The Killer’s Game
review by Bobby Blakey
Over the last few years there have been a lot of stuntmen stepping into the director’s chairs to create some awesome action flicks. The latest is Dayshift director J.J. Perry who did stunt work on a ton of films including John Wick, Avatar, Walker Texas Ranger and so many others and is bringing his next action flick to the big screen with The Killer’s Game. The film features a great cast including Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, Pom Klementieff, Marko Zaror, Daniel Bernhardt and Ben Kingsley. Could this action flick bring the fun audiences want or will it miss its target?
The Killer’s Game follows top hitman Joe Flood who is diagnosed with a terminal illness, decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it’s too late.
My love of martial arts action stars like Adkins, Bernhardt and Zaror had me already instantly ready to see this film, but the addition of Bautista and Boutella just added to the fun. I was hoping for an over-the-top action flick and this film delivers. It harkens back to 80s and 90s action films in all the best possible ways including the cheesy one liner.
Bautista has proven time and again he can handle action, but this film also allows him to stretch his rom com muscles, and he does a good job with it. He has great chemistry with Boutella who is a strong female character without them feeling like they needed her to be badass. The small amount of story here weaving through the action works due to their relationship and sets the tone for everything outside of the mistaken medical diagnosis. Of course, if people would just communicate, we might not have this drama, but then we wouldn’t get the action we want.
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Once the hit it put out the action and fun really begin and does not disappoint. Big props to J.J. Perry and the rest of the stunt team on not only bringing some great action but using their awesome cast to perfection. Everyone except for Daniel Bernhardt gets the chance to showcase their skills front and center. Make no mistake, he is in on the action and does a great job, but the martial arts fan in me wanted that great fight scene he just didn’t get. He was still badass throughout.
Every single person brought their A game with some awesome choreography and execution. Bautista has some great action beats and goes all in, but it’s the wide variety of eccentric killers that sell the fun and violence. While they are all fun sequences getting to see Scott Adkins teamed up with WWE superstar Drew McIntyre was all kinds of awesome. Their two on one fight against Bautista brings everything I wanted including Adkins signature kick. This would have made me happy enough along with the others but letting Marko Zaror bring his mad skills to the mix was even better and creative violent fun.
This isn’t the kind of film that is really doing anything we haven’t seen in some level in other action films, but the perfect cast assassins, brilliant action, comedy and all-around fun made it one of the better action films to come along in awhile of its kind. I hope this one finds the audience it deserves because it is a fun time at the movies worth checking out.
Decide for yourself and check out The Killer’s Game in theaters now.
