The Killer (2023)

David Fincher is back in his playpen, tinkering with all the dark and chilling elements that, let’s admit, are his specialty. There is the stylistic departure of Mank, a production Fincher was especially invested in because the screenplay was written by his late father. It was a comedy-drama and, along with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, are the only Fincher features up to this point to not be of the horror and suspense genre.  One might have consider it something of a biopic of Herman Mankiewicz, the writer of Citizen Kane. Even better, Fincher is back collaborating with Andrew Kevin Walker, who wrote Se7en.  The Killer is much different however, thankfully.  We do not need another Se7en.  

The Killer is about a hired assassin, played by Michael Fassbender, who blows an assignment by shooting and narrowly missing his target.  From there, our main character must deal with the repercussions of his blunder. Upon returning home to the Dominican Republic, he discovers a trail of blood at his hideout residence and learns that his girlfriend is in the hospital, recovering from serious wounds. Clearly, this was an attempt on the Killer’s life. Despite our main character insisting that emotions don’t factor into his line of work, he is undeniably on a path of vengeance. The story unfolds in chapters, with the Killer taking out those responsible for his partner’s attack one by one. Distance does not faze him, as he relentlessly tracks down his targets. Whether that’s Louisiana, Florida, New York, or Chicago.