Ive seen this 3 times now, and every time I see it, it confirms its masterpiece status. Every frame; every performance; everything about this is David Fincher working at his darkest most comedic levels.

“The Killer” is a French comic book adapted by Andrew Kevin Walker (the guy who wrote “Se7en”) and directed by David Fincher (the guy who directed “Se7en.”)

Now, i love comics and graphic novels, but I bought this book a couple of times and always sold it. I dont know why I COULDNT find a way to enter the story. The art was crisp and theres a bunch of nudity with beautifully drawn women, but I just couldnt get into the story. Maybe its cause there were too many dialogue boxes and I wanted to see it rather than read it.

Its a pure noir, hitman story but maybe it was just TOO nihilistic as a comic book. As a movie though, its so different.

The story is pretty simple. Michael Fassbender plays the eponymous “The Killer.” He goes on a hit that goes bad. By the time he makes it home, his gf has been beat up and maimed for not ratting on him. He goes on the offensive to find out who attacked his lady. He goes to his employer, Hodges (played by Charles Parnell). He discovers the identities of the hitmen after him through the help of Hodges’s assistant, after he “accidentally” kills Hodges. He goes after the “Brute” in Florida. Then, he goes out to NYC to face off against The Expert (Tilda Swinton) or Q Tip. Finally, he goes to the client. The client promises there will be no firther repercussions. The Killer returns to his girlfriend. The End.

Nice and simple right? The story IS simple, but its the particulars that give this movie its flavor.

First of all, I just want to say that the cinematography is beautiful, pristine and controlled as ever; and perfectly framed just like any other David Fincher film by the great Erik Messerschmidt. The editing is also super tight and well done by David Fincher regular, Kirk Baxter, at a nice 118 minutes.

Again, the particulars are what make this movie a masterpiece and this is all tied into character, story and performance. This is THE DARKEST, FUNNIEST HIT MAN movie ive ever seen. 

Let me give a couple of examples:

1). The Hitman kindve sucks at his job. He misses his first target of the movie; he breaks all the rules he recites in his mind (mostly in voiceover); he doesnt give the Brute’s dog enough tranquilizer to knock it out; and he survives the Expert’s knife purely by chance. Each of these moments is built up perfectly to a crescendo where you think one thing will happen, and the exact opposite happens, keeping you on your toes.

2). The Hitman listens to The Smiths all the time and although I dont particularly like those songs, it just feels right.

3). There is a fight scene with the brute that goes LONG, but the great thing about this fight is that you feel every hit and its well choreographed and shot. It doesnt help that the dog wakes up, but that definitely adds to the comedy points.

4). The killer goes in to Interrogate his boss, Hodges. He takes a nail gun and shoots Hodges in the chest three or four times and says Hodges has at LEAST 7 minutes before he dies. Again, another miscalculation since Hodges dies within 3 minutes. The best part is when the Killer realizes hes wrong.

Overall, I cannot recommend this enough. Michael Fassbender is just great.

Another plus is that Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross compose a wonderfully atmospheric and electronic soundscape of a soundtrack.

This is definitely worth multiple rewatches and is streaming on Netflix. I love it!