The title of this movie nearly earned an eye roll from me because it felt too on the nose. Sure, I was in the mood for an action movie but not one that simply announced it was about killing. I mean, obviously that's the core of most crime and action movies. But, seeing Nathalie Emmanuel on the poster piqued my interest.
I became a fan of this actress after her role as Missandei in Game of Thrones and as Ramsey in the Fast & Furious movies. I wanted to see if she could embody a badass killer in this movie and she didn't disappoint.
The Killer (2024) is an action thriller directed by John Woo, a reboot of his 1989 Hong Kong film. It was written by Brian Helgeland and with two other people, produced by Charles Roven and distributed by Peacock. The movie stars Nathalie Emmanuel, Omar Sy, Sam Worthington, Diana Silvers, Eric Cantona and Saïd Taghmaoui.
In this action movie, Nathalie Emmanuel plays Zee, a mysterious assassin, who works for an organisation in Paris run by Finn (Sam Worthington). She's smart, stealthy and often works alone. Finn meets her at an abandoned church and gives her the job of killing a drug gang at a nightclub.
Zee enters the club, no weapons detected on her after a thorough search. While a singer sings on stage, Zee pieces together a samurai sword unseen and kills the gang. The singer tries to escape, falls, hits her head and loses her vision. Zee doesn't kill her and disappears from the crime scene.
Finn insists that Zee kills the singer. When Zee gets to the hospital, disguised as a US vice consul, she meets Sey, a Parisian police officer who is bent on finding the killer and a van full of heroin that is connected to the murders. Zee and Sey take a liking to each other, crossing paths continuously and wondering whether they are any different as the people behind the stolen drugs come after them.
Can they, an assassin and a cop, work together to take down the powerful organisation behind the stolen drugs?
I understand this movie is a remake of John Woo's 1989 film of the same name though I have not seen the original. So I can't make an informed comparison but I enjoyed watching this version. I'm not sure I would have enjoyed the original as much with a male assassin in the lead.
Remaking the assassin as a woman makes this version more fascinating and, in some ways, raises the stake. It begs the question — could she convincingly handle the role and action sequences as well as a male actor? In my view, Nathalie Emmanuel is smooth and impressive in this new role and I hope to see her take up more action roles in the future.
Though the narrative structure of this movie isn't straightforward, the plot and storytelling are good and put me on the edge of my seat all through the two hours running time. A van of stolen heroin is at the center of this movie but it doesn't become obvious until much later into the movie.
Sey, the Parisian cop is introduced at the beginning of the movie in a way that makes me wonder what he is up to. Then the story is told with some flashbacks in between scenes which can be a little confusing hence my complaint about the narrative structure. Half way in, you can piece the isolated scenes together to understand the direction the movie is heading. The ending is satisfying, especially the fight scenes in the church and cemetery.
I think the director, John Woo, could have structured this movie better without the confusion. Also, there are more slow motions than necessary which robs this movie of the adrenaline pumping tension that action fans crave.
Still, the action sequences are gripping and well done. I loved watching Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy in action, especially when they fight side by side. They have good chemistry and their rapport is interesting, almost like Woo wants to sell us a romance between these two. Their moves are coordinated and seamless. Also, it's cool to see Sam Worthington play the role of a crime lord. He pulled it off well.
The cinematography is neat and seamless. The flashbacks and slow motions achieved with fluid camera movements and slick editing gives the movie a stylish, modern touch.
Rating this movie, I will give it 6 stars out of 10 because of the sloppy narrative structure. The actors are great, entertaining and hold the movie together. Still, their effort is almost undone by the structure of the storytelling. All the same, this is a fun action flick to watch.
All images above are from the movie screenshots
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