Back in 2024, Peacock released The Killer, a remake of the film of the same name, which was released back in 1989, with both films being written and directed by John Woo.
The film attracted plenty of negative reviews during initial release, but the film has found new life again on Netflix, and despite all the poor critiques, the film has nearly topped the streamer’s charts in the UK, only behind recent shark film, Thrash.
The film follows a contract killer, Zee, played by Nathalie Emmanuel, who ends up being hunted by her former employers and police officers after a hit goes wrong. The killings ends up leaving a singer Jenn Clark, played by Diana Silvers, blind, and Zee refuses to kill her as a result of the injury.
A synopsis for the movie reads: “After being betrayed by her master, a disillusioned assassin takes one final shot with the intention of using the money to help a musician she accidentally blinded regain vision.”
Despite its poor reviews, the film did impress on a technical scale, and it received nominations for its score, set design and stunt work, although it ultimately failed to win any of the awards.
Response
Viewers gave the film a mixed reaction, as one complained: “What a disappointment! Yes, the technical elements are well made. Yes, the cast sounds impressive. But the dialogue, the incoherences in the plot, the 2-dimensional characters, is this a self-parody??”
A second agreed, as they wrote: “Hard to Watch. It’s as if AI watched a bunch of 80s action movies that were badly dubbed from a different language and attempted to replicate it. Cartoonish action sequences, dialogue written by an 8th grader, soap opera style over-acting, flatlined character development, confusing music choices. I had to watch some of it at 1.5 speed to get through it all.”
However, in a positive review for the film, one viewer enthused: “I can’t stress this enough IGNORE the other reviews. This movie was thoroughly enjoyable. Firstly, great acting and chemistry between the female and male leads. Secondly, thank you John Woo for finally giving us a good action movie with great fight scenes. There was no CGI garbage in this movie – actual real stunts. Thirdly watch it for John’s iconic doves flying in the middle of a fight scene. You can thank me later.”
In a three-star review for The Guardian, Jesse Hassenger said: “There’s nothing urgently necessary about a new version of The Killer. It humbly presents the optional but delightful spectacle of watching John Woo have fun again.”
Who stars in The Killer?
The film is led by Fast & Furious star Nathalie Emmanuel, and she’s joined by Omar Sy (Jurassic World), Sam Worthington (Avatar), Diana Silvers (Space Force), Saïd Taghmaoui (John Wick) and Angeles Woo (Silent Night).
© Alamy Stock PhotoThe cast is completed by Eric Cantona (AKA), Tchéky Karyo (The Missing), Grégory Montel (Call My Agent!), Hugo Diego Garcia (The Substance), Michaël Erpelding (The French Mans) and Aurélia Agel (Black Widow).
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