The Killer

Available on Netflix

If you were going to pick an actor and director to helm an adaptation of a noirish graphic novel series about a philosophical hitman, then Michael Fassbender and David Fincher would probably be near the top of your list.

It’s genuinely shocking therefore to discover that Netflix’s highly anticipated The Killer is one of the year’s most arduous films. Fincher and Seven screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker split their story over six chapters, each of which see Fassbender’s titular anti-hero deal with the bloody fallout of a hit gone wrong. Throughout, the monotonous protagonist delivers a never-ending monologue about the moral complexities of his line of work, a trait that the aforementioned director assumedly deems intelligent, but is actually just incredibly grating.

Equally grinding is The Killer’s soundtrack, which is composed almost entirely of The Smiths tracks. Even to a die-hard fan such as myself, this gimmick feels like a creative choice befitting a juvenile film student, rather than a bonafide auteur such as Fincher. It’s one of many puzzling features that sound cool on paper but ultimately don't come together on screen, a claim that could arguably be made about Fassbender’s lead performance. As welcome as it is to see the Irish actor back on our screens, this dreary turn is far removed from the standards we’ve come to expect from him.

Other viewers may find greater value in The Killer but this one found it, to paraphrase the words of its musical inspiration, a crashing bore.