Readers’ Thoughts on ‘The Killer’

It’s a big week for movie fans, no, not because “The Marvels” is now in theaters, but rather David Fincher’s “The Killer” has been made available to stream on Netflix.

I watched Fincher’s hitman movie a few weeks back. Fincher has called “The Killer” a “B-movie,” and he is correct in that assessment. It has no pretensions. It’s an expertly dressed-up, mostly-silent assassin drama. It’s also what you might call a “by the numbers” statement. Sharp, pulpy and not pretending to be anything other than what it purports to be.

A particular highlight has Fassbender’s hitman sneaking into a Florida condo where he gets into a gritty brawl with a hired goon (Sala Baker). As the pair pursue each other, with fists, kicks, and improvised weapons, the action doesn’t relent, it’s satisfyingly brutal — aided by DP Erik Messerschmidt‘s low-lighting and handheld camera, it’s the piece-de-resistance of the film and the best action scene I’ve seen all year.

“The Killer” is getting muted approval from audiences so far — it has a 7.0 rating on IMDB, based on 38k votes and sits at 65% viewer approval on Rotten Tomatoes. Now it’s your turn. What did you think of “The Killer”?