Film Review: THE KILLER’S GAME (2024): Dave Bautista Has Never Been Better Than in This Fun Shoot ‘Em Up Movie

The Killer’s Game Review

The Killer’s Game (2024) Film Review, a movie directed by J.J. Perry, written by Jay Bonansinga, James Coyne and Simon Kinberg and starring Dave Bautista, Sofia Boutella, Pom Klementieff, Scott Adkins, Lucy Cork, Ben Kingsley, Terry Crews, Daniel Bernhardt, Drew McIntyre, Marko Zaror, Shaina West, Antonia Desplat, George Somner, Raffaello Degruttola, Joe Kovalik Jr., James J. Zito III and Scott Alexander Young.

Director J.J. Perry’s action picture, The Killer’s Game, showcases the versatile Dave Bautista in one of his most enjoyable roles and, perhaps, his best leading performance to date. As it has been said, “Dying is easy, comedy is hard” but Bautista does comedy like a pro in Perry’s new shoot ’em up action yarn. The fact that everyone in the picture is trying to kill him proves that in a film like this, dying is just as hard as comedy. Bautista shines bright in a hilariously entertaining turn opposite the sublime Sofia Boutella as his love interest in the picture. But, the icing on the cake is Ben Kinglsey as Bautista’s character’s boss. These three performances alone reel you into the picture but there is a lot more going on that will make you stick with this movie from beginning to end despite some minor flaws.

Bautista serves as an assassin named Joe Flood who is taking out his latest mark as some performance art is happening on stage in a huge and fancy theater. Joe immediately takes a liking to a woman named Maize (Boutella) who he carries outside of the theater and, in turn, keeps her safe from any harm. This is an action film equivalent of a “meet cute” and it sets the stage for a love story that is sweet but a bit too good to be true. Kingsley plays Joe’s boss who pretty soon brings his wife out on a double date with Joe and Maize. Joe and Maize seem to be in awe of one another but there’s one little problem: He hasn’t told her what he does for a living.

Joe has been having headaches and is told by a doctor that he has a degenerative disease that will leave him with barely three months to live. Joe wants to take out some life insurance and if he kills himself, obviously, there’ll be no payout. So, Joe takes out a contract on his own life through a female lead assassin, Marianna (Pom Klementieff) after Kingsley’s character tells Joe that he’d never be able to kill him.

As the romantic scenes with Bautista and Boutella create a romance based on mutual admiration, their love for one another blossoms amidst the secret chaos of Joe’s intense situation. Soon, just about after something of an army has been enlisted to try to take Joe “out,” Joe finds out the doctor has made a mistake and was given someone else’s diagnosis. Ugh.

Terry Crews is hilarious as Lovedahl, a vicious hit man who seems poised to make some big dough if he eliminates Joe from the equation. There are countless others like George Somner’s Money who want to get the loot and kill Joe once and for all. Scott Adkins and Daniel Bernhardt play Angus Mackenzie and Radovan, two more key characters stirred into the wild and energetic mix that is The Killer’s Game.

Boutella is a gem. She sincerely and beautifully plays a dancer here who’s been through the wringer in her career and comes to find peace in her life through her relationship with Joe. Boutella adds depth to her character and makes her feel genuine. Too bad for her character that things are about to get a lot less peaceful as the film’s plot develops. Joe eventually gets to discuss the truth about his profession with Maize, though, after a series of insane events and, wouldn’t you know it, Maize ends up with a secret of her own that she has to tell Joe as well.

This is Bautista’s most interesting role to date. Bautista feels authentic in a movie that’s certainly not. This movie is exaggerated and then some but it’s a good time to be had for the audience. The funniest scene is when Joe decides he wants to marry Maize and must confess to a priest. When the priest tells him that he’s been instructed to call the police in a situation like this, some assassins show up for a shoot-out in a church that is well orchestrated in the film.

While The Killer’s Game suffers from one too many zany action scenes and/or characters, there is magic going on within the picture in the scenes between Bautista and Boutella who are two of our brightest performers in terms of those stars who play in popcorn movies like this one. Bautista can do an Oscar-caliber movie like either of the Dune films but he’s much more relaxed and watchable in a movie like this where he lets his natural charisma carry him. Many called out Bautista’s work in a good way for the forgettable horror movie, Knock at the Cabin. This is a much better role for the actor and is more suited to the actor’s strengths.

The Killer’s Game is a wicked good time if you check your brain at the candy stand. If an Oscar winner like Kingsley thought this film was a good one then I don’t feel so bad recommending it by a hair because it’s so much fun to watch despite its inane action sequences and improbable story threads.

Rating: 7/10

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