The Killer

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2:01

The Killer

R

2024

2h 6m

Action

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

59%

Tomatometer

58 Reviews

51%

Popcornmeter

250+ Ratings

Legendary action director John Woo, the visionary filmmaker of Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II, Paycheck, Broken Arrow and Hard Boiled returns with a radical reimagining of his 1989 Hong Kong classic, The Killer. From the Oscar® winning producer of Oppenheimer, the kinetic action thriller stars Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (The Fast Saga, Game of Thrones) as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Avatar's Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers; Ma, Booksmart) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee's alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy; Jurassic World franchise, Lupin), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.

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Critics Consensus

John Woo recaptures some of his legendary action bravura in this gallic reimagining of his very own The Killer, although the kinetic set pieces don't quite compensate for the overall lack of personality.

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Jacob Oller

AV Club

Much like a schlock villain’s final stand, Woo’s loose remake of The Killer puts up more of a fight than you’d expect before inevitably falling to truisms. Just as crime doesn’t pay, you can’t shoot the same bullet twice.

Rated: C-

Oct 25, 2024

Full Review

Tim Cogshell

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

[Nathalie Emmanuel] has some chops. She has some chops and handles the weapons well.

Sep 16, 2024

Full Review

Brian Tallerico

RogerEbert.com

Part of the problem here is that Emmanuel just isn’t an interesting enough performer to sell the strong, silent cipher that Zee needs to be.

Rated: 2/4

Aug 27, 2024

Full Review

Steve Morrissey

Radio Times

For all its wordiness, it does all seem worth it when Woo unleashes one of his classic, super-stylish action set pieces - mists roll, doves fly and operatic music swells on the soundtrack as characters go mano a mano in slo-mo, two-handed gun fu.

Rated: 3/5

Feb 13, 2025

Full Review

Andy Klein

FilmWeek (KPCC - NPR Los Angeles)

It's good that it's not just a remake, but it loses a lot of the emotional weight of the original.

Sep 16, 2024

Full Review

Robert W. Butler

Butler's Cinema Scene

John Woo’s “The Killer” feels uncomfortably like a parody of a John Woo movie. All the trademarks of the Woo style are there, but they feel forced and phony. Even kinda silly.

Rated: C

Sep 14, 2024

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Greg S

I paid money for this on Prime. From the start it was just a bad movie. Nothing about it seemed well scripted and tacky AF

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/28/25

Full Review

Marc Z

Watching this film reminded me how John Woo, in many ways is responsible for some of the greatest action scenes in modern filmmaking. His style of filmmaking had a great deal to do with the style of filmmaking in films like John Wick and Kill Bill. This remake of a 1980's film staring Chow Yun-Fat is an ambitious and noteworthy undertaking but it is not as good as the original, nor is it as good of many of Woo's films. His Silent Night, in recent years, is a masterpiece. This is not; however, there are a lot of good elements and scenes in this one. I caught it on Prime and was glad I did; although, had I paid full price in the theater I may have felt differently.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/19/25

Full Review

Beth V

Nathalie Emmanuel was passable, but the rest of the acting (esp Omar Sy) is awful. Screenplay very ordinary. Not even the great Eric Cantona could save this with a free kick from the box. Sam Worthington's accent as an Irishman is woeful. Do yourself a favour. Do not waste 2 hours on this tripe.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/03/25

Full Review

Waheduzzaman A

Average acting movies with predictable story that has been used many times. The lead actor got over hyped which she doesn't deserve.Average time pass movie.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/06/25

Full Review

Matthias T

Finally a John Woo film like the old days! Stylish, bloody and pigeons in slow motion! What more could you want? Absolutely perfect!

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/22/25

Full Review

Victor O

I have the habit of coming across remakes before watching the original but given how often Hollywood churns them out it shouldn’t be surprising. More often than not, I find the original and become a fan of it instead of the remake, but this glossy remake earns some points from its style, and I found this one advertised on the Peacock streaming. Nathalie Emmanuel’s gorgeousness caught my eye as well as some well shot action scenes and I thought to myself, why not? Zee is a gorgeous woman living in Paris making a living by killing as a skilled assassin who sticks to a code of honor by killing those that deserve it. Only she ends up being used in a pawn to kill not just vicious men but a helpless woman at a club. All this as a Detective is on the case of a missing cache of heroin that the helpless woman seems to be connected with. Lies and the truth is revealed in an amazing display of action. I wish I could see the original, but this was splendid. Clearly the movie was made attempting to cater to women as well as men by elevating a lovely woman as an action star, but action movies always cater to men and when your female star kicks butt in leather pants, it fulfills this ideal. Nathalie Emmanuel is a gorgeous woman who has a long way to go as an actress, but she does work hard in this movie with the action. John Woo is still a fine director but clearly, he was brought out to work this remake with his seal of approval. But there have been great remakes before and while not great is still a good watch.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/09/25

Full Review

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John Woo

Director

Nathalie Emmanuel

Queen of the Dead

Omar Sy

Actor

Sam Worthington

Actor

Diana Silvers

Actor

Éric Cantona

Actor

The Killer: Extended Preview

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The Killer: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Legendary action director John Woo, the visionary filmmaker of Face/Off, Mission: Impossible II, Paycheck, Broken Arrow and Hard Boiled returns with a radical reimagining of his 1989 Hong Kong classic, The Killer. From the Oscar® winning producer of Oppenheimer, the kinetic action thriller stars Emmy nominee Nathalie Emmanuel (The Fast Saga, Game of Thrones) as Zee, a mysterious and infamous assassin known, and feared, in the Parisian underworld as the Queen of the Dead. But when, during an assignment from her shadowy mentor and handler (Avatar's Sam Worthington), Zee refuses to kill a blinded young woman (Diana Silvers; Ma, Booksmart) in a Paris nightclub, the decision will disintegrate Zee's alliances, attract the attention of a savvy police investigator (Golden Globe nominee Omar Sy; Jurassic World franchise, Lupin), and plunge her into a sinister criminal conspiracy that will set her on a collision course with her own past.

Director: John Woo
Producer: Charles Roven, Alex Gartner, John Woo, Lori Tilkin
Screenwriter: Brian Helgeland, Josh Campbell, Matthew Stuecken
Distributor: Peacock
Production Co: A Better Tomorrow Films, Atlas Entertainment, Entertainment One, Taewon Entertainment
Rating: R
Genre: Action
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 23, 2024
Runtime: 2h 6m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)

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