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

David Fincher’s latest movie is a cold-blooded action thriller about an unnamed hitman who has to go on the run from his bosses after a hit goes wrong. It stars Michael Fassbender as the titular killer, a man who we are introduced to on a stakeout in Paris where he listens to ‘The Smiths’ and patiently waits for the right moment to assassinate his target in the hotel opposite his base. Voiceover narration evidences that this is a cool, calm and collected individual who has been in this position before, which makes it all the more surprising when he’s distracted by his targets female companion and accidentally shoots her instead, leading to a frantic escape from his hideout and from Paris itself. Returning ‘home’ to the Dominican Republic, he discovers his bosses are attempting to take him and his partner out, setting him on a course of action to take them out before they can him.

This is quite a simple movie by David Fincher’s standards as it mostly follows the path you would expect and I initially struggled with a central character who is, as designed, a blank canvas with little for us to relate to (other than his love of ‘The Smiths’ of course!). However, I found myself warming to it, whether that be through Fassbender injecting just enough chilly gravitas into the protagonist, the deadpan humour in both his voiceover narration and interactions with various marks, or Fincher’s clinical and professional direction. It all came together to make this a more compelling movie than it could have been otherwise.

‘The Killer’ is a stylish thriller from David Fincher which feels at once both old fashioned in its simplicity and modern in its execution, with a welcome return from Michael Fassbender to leading man duties. Bolstered by memorable turns from the likes of Tilda Swinton, this is a clinical, nihilistic, but most of all, well crafted movie that once again demonstrates Fincher’s talents behind the camera.

Rating: 4/5

Directed By: David Fincher

Starring: Michael Fassbender, Tilda Swinton, Charles Parnell, Arliss Howard, Kerry O’Malley, Sophie Charlotte, Emiliano Pernia, Gabriel Polanco and Sala Baker

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1136617/