The Killer

"Execution is everything."

2023 1h 58m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

★6.6TMDB · 3,041

CrimeThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After a fateful miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.

“Execution is everything.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Michael Fassbender
The Killer
Tilda Swinton
The Expert
Charles Parnell
The Lawyer - Hodges
Arliss Howard
The Client - Claybourne
Kerry O'Malley
Dolores
Sophie Charlotte
Magdala
Emiliano Pernia
Marcus
Gabriel Polanco
Leo

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: David Fincher
Writers: Andrew Kevin Walker
Languages: English, French, Spanish
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$175M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 3 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by David Fincher, shot by Erik Messerschmidt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Kirk Baxter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton and Charles Parnell carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

David Fincher directs. Erik Messerschmidt behind the camera. Trent Reznor scores. Kirk Baxter cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, French, Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$175M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Earned back only 0% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
3Released 3 years ago.
4Dialogue crosses 3 languages: English, French, Spanish.
5Directed by David Fincher, shot by Erik Messerschmidt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Trent Reznor. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Kirk Baxter shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Michael Fassbender and Tilda Swinton and Charles Parnell carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Execution is everything.".
10IMDB entry: tt1136617 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11The top-rated still from this film on TMDB has 10 community votes — a signal the frame composition stuck with viewers.
12Classified under 40 themes, including "sniper", "new york city", "assassin", "airport".

The technical file

Cinematography: Erik Messerschmidt
Original score: Trent Reznor
Editing: Kirk Baxter
Production design: Donald Graham Burt
Costume design: Cate Adams
Makeup / hair: April Melerine Maness
VFX supervisor: Jake Maymudes
Sound: Ren Klyce
Stunt coordinator: Sébastien Fouassier
Runtime: 118 min · 1h 58m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $175,000,000
Box office: $362,113
Return: 0% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Killer (2023)

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David Fincher

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Manuel São Bento2023-09-03
★ 6/10
FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://fandomwire.com/the-killer-venice-film-festival-review-a-tense-yet-superficial-experience/ "The Killer is unquestionably the simplest, most straightforward movie of David Fincher's career, for better and for worse. On one hand, Michael Fassbender's melancholy narration and magnetic performance, as well as the moody cinematography and throbbing score, contribute to the immersive, tension-driven experience remarkably idealized and executed by the filmmaker. On the other hand, the lack of any emotional layer related to the superficial story and nameless characters, along with a repetitive structure devoid of secondary arcs, gradually alienates viewers from the equally underdeveloped fictional world. A case of admiration more than enjoyment." Rating: B-
CinemaSerf2023-11-01
★ 6/10
Does anyone remember Baz Luhrmann's song "Sunscreen"? Well the narrative mantra provided here by assassin Michael Fassbender reminded me of some of the profundities of that lyric - though not as wittily. The remainder of this film, however, is unlikely to be conjuring up memories anytime soon. His meticulously planned kill takes out a poor, leather-clad, school mistress instead of the intended target and so he has to flee. Now one might assume that such a character would be un-spookable. Well, nope - not this one. He is actually a bit nervous as he takes the long route home to safety in the Dominican Republic. When he gets there, he discovers that it wouldn't have been that safe there either as his pal "Magdala" (Sophie Charlotte) has been seriously wounded in an assault on his remote home. Bent on revenge, he sets out to track down the offenders and ultimately determines to come face to face with the millionaire client. Now he hasn't quite got a Yellow Pages, but his detective work is carried out with rather brutal ease. We have the odd combat scene, a dog gets pretty zoned out with painkillers and the denouement - featuring a sparing contribution from Tilda Swinton - has precisely zero menace or sophistication to it. Fassbender is very easy on the eye, but the rest of this is about as derivative as it gets - a sort of distant cousin of "The Mechanic" (2011) and it's not really very good.
MovieGuys2023-11-12
★ 6/10
The Killer presents a stylish front, intelligent narration and quality performances, backed by compelling cinematography. That said, when you take a step back, its still "just another" hit man flick, leaving far shallower footsteps, than say, Leon: The Professional. Its essentially driven by a very basic story, that's too truncated to add up to anything meaningful, partially compensated for by lashings of action packed, exposition and a degree of quality narrative. In and of itself, its marginally better than many other knock off's but not by as much, as it might think. In summary, offers a little extra polish but does not aspire to the iconic heights, of films that made this genre famous, in the first place.