Killers (2010) – New DVD Movie Reviews

By The Vocabulariast on Monday, 7th June 2010

Click here to buy now!

There are many grumblings throughout the movie world that Killers is just a Mr. and Mrs. Smith ripoff… seeing as how I wasn’t reviewing movies when that film was released, I wouldn’t be able to comment on that. After all, it’s not like Killers or Mr. and Mrs. Smith are the types of films that I enjoy watching. Hell, Killers isn’t the type of film that anyone will enjoy watching. This standard-issue romantic comedy flick tries to bill itself as some sort of action-packed romp filled with relationship humor. In actuality, it is a boring flick that is so by-the-numbers that it could literally be considered a ripoff of scores of movies.

In Killers, a lonely goofball meets up with a dashing dude in Nice, France. After some getting to know you business, they wind up getting married. They would seem to have the perfect life, except for the fact that the dude was once a spy. When he receives a message from his old boss, assassins start popping up everywhere, and he must tell the truth to his largely worthless wife. Can their relationship withstand the strain of broken trust? Can the viewer possibly sit through this snorefest long enough to find out? Probably not.
Killers is directed by Robert Luketic, whose previous works The Ugly Truth and 21 have been similarly unimpressive. His movies have been gifted with enough star power to make them relevant, but as far as being a director goes, his game is less exciting than the prospect of catching a 21 Jump Street marathon on late night cable. Just like most romance/action movies, Luketic fails to develop either aspect of the movie sufficiently. The action scenes are fast and peppy, but since the film is PG-13, there is no real lasting impact. The comedic scenes are humorless dry and rely too heavily on the hit and miss chemistry of the film’s two stars, Ashton Kutcher and Katherine Heigl. Poor directing doesn’t help matters any, and this 90 minute flick feels much longer than it is.

The cast of the film is solid on paper, but they simply don’t work together. I don’t know who told Katherine Heigl that she is the next Jennifer Aniston, but she needs to realize that this is an insult. Aniston is a joke in Hollywood, a one-trick pony who somehow manages to finagle her way into any romantic comedy out there. Heigl seems to be competing against Aniston for the prize of most irrelevant acting career. You’ve seen Heigl play the romantic female lead four times in a row now, and the act is getting stale. Heigl needs to break out of this moribund arc and find some sort of role that will allow her to show that she is an actress. Ashton Kutcher is surprisingly better than you’d think he’d be… but he’s still not quite right for this role. Kutcher feels like he’s rolling around inside his own head for large portions of the movie, and emotionally, he’s rather absent. His comedic timing struggles, and his action scenes fizzle. Kutcher’s résumé, which alternates bombs with lukewarm romantic comedies, needs something more interesting than this poorly written film.

The writing of this movie is moronic at best. The film is too predictable and not nearly interesting enough to maintain the average person’s attention for longer than a handful of minutes. Poor directing, uninteresting acting, and a general “blah” feel to the movie don’t help matters any. At this point, any complaining about whether or not this is a ripoff of Mr. and Mrs. Smith would be overkill.

Final Synopsis: Killers sucks. It’s boring and unfunny. Skip this one.

Points Lost: -1 for weak writing, -1 for weak chemistry between the two leads, -1 for lame action scenes, -1 for lame comedy, -1 for poor directing, -1 for not showing off a certain star’s assets, -1 for basically porting Heigl’s character from Knocked Up into Killers

Lesson Learned: Your best friend is a sleeper waiting to kill your ass.

Burning Question: Will Heigl ever get out of the romantic comedy mode?

Killers
3/10