life hitmen would use grenades instead of exposing themselves for a gunfight. It is a movie of course, but eveyrone uses grenades first, and I approve of that.

You don't have to go to a theater to see it, but definately watch it when it comes to home video or streaming as it is a fun watch. There was scattered applause when the credits rolled and others seemed to generally like it.

I was expecting that JJ Perry having been in the army would actually know something about how weapons work, especially fragmentation grenades, but I was sadly disappointed. Also, as a stunt guy, I was thinking he could come up with cool but realistic stunts. But again, the stunts were contrived and defied physics.

I loved Bautista in GotG, Drax had depth, where Joe, an assassin, was BORING and predictable. Sofia's acting is a step up from David's, but still was a low for her. Again, this could have been the result of really poor directing.

Ben Kingsley and Alex Kingston consummate professionals that don't need a director, performed excellently. They accounted for a star by themselves.

Good concept bumbled by a over reaching stunt man.

Truth be told, I have to admit that I didn't exactly harbor the biggest of expectations to the 2024 movie "The Killer's Game", as I sat down to watch it here in 2025. Why? Well, I can't claim to find Dave Bautista a particularly skilled actor. But I still opted to watch the movie on account of it being a movie that I hadn't already seen. Maybe director J. J. Perry would pull something out here to surprise me.

The storyline in the movie was fairly okay. I mean, it was a rather straightforward narrative, which was rather simplistic. So it wasn't a movie that requires a lot of audience involvement. But it proved adequately entertaining nonetheless.

There are some familiar faces on the cast list, with the likes of Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Ben Kingsley, Daniel Bernhardt, Terry Crews, Pom Klementieff and Scott Adkins. The acting performances in the movie were good, though it is of course not Award-winning thespian performances, but then again would you expect that from an action movie such as this?

The movie does have a fair share of action sequences in it, which definitely helped add to the overall impression of the movie.

And the effects in the movie were good, which also help add to the movie.

My rating of director J. J. Perry's 2024 movie "The Killer's Game" lands on a six out of ten stars.