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    • Movie reviews: 'The Killer' is a slick, stylish thriller and a welcome return to the genre for David Fincher

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    THE KILLER: 4 STARS

    鈥淭he Killer,鈥 a new thriller starring Michael Fassbender, now playing in theatres before moving to Netflix on November 10, is a welcome return to genre filmmaking for David Fincher, director of 鈥淪e7en,鈥 鈥淕one Girl鈥 and 鈥淶odiac.鈥

    In the film鈥檚 first chapter the unnamed title character is holed up in a rented Parisian We Work office across the street from a ritzy hotel. There to kill a prominent man who should be checking in any day now, the Killer is a coiled snake, ready to jump into action.

    When he does leave 鈥渢he office,鈥 he dresses in beige, like a 鈥淕erman tourist,鈥 with no distinguishing features, (save for his Fassbender movie star good looks). He鈥檚 Mr. Nobody, unrecognized and unrecognizable.

    He is there for one reason; to kill. He calls it an 鈥淎nnie Oakley鈥 job, a shot from a rifle at long distance. It鈥檚 not as exciting as some of his other gigs, like slipping poison into a person鈥檚 coffee or making the deaths look like accidents, but it pays the bills.

    He lives by a considered set of rules, an existential credo for the business of death.

    鈥淔orbid empathy,鈥 he says. 鈥淓mpathy is weakness.鈥 鈥淎nticipate, don鈥檛 improvise.鈥 鈥淔ight only the battle you鈥檙e paid to fight.鈥

    He is careful, not prone to mistakes until the Paris assassination goes wrong and his bullet blows away his target鈥檚 companion, leaving the intended victim covered in gore, but very much alive.

    An expert in the art of self-preservation, the Killer, through a circuitous route, under fake passports all carrying the name of old time sit com characters, beginning with Felix Unger, the meticulous half of 鈥淭he Odd Couple,鈥 eludes police. When he finally arrives at his home in the Dominican Republic, he finds his girlfriend has been assaulted, left near death in retaliation for his failed hit in Paris.

    Asking himself, 鈥淲WJWBD鈥濃"What Would John Wilkes Boothe Do?鈥濃攈e jumps into action, vowing to get revenge on the people who attacked his girlfriend.

    Moody and coldblooded, 鈥淭he Killer鈥 is a showcase for Fassbender, who hasn鈥檛 appeared on screen in four years. From Magneto in the X-Men films to the lead in Justin Kurzel鈥檚 2015 version of 鈥淢acbeth鈥 and 鈥淎lien: Covenant鈥檚鈥 android David 8 and the corrupt MI6 agent Paul in 鈥淗aywire,鈥 he鈥檚 played villains before, but has rarely been this nonchalantly captivating. He sucks out much of the character鈥檚 humanity, leaving behind a deadly automaton, directed by the logistics of his job rather than any sort of moral compass. Life and death, for him, is transactional and part of the film鈥檚 pleasure is waiting to see when and if he will break and allow his humanity to shine through.

    But despite the movie鈥檚 hardheartedness, director Fincher, working from a script by Andrew Kevin Walker builds-in a sense of fun. Fassbender鈥檚 deliberately robotic delivery is perfect as he deadpans lines like, 鈥淭he Sunshine State. Where else can you find so many likeminded individuals鈥 outside a penitentiary?鈥

    鈥淭he Killer鈥 is a slickly made, stylish thriller, with an anxiety inducing score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, that uses the central character鈥檚 aloofness as a hook to pull you to the edge of your seat.

    FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY鈥橲: 3 STARS

    鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy鈥檚,鈥 is a new horror film starring Josh Hutcherson now playing in theatres, but it may feel familiar to some movie goers.

    Referred to as 鈥淔NaF鈥 by fans, it began in 2014 as a popular video game that has since spawned a number of sequels and spinoffs, including 鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy's: Sister Location鈥 and 鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy's: Help Wanted.鈥

    With the game鈥檚 creator Scott Cawthon signed on as co-writer and producer, the new film version offers up recognizable visual and audio call-backs to the video game series.

    Then, there is the strange case of 鈥淲illy's Wonderland,鈥 a 2021 Nic Cage cult film that fills its lungs with much of the same fetid air as 鈥淔NaF.鈥 It鈥檚 like 鈥淔reddy鈥檚鈥 brother from another mother.

    So, with so much history, is the new movie fresh enough to get a fresh rating?

    On the big screen Hutcherson plays Mike Schmidt, a down-on-his luck guy desperate to make some cash and look after his withdrawn sister Abby (Piper Rubio). How desperate is he? Desperate enough to take a nighttime gig as a security guard at a family entertainment center called Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. 鈥淚鈥檒l take anything,鈥 he tells job counselor Steve (Matthew Lillard).

    The run-down and shut-down facility was a once-popular hot spot but now sits empty save for four animatronic mascots, Freddy Fazbear, Bonnie, Chica and Foxy.

    Turns out, these mascots are anything but good luck charms. They used to entertain the kids who once flocked to the restaurant, but these days they鈥檙e possessed by the spirits of the children who disappeared during Fazbear's glory days.

    鈥淭he police searched Freddy鈥檚 top to bottom,鈥 says enigmatic local police officer Vanessa (Elizabeth Lail). 鈥淭hey never found them. That鈥檚 why the place shut down.鈥

    What Vanessa doesn鈥檛 know, but Mike is about to find out, at night the mascots come alive, and have set their eyes on a new victim, little, innocent Abby.

    Fans of the video game may get an extra charge out of the film鈥檚 Easter eggs. Director Emma Tammi provides fan service while the screenplay by Cawthon, Seth Cuddeback and Emma Tammi go hard on the psychological drama.

    Determined to figure out who abducted his kid brother Garrett years before, Mike uses his dreams to relive the experience and find new clues. It his attempt to fix the sins of the past, but the drawn-out sequences drag the movie down. Ditto a subplot involving Mike and Abby鈥檚 nasty Aunt Jane (Mary Stuart Masterson). Both take valuable screen time away from the main attraction, and that is Abby鈥擱ubio is especially effective as the open-hearted youngster鈥攁nd her relationship with the creepy mascots. Abby has a connection with them, and also, perhaps, a connection to the abduction of Garrett. That鈥檚 where the action is, not in the dreary flashback dream sequences.

    鈥淔ive Nights at Freddy鈥檚鈥 is being billed as a horror film, but other than a few jump scares, there isn鈥檛 much here to make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. Instead, it鈥檚 generically atmospheric with little-to-no actual fear factor.

    PAIN HUSTLERS: 2 陆 STARS

    鈥淧ain Hustlers,鈥 a new true crime dramedy based on the non-fiction book 鈥淭he Hard Sell鈥 by Evan Hughes, starring Emily Blunt and Chris Evans, and now streaming on Netflix, joins the ever-growing list of movies and television shows that detail big pharma鈥檚 culpability in the opioid crisis.

    Blunt plays Liza Drake, a broke single-mom to daughter Phoebe (Chloe Coleman). Kicked out of her sister鈥檚 garage, where they鈥檇 been sleeping for more than a month, Liza is desperate for a job and cash.

    During a chance meeting with oily pharmaceutical sales rep Pete Brenner (Chris Evans), she impresses him with her tenacity. Sensing she鈥檇 do anything for a buck, he offers her a job, despite her complete lack of qualifications, selling a new, inhalable fentanyl-based pain killer directly to doctors.

    鈥淚t鈥檚 a long-odds lottery buried under a thousand rejections,鈥 he tells her.

    To keep the job, all she has to do is get the ball rolling by convincing one doctor to prescribe the drug. Just under the deadline, she lands a whale, the morally compromised Dr. Lydell (Brian d'Arcy James) who hands out the drug to his patients like candy to kids at Halloween.

    Liza鈥檚 piece of the action is more money than she ever could have imagined.

    鈥淵ou鈥檙e not going to make a hundred K this year,鈥 Brenner tells her. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to be more like six-hundred.鈥

    Drunk on success鈥攁nd frequent drinking binges鈥攕he bends laws and bribes doctors as she chants her mantra, 鈥淥wn your territory,鈥 to a growing legion of sales reps. But while her bank account swells, so do her doubts, as her conscience becomes her moral compass.

    鈥淧ain Hustlers鈥 breathes much of the same air as 鈥淒opesick,鈥 鈥淧ainkiller鈥 and the documentary 鈥淎ll the Beauty and the Bloodshed.鈥 Some. But not all. Those stories focused on patients and the personal toll of the opioid epidemic. Conversely, 鈥淧ain Hustlers鈥 turns the camera on the sales reps, the pharmaceutical pushers who made fortunes on the misfortune of others.

    Liza鈥檚 shift from desperation to greed isn鈥檛 a particularly fresh take on the rags-to-riches tale, but Blunt works overtime to make her character compelling. Her desire to succeed, to improve her life isn鈥檛 simply about the Benjamins, it鈥檚 about creating a new start for her daughter. Blunt grounds the movie with ample humanity, anchoring the film鈥檚 often over-the-top antics with her earthbound presence.

    To its detriment, 鈥淧ain Hustlers鈥 has a lighter tone than other recent opioid dramas. It鈥檚 not exactly a laugh a minute, but the jocular tone seems at odds with the serious subject matter, particularly in the performances of Evans and Andy Garcia, whose character loses his mind and the audience鈥檚 attention midway through.

    鈥淧ain Hustlers鈥 attempts a new take on a hot button topic, but, the formulaic execution and uneven tone feels wonky given subject matter.

    FREELANCE: 2 STARS

    In 鈥淔reelance,鈥 a new action comedy now playing in theatres, John Cena plays a man fighting back against a life of quiet desperation, a feeling audiences will be familiar with by the time the end credits roll.

    Cena is Mason Pettits, a do gooder trying to find his place in the world. After few miserable years of practicing law left him wanting more鈥"I thought it would make me feel normal,鈥 he says, 鈥渂ut it made me hate myself.鈥濃攈e joins the Special Forces. Fulfilled, he says the job allows him to find a much-needed purpose to his life.

    That is, until a mission to assassinate dictator Juan Arturo Venegas (Juan Pablo Raba) goes south. Wounded and disillusioned, he leaves behind the life of adventure, and settles down, returning to law and marriage and a safe suburban life.

    Bored and unhappy, he accepts a job from Sebastian (Christian Slater), a former Special Forces colleague now running Contractual Defense Industries, a one stop shop-and-shoot mercenary business.

    鈥淲e sell security,鈥 he says.

    The job sounds simple but there is a catch. He will accompany journalist Claire Wellington (Alison Brie) to South America and keep her safe as she interviews Juan Arturo Venegas, the very dictator at the heart of the mission that ended Pettits鈥檚 Special Forces career.

    鈥淔reelance鈥 is the kind of movie that once gathered dust in direct-to-DVD bins at Blockbuster.

    Not even the considerable charm of the leads, Cena and Brie, can overcome the generic action, the weird shifts in tone from bloody gun battles to light comedy, a forgettable villain (played by the usually reliable Marton Csokas) and a goofy dictator who, on one hand speaks about the exploitation of poor countries by corrupt international corporations, while on the other delivering silly lines like, 鈥淚 believe when one encounters danger, one must sing to it.鈥

    With very few exceptions, 鈥淔reelance鈥 feels very been-there-done-that, as if director Pierre Morel tried to pay tribute to the direct-to-DVD genre, but forgot to bring the fun.   

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