Forget The Gray Man, Heart of Stone and the like: after a whole series of overpriced blockbuster disappointments, the best Netflix thriller of the year starts on November 10th. The Killer is the name of the film by master director David Fincher (Seven, Fight Club). The main role in the realistic answer to John Wick plays X-Men star Michael Fassbender.
A job goes wrong in David Fincher’s new Netflix thriller
Fassbender plays a nameless killer who, in his own words, pursues his work with extreme perfectionism. At least that’s how it looks at the beginning when he prepares for a contract murder in Paris. However, he makes a fatal mistake. The killer has to flee without having achieved anything and then becomes the target of a retaliatory attack. He won’t let that go.
Netflix
Michael Fassbender in The Killer
Since 2007, David Fincher has been working on adapting a comic by Alexis “Matz” Nolent and Luc Jacamon. For this he even worked again with his screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker. 16 years later, The Killer is a reality in more ways than one.
Because while the leading fictional contract killer of our time – Keanu Reeves’ John Wick – shoots his way through stylish secret organizations with their own currency and laws, Fassbender’s killer leads a life that resembles our reality. He works as a murderous freelancer who flees the crime scene using rideshare apps and orders his equipment through packing stations. The real John Wick doesn’t stay at the Continental, but in a co-working space [Ferienwohnungen sind zu gefährlich, Anm.d.Red.].
The killer shows what the expensive Netflix competition is missing
The Killer can’t compete with David Fincher’s best films, including Zodiac and The Social Network. It seems a bit too neat and self-satisfied for that.
Netflix
Tilda Swinton in The Killer
Fassbender’s Assassin still towers above the standard Netflix film merchandise. Films like The Gray Man, Heart of Stone, Army of the Dead or Red Notice boast big stars, but sometimes suffer from the excessive use of poor visual effects, interchangeable locations and the burden of quickly launching a sequel. They seem to be carrying the future of the streaming service on their shoulders at every minute. The Killer, on the other hand, is just a film and a very good one at that.
Fincher, like his hero, concentrates on the essentials. The story takes place with a minimalist gesture. However, their details were researched so precisely that the world created from them appears as believable and coherent as that of the John Wick films.
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Over 118 minutes, the film and the hero are mostly in motion without rushing. The action is sprinkled into a story sparingly but effectivelywhich keeps you entertained even without explosions.
One of the great joys of the film is watching a pretty clever man at work. Other films flex muscles, The Killer is something for the gray cells. There may be more of that on Netflix.
The Killer will be available in Netflix’s catalog from November 10th. It is currently showing in a selection of German cinemas.