Sunday, March 10, 2024

The Killer

 David Fincher's The Killer was disappointing on two levels:

  1. Netflix is degrading cinema by catering to the viewing sensibilities of the majority, instead of seeking to advance the medium.  I will be the first to admit that I am personally irritated by this trend, and it definitely effects my opinion of a film that I had to watch on TV because the theatrical release was extremely limited.  As anyone who knows me can confirm, I love great television, and don't have a problem watching any one of the six good shows that are available.  What bothers me is that the result of filmmakers being seduced to the streaming/small screen market, is that their product has suffered, whether it be an inclusion of subpar special effects, as in The Irishman, or an acceptance that the film simply needs to have their fingerprints or stamp-of-approval, because success is measured by the number of clicks, and name recognition and a tantalizing preview is all you need.  It seems to me that these partnerships with Netflix are shortsighted, and I hope that enough filmmakers will stand their ground, and keep cinema alive.
  2. The trailer for The Killer promised a Flight Club / Se7en mash-up of hitman with a serious case of OCD, but instead we got a dull retread of a standard plot.  Movies like Payback, Grosse Pointe Blank, and even the first John Wick have provided much more satisfying hitman stories, and weren't the tiresome back-and-forth travelogue that The Killer is.  

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