For a man who’s made numerous films about hit men and serial killers, there’s no mistaking that David Fincher‘s The Killer is a return to form for the perfectionist filmmaker. It’s a procedural look at a nameless assassin’s approach to every kill, complete with a repetitive voice-over narration of his philosophies, that serves as a reflection to how detail-oriented the director can be. And in many ways, The Killer allows the filmmaker to parody himself, as our lone hit man protagonist deals with the heavy consequences of a botched job for the first time in his life, which forces him to break all the rules he set for himself. This, in turn, makes this film a surprisingly layered and one of the funniest action thrillers in the Fincher’s filmography.

The film’s cold open immediately comes with a warning: “If you’re unable to endure boredom, this work is not for you,” as we see our protagonist (Michael Fassbender) falling asleep during a mind-numbingly long stakeout. This continues on for twenty minutes, in which time we are brought upon his daily routine – keeps an eye on everything across his window, eats McDonald’s for protein, and listens to The Smiths on repeat – all while narrating about the discipline in being a professional contract killer (but really, his thoughts on life). And when his target finally appears in the penthouse suite of a Parisian hotel across the street, he carefully assembles his sniper rifle, takes a look at his heart rate, and take the shot. But somehow, he misses.

Despite his calm demeanor, things start spiraling out of control. He makes a run for it and returns to his home in the Dominican Republic only to find his house destroyed and his girlfriend hospitalized. He quickly realizes his employer is now cleaning up loose ends, and now it’s up him to kill them. The Killer showcases its deadpan humor when the protagonist just breaks every rule he repeats throughout the film in his pursuit of people who tried to kill him, as a result of one thing going awry. Whatever mantra he recites, it will be broken (or miscalculated) in the next second almost to the point of absurdity. It’s like Fincher, a director known for being a perfectionist on set, is doing a bit of self-parody and taking the piss out of himself. For all the strict rules that’s served our nameless assassin, he races head on into every situation he finds himself in. As Tilda Swinton’s character says, he just can’t help himself.

For this film, Fincher has brought back his previously established collaborators including screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker (Se7en), cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt (Gone Girl) and editor Kirk Baxter (The Social Network). So it’s no surprise the level of detail in every expertly composed shot and sequence in The Killer. One can immediately sense Fincher back in his element to remind us just how good he can be with the right material. Crisp and snappy, every nook and cranny is as fine-tuned on a technical level as our protagonist’s strict rules.

The Killer has plenty to say about modern technology and consumerism through the lens of being a hit man. As our protagonist says, it’s impossible to avoid being seen by CCTVs today, so the next best thing is to be unmemorable. Most of his “operations” involve sleeping in rental cars, flying in coach, and long hours of nothing. The running gag of him using dozens of generic identities adds to the film’s dark hilarity as well. There’s a copious amount of product placement in The Killer, a comment on how easily an assassin can just blend in with today’s cold capitalist society, and also counting on that distraction to do his job. It’s Fincher’s take on the mundane side of contract killing, which all goes back to the film’s opening line about one’s ability to deal with boredom.

Rating:

Rating: 4 out of 5.