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Over the years, several wrestlers
have made the leap from the ring to the big screen, but few have shown as much
versatility and screen presence as Dave Bautista. He has proven to be more than
just an action star, displaying comedic chops in films like Guardians of the
Galaxy and Glass Onion and delivering dramatic performances in Blade
Runner 2049. Even in less memorable projects, such as My Spy, his
charisma keeps you watching. Sadly, in the action-comedy The Killer’s Game,
Bautista’s engaging presence is not enough to salvage what becomes a tiresome
100-minute bloodbath.
Bautista stars as Joe Flood, a
veteran hitman based in Budapest with a strict moral code—he only kills those
who "deserve" it. His mentor, Zvi (Ben Kingsley), adds gravitas to
the role of handler, and Joe’s life seems to take a turn for the better when he
meets Maize (Sofia Boutella), a dancer at a recital massacre, and falls in
love. This newfound romance inspires Joe to quit his violent lifestyle. But his
bliss is short-lived when he’s diagnosed with an incurable disease and given
only three months to live. Not wanting Maize to witness his decline, Joe
decides to take out a contract on himself. When Zvi refuses, Joe hires another
handler, Marianna (Pom Klementieff), to do the job. However, when his doctor
calls to reveal there’s been a lab mix-up and Joe is actually healthy, it’s too
late—the contract is active, and Marianna is more than happy to carry it out.
This setup, where a character hires
a hitman to kill themselves but later regrets it, has been done before in films
like The Odd Job (1978) and Bulworth (1998). Unfortunately,
screenwriters Rand Ravich and James Coyne, adapting a novel by Jay R.
Bonansinga, fail to breathe new life into the concept. What follows is a series
of repetitive action sequences in which Joe is hunted by increasingly eccentric
assassins—from a duo of lesbian strippers to a K-pop group with deadly skills.
These violent confrontations, intended to mimic the energetic carnage of John
Wick, lack the visual flair or creativity needed to make them memorable.
Director J.J. Perry (Day Shift) delivers lackluster fight scenes
drenched in unconvincing CGI gore, making the film feel like a pale imitation
of better action films.
Even in this uninspired environment,
Bautista gives it his all. Despite the weak material, he remains committed to
the role, demonstrating the range that has made him such an appealing presence
in films like Dune and Knock at the Cabin. While it’s clear he’s
aiming for something bigger, he still tries to elevate the film, making it
slightly more tolerable than it would have been in lesser hands. Unfortunately,
the rest of the cast isn’t as fortunate. Ben Kingsley phones in his
performance, and Sofia Boutella’s character is reduced to the concerned
girlfriend trope. Despite the buzz around the reunion of Bautista and his Guardians
of the Galaxy co-star Pom Klementieff, they barely share any screen time,
which is a disappointment.
In the end, The Killer’s Game
is a dull and derivative action film, so generic that it feels like it was made
to fill streaming algorithms rather than the big screen. It's unfortunate that
a talent like Bautista is stuck in such a mediocre project, but hopefully, it
will be quickly forgotten, leaving Bautista to find the roles he truly
deserves. With any luck, by the time Bautista fully cements himself as a major
movie star, this film will have faded from memory.
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