Bullet Points: The Killer (2024)
There were two things that I knew about The Killer before I even hit play…
- Even though this remake shared the same director as the original. And even though that director was the legendary John Woo… There was no way that 2024’s The Killer was going to surpass 1989’s The Killer. Even Woo can’t put the genie back in the bottle or the toothpaste back in the tube.
- At just north of two hours, 2024’s The Killer was about 15 minutes longer than 1989’s The Killer, so while it probably wasn’t going to be better, there was more of it.
- Kill Zone: The Killer takes place in Paris, France. We are introduced to our hitwoman Zee (Nathalie Emmanuel) as she goes about some of her daily routines, before heading over to a deconsecrated church where she meets her boss, Finn (Sam Worthington, Avatar: The Way of Water) and receives her next assignment… Meanwhile, two French cops, Sey (Omar Sy) and Jax (Grégory Montel), spot a person of interest in a high dollar, stolen heroin case. The suspect, known on the streets as Coco (Hugo, Diego Garcia) is less than cooperative. Coco attempts to get away by car, but Sey’s slick shooting ends that quickly. After his getaway car has flipped, Coco tries to escape on foot and when that doesn’t work out, he takes a little girl hostage… then Coco ends up shot in the head and floating in the River Seine at the hands of Sey.
- Killer Outfit: After visiting her friend the tailor, Zee is ready to hit up the private room at a popular night club and take out her next deserving targets… per Finn everyone in the room needs to go. This is our chance to see Zee in action and she proves to be very handy with a samurai sword or she can straight up shoot your ass if needed too… however, she may not be the best at following instructions. Zee shows mercy on the American singer, Jenn (Diana Silvers) performing for the private party. Jenn ends up hitting her head during all the chaos and loses her sight as a result, but at least she’s still breathing!
- Kill or Be Killed: Not completing the job as instructed puts Zee at odds with Finn. Zee attempts to finish what she started by paying Jenn a visit at the hospital, posing as vice council for the United States Embassy. But then things get complicated. It turns out Coco was Jenn’s boyfriend and all the guys at the club that Zee slaughtered, were Coco’s friends. So that brings Sey to Jenn’s hospital room too, preventing Zee from killing Jenn. And thus begins a variation on the old “will they or won’t they?” between Zee and Sey… it’s not will they or won’t they fall in love in this case (even though I’ve heard Paris is quite romantic). It’s will they or won’t they become allies or enemies!?! After failing to kill Jenn twice, the Zee/Finn relationship is falling apart and Zee goes from being Jenn’s would be executioner to Jenn’s protector.
- Killer Ending: As I noted in my intro, I was not expecting 2024’s The Killer to be better than 1989s The Killer, but with John Woo at the helm, I WAS expecting there to be some great action. Action wise the movie does deliver, with the highlight being the finale that takes place in deconsecrated church and the adjoining cemetery!
Stepping outside the action fanatic bubble for a moment, you have to think that there is a sizeable chunk of the world that probably has never seen the original John Woo directed The Killer or that have any interest in watching a Hong Kong movie from 35 years ago… but they could easily be tempted to watch 2024’s The Killer when they open their Peacock app this weekend. And honestly I believe that is the target audience for this remake… not for those of us who put the original on a much deserved pedestal.
Doing my best to not compare the two versions, 2024’s The Killer is not a bad movie. It could have been a little shorter since it did feel like a drag at times. Emmanuel’s Zee was effective in her role. My favorite character was Omar Sy’s Sey, the honest cop, who will do what it takes to dish out some justice and one that doesn’t have time for political bullshit. And since I was never fully on board with Sam Worthington as an action hero, him being an action villain worked much better for me.
Hopefully these Bonus Bullet Points will work for you…
- For the Birds: I did notice one dove in the church (it was flying in slow motion too) and there were plenty of pigeons that called the rafters of the church their home…. surprisingly the floor didn’t appear to be covered in pigeon shit.
- Bastard Count: At one point in the third act, Zee calls Finn a bastard, and deservedly so.
- According to IMDb: There were plans to remake The Killer as far back as 1992 with Richard Gere and Denzel Washington attached.
