Killers (2010) Reviews

• Post Modernist Tedium

  gdr22010-06-02

  There are two kinds of bad movies: The so-bad-it's-good, and so bad-it-hurts. But then, there is Killers; an amorphous blob that exists in a vacuum where no films has ever been made before. It's not a comedy in the sense it's assembled out of jokes and humorous conflicts -- Killers constructs its own parallel universe reality and giddily makes fun of it. And it's not an action in the sense that good guys and bad guys chase one another -- Killers' has a snake-eating-its-tail moral stance. Killers is Meta in the truest sense of the word, and it's not even aware of it. Critically analyzing Killers is like reasoning with an alligator before it eats you alive; it's a waste of precious time better used for self reconcile. The only shinning piece of the film is Heigl's teeth. The script seems to have begun its existence as a Mr. & Mrs. Smith book report, rewritten by a conspiracy theorist, and finally polished by an ESL student. It tells the story of sweet Jen (Heigl) who while vacationing with her parents (Selleck and O'Hara) in France, meets the ripped Spencer (Kutcher), and instantly falls in love. Spencer is a professional assassin, but after a few minutes with Jen he decides to leave all that behind him. The film is not in a hurry to tell is story, mostly due to the fact there is none. The couple gets married, move together and three years later (and half way through the film) his old boss calls him again, 'you're ain't going out that easy' he promises, and he's right on the money. All hell breaks lose, and almost everyone who gets introduced during the first half turns out to be a gunman hired to kill Spencer. Kutcher is detail-oriented twitterer, and as an actor, his goofiness is unmatched. Up until the end, Kutcher monotone performance came across as lack of talent. But after the surreal note the film ended on, it made perfect sense. Him and Heigl have the best anti-chemistry, and casting them together was an unintentional stroke of genius; He's the Laurel to her Hardy. Enjoying the Killers depends entirely on your expectations and gullibility. Despite the film's colossal shortcomings, it still manages to make you laugh with its idiosyncrasies. You'll laughing mostly out of confusion, but it's laughter never the less; Kutcher's latest installment in the Dude Where is My Car tradition.

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• Lower Your Expectations -- It's Not That Bad!

  3xHCCH2010-06-23

  The story of "Killers" is familiar, with a twist. Jen (Katherine Heigl) is vacationing in the very scenic town of Nice with her straight-laced dad (Tom Selleck) and alcoholic mom (Catherine O'Hara). There she meets the suave Spencer (Ashton Kutcher). They fall in love and eventually get married. Little did Jen know though, that three years later, the ghosts of Spencer's old job will come and wreak havoc on their seemingly perfect suburban life. This is the first movie of Katherine Heigl that I have seen. I know she is in TV's "Gray's Anatomy", but I do not watch that as well. I liked her very much as the geeky beauty Jen in "Killers". She is sexy, funny and bubbly. Ashton Kutcher could never really escape the dumb persona he has built in "That 80s Show" or in "Punk'd." He does try his best here to play an action hero, and I think he passes muster. I think the two of them do have some sort of goof-ball chemistry because of their likable personalities. The execution of the script is OK. I sort of liked the outlandish plot points and the over-the top comedic violence. I am surprised to see a lot of harsh reviews here. Hey, I am sure you do not watch a film like "Killers" expecting a serious screenplay and award-winning acting. This film is lightweight, silly and adrenaline-driven for the most part, and I think it delivered well on its shallow objectives.

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• Not as bad as it's made out to be

  XM19732011-06-12

  This one's not half as bad as most of the reviews here make it out to be. The film makers aren't pretending to make a classic or even competing for the Oscars. It's a fun film that you will either like or not like. It doesn't take itself seriously. How can a movie that has Ashton Kutcher playing a trained killer working for "some" government agency. Ashton plays it a little campy, almost like a comic book character and that works, Katherine Heigl is her usual self. It's always good to see a beautiful Hollywood actress not looking like skin and bones. Tom Selleck plays Heigl's dad, a slightly predictable character. While the movie might be very predictable, it has its funny moments and while the pace isn't break neck, it does keep you entertained. Well, it entertained me.

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• Made with the best intentions...

  tommyboy007832010-06-02

  Let's start of with saying that Robert Luketic knows how to direct, the pace in the movie is good, he never takes this film to serious and he know how to film a couple of good scenes. Katherine Heigl has shown to us that she can be funny in comedies, check the ugly truth if you need proof. Ashton Kutcher however.. is not good. Which hurts the film because he's the leading man in this film. They've made better actors then him do straight to DVD films. I don't want to spoil much about the movie, however the trailer practically tells the whole story and shows some of the best bits of the film. But the pace is good, sometimes it's funny and the action was good. But it has all been done before and in better films. So it's not rubbish, but it's not good either. I recommend you wait until it's released on DVD and hope that Knight and day will be better.

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• Takes awhile to get its act together

  napierslogs2010-06-05

  "Killers" is a romantic comedy action film, but starts out by failing on all accounts. Katherine Heigl plays the romantic comedy lead, she got the sexy part and at least tried on the funny part, but she was a very disjointed character that at times was really hard to care for or relate to. Ashton Kutcher played the action lead, and he got the sexy part but was very awkward when he tried to play the romantic comedy lead. The film then spent around an hour showing us their boring suburban life. Boring being the key word. When we finally got to the action, the film started clicking. The romantic leads developed some chemistry, and the many known comedic actors appeared to be there for a reason. The film then flew by with a pretty good medley of comedy and action, and a healthy dose of reminders that this is for fun not serious. Beware if you're looking for a romantic comedy or a quick action flick. Watch it only if you are willing to stand an hour of nothing to finally get to a fun, ridiculous, sexy, and funny light-weight action film.

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