The Killer’s Game Review: Dave Bautista Aims Well, But The Film Misses The Mark

Maybe it’s just because of the popularity and success of the John Wick franchise, but it feels like we’ve had an awful lot of “professional killer” movies of late. Not just movies that feature criminals, but movies that feature criminals in a way that frames their profession as not much different from the average nine-to-five job (except that instead of punching a time clock, they pull triggers).

The Killer’s Game is the latest in the “one man versus an arena full of professional assassins” genre. It stars Dave Bautista in the lead role of the “one man” this time around. He’s a former soldier-turned-professional-killer Joe Flood. Joe is the best hired killer in Europe, though he’ll only take your job if you want him to kill somebody who is a “bad guy.” This is our movie’s hero after all; you wouldn’t want the professional assassin to be unlikeable.

During one mission, Joe meets professional dancer Maize (Sofia Boutella), and following the advice of his mentor (Ben Kingsley), he decides to try to have a life – not just end them. The pair fall in love, but things take a turn when the killer learns he has an incurable disease. He decides to take out a hit on himself to set up Maize for life and spare himself an agonizing prolonged death. But when it turns out Joe isn’t dying after all, he now has to figure out a way to stay alive.

The Killer’s Game then opens the floodgates with a variety of other professional assassins who are looking to make millions by taking out Joe Flood. Everybody has their own style, a cute nickname, and a gimmick that usually leads to a unique fight sequence. The only thing they have in common is that large quantities of their blood are sprayed everywhere as a result of the fight.

The Killer’s Game plays it oddly straight before it goes completely off the rails. 

There’s a pretty jarring shift in tone opening A Killer’s Game. The first act of the movie is remarkably subdued in comparison to what follows. The focus on Joe and Maize’s relationship is handled in the same way any dramatic meet-cute would be. And both actors are up to the task. It’s an adorable relationship. It’s unfortunate that it eventually gets the short end of the stick in the film.

Dave Bautista has separated himself from his professional wrestling brethren who have turned to acting by being a guy willing to take roles that aren’t just action movies. We’ve seen him be funny in Guardians of the Galaxy and serious in A Knock at the Cabin. The beginning of The Killer’s Game gives us a glimpse of what Bautista is capable of as a dramatic, even a romantic lead. He’s not likely going to star in a Jane Austen adaptation anytime soon, but it’s a step in the right direction.

 Dave Bautista shines in the lead. 

If The Killer’s Game had continued to focus on the relationship drama, maybe things would have improved, but instead, the story shifts hard into “action mode,” and the experience become a live-action cartoon rather than a dramatic action movie. It’s not that the moment when a character is introduced by having her name spelled out in the blood of her victim is “bad;” it’s just jarring, as nothing before it indicates the movie is going to have this sort of tone.

The Killer’s Game was first adapted from the novel on which it’s based in the 1990s, and the script has been through multiple hands in the years since. The final product feels like not only were there multiple writers but that different writers were exclusively in charge of different parts of the story, leading to a disjointed whole.

As a fast-paced action-comedy, The Killer’s Game still works once you get used to it. The various assassins trying to kill Joe, including Lovedahl (Terry Crews) and a pair of Scottish brothers (Scott Adkins and the WWE‘s Drew McIntyre) with a brogue so thick they are subtitled, are all entertaining in their own right. The problem there is that only Crews’ character actually plays a significant part of the story. The rest are ultimately just fodder for Bautista, as many of them are gone as quickly as they get introduced.

This problem is even more present for Bautista’s Guardians of the Galaxy co-star Pom Klementieff. Her character is leading the charge to kill Joe Flood, which seems destined to lead to something interesting, perhaps a big “set piece” action scene. But then it just…doesn’t.

The Killer’s Game has solid action, but it is lacking in comparison to other recent and similar films.

The over-the-top action is solid. Director J.J. Perry is the latest in a line of former stunt coordinators who have become directors. He clearly understands the fundamentals of directing action, and this movie gives plenty of different ways to show it. Whether you prefer your action hand-to-hand or with lots of guns, there will be something here worth checking out.

The Killer’s Game doesn’t do anything particularly badly, the problem is that it doesn’t do anything we haven’t seen before or do anything better than other, similar movies. From the previously mentioned John Wick to Smokin’ Aces to Bullet Train, the idea of a criminal underworld full of eccentric characters all trying to kill each other is a premise that’s been done. If this movie had been made back when the adaptation was first in the works, then it would have at least been something new, but now it just feels like it’s following a trend for the sake of it.

The Killer’s Game completes its assignment, but it does so in unremarkable fashion. It’s a solid journeyman effort, and movie fans looking for some violent action will get what they’re looking for. It’s just unlikely they’ll remember much about it once the credits roll.