The Killer

"Some alliances form. Others will crumble."

2024 2h 6m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 632

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.

“Some alliances form. Others will crumble.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Nathalie Emmanuel
Zee
Omar Sy
Sey
Sam Worthington
Finn
Diana Silvers
Jenn
Saïd Taghmaoui
Prince Majeb Bin Faheem
Angeles Woo
Chi Mai
Éric Cantona
Gobert
Tchéky Karyo
Tessier

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: John Woo
Writers: Pierre-Emmanuel Chatiliez, Josh Campbell, Brian Helgeland
Languages: French, English
Countries: Canada, 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

Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 2 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by John Woo, shot by Mauro Fiore. 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 Marco Beltrami. 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 Zach Staenberg 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

Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy and Sam Worthington carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

John Woo directs. Mauro Fiore behind the camera. Marco Beltrami scores. Zach Staenberg cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Canada, United States of America. Dialogue in French, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 1% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 2 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 2 languages: French, English.
4International production across 2 countries: Canada, United States of America.
5Directed by John Woo, shot by Mauro Fiore. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Marco Beltrami. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Zach Staenberg shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Nathalie Emmanuel and Omar Sy and Sam Worthington carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "Some alliances form. Others will crumble.".
10IMDB entry: tt1121948 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Released under 11 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Mauro Fiore
Original score: Marco Beltrami
Editing: Zach Staenberg
Production design: Aline Bonetto
Makeup / hair: Marion Di Domizio
Sound: Paul Massey
Stunt coordinator: Vincent Bouillon
Runtime: 126 min · 2h 6m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $30,000,000
Box office: $318,618
Return: 1% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: The Killer (2024)

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John Woo

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Sejian2024-08-23
★ 4/10
This movie is laughably bad. Oh my goodness. It's nice to see Nathalie Emmanuel outside of the Furiously Fast series and it's nice seeing Omar Sy and Sam Worthington again but this movie just steadily gets more campy and more cringe and more stupid as it progresses. The best scene is probably the club hit early on, and it gives you a false sense that the movie is going to be better than the poster - it isn't. In that respect, The Killer (2024) reminds me of Smile (2022). Folks went crazy for Smile. Smile went downhill after the opening scene and never recovered. I watched Silent Night (2023). It wasn't horrible, but maybe John Woo should've stopped with that. I don't care that the story isn't original, I care that the script is poorly written and the direction is lackluster. Zee is poorly written, Sey is poorly written, Jenn is poorly written, and Finn says "Kushala Daora" one-two many times. Jax is probably the best written character and he's on-screen for like 5 minutes total. I got the impression early on that they were going for a Killing Eve (2018-2022) vibe, but yeah, no. It's just sad. Can someone competent take this cast, this concept - this "Queen of the Dead" idea, and do it properly? If you're looking for some female-led assassin action, check out The Protégé (2021) which wasn't a masterpiece but it was more entertaining than this, Anna (2019), Salt (2010), Red Sparrow (2018), or Atomic Blonde (2017).
MovieGuys2024-08-31
★ 5/10
Yes, we all needed another "girl boss" flick to spark our inner woke, didn't we? What's that you say, "hell no", well then, read on. The Killer starts off with a main character, an assassin no less, who comes across as being about as tough and intimidating, as a bowl of warm mashed potato. But hey, she has a punch bag in her bohemian bedsit. Not to mention a handler who looks like he can, in fact, handle himself. Indeed, the underlying strategy seems to be to use visually gritty characters and cues, to drown out the entirely non-threatening nature of the lead character. Its a bit like sitting a potted rose down with pots of cacti, in the hope people will inexplicably mistake one, for the other. As you might expect, the results another absurdly unconvincing, predominantly exposition driven, affair, that would, I feel have only worked if re-imagined as a satirical comedy. That's not to say this is the fault of the actors. Its a decent cast, who have found themselves mis-cast, no doubt, I'm guessing, so the script can play gender politics. Suffice to say, the quality acting, is one of the limited upsides, of this flick. In summary, no amount of suspension of disbelief, will make this work.I personally wonder why they persist, when everything I see, seems to suggest the viewing public have thoroughly rejected, the DEI agenda, in favour of a return to traditional, sensible, entertainment.
Dr Nostromo2026-04-10
★ 7/10
73/100 Action maestro John Woo takes his 1989 film, "The Killer", and puts a new spin on it and, at least for me, it works wonderfully. Nathalie Emmanuel, as the assassin and Omar Sy, as the cop, did a great job developing extremely likable characters and some great cat & mouse moments. I even like Sam Worthington in this, which is rare. Diana Silvers as the injured singer was sort of 'meh' but she got the job done. The dialogue seemed weak at times and the story is completely familiar but we're here for the action and on that, they delivered in spades. Enjoyable! -- DrNostromo