THE KILLER

THE KILLER is an action-packed remake of the 1989 movie of the same name. A hitman for hire, Zee, chooses not to complete a job for the first time in her career after being tasked with killing a singer who falls blind. This decision puts her at odds with a drug cartel running organized crime in Paris, France. Through her unique skills and an unlikely alliance with one of the only clean cops on the force, Zee protects the singer’s life while bringing down the organization she supported for many years.

Zee is tasked by her handler, Finn, with a mission to wipe out a rival gang that snatched $75 million worth of heroin initially stolen from their boss. She’s told where the gang will be partying that night, and that everyone in the room will be criminals worthy of death. Zee executes her job flawlessly but falters when faced with killing a young singer, Jenn, who had incidentally been in the room during the attack.

For the first time, Zee breaks her contract and leaves Jenn alive—a decision aided by the fact that during the fighting, Jenn hits her head and becomes blind, leaving her unable to aid in the investigation. Though Zee understands this merciful act to be justified, Finn disagrees when he finds out and tells her to finish the job.

Taking him at his word, Zee finds Jenn at the hospital but decides not to kill her when she sees her. Before she can leave, a police officer investigating the case—investigator Sey—enters the room to ask Jenn questions. Investigator Sey makes eye contact with Zee and realizes she’s the hitman who killed the five gang members shortly after their talk.

Once again, Finn is unhappy to hear that Zee didn’t kill Jenn and disbands two other contacts to finish the job. Feeling protective of Jenn, Zee chases after them and beats them to the hospital to save Jenn before they arrive. An intense firefight between Zee, Investigator Sey and the two men ensues, ending in the death of the men and Zee taking Jenn back to her apartment for safety.

Zee takes care of Jenn, helping her around the apartment before asking her questions about her involvement with the gang. Zee shares that she feels protective of Jenn because she sees herself and her sister in her. She also believes Jenn has the chance to change her life from the direction she’s heading, and Zee wants to help her.

Meanwhile, Finn is furious at Zee’s actions, learning that she undercut his boss, the head of the drug cartel, to steal the heroin to start his own gang. He kills his boss and kidnaps Jenn to force Zee out of hiding. Zee partners with Investigator Sey to find the heroin to use as a bargaining chip of their own.

Zee and Finn ultimately meet up to swap their assets, which results in an epic fight, pitting Zee and Investigator Sey against the entirety of the gang under Finn’s control. An excessive firefight ends with Zee and Sey victorious, wiping out Finn and his army while saving Jenn. As the fight unfolds, Jenn’s eyesight returns, leaving her with a bright future ahead as the story ends.

THE KILLER is an entertaining story on paper; however, lackluster performances and excessive reliance on violence make it an underwhelming experience. Furthermore, the story relies too heavily on deus ex machina, where things fall into place too perfectly at an absurd level.

Though the story has biblical elements and positive references to Christianity, it ultimately takes a romantic view, allowing Zee to set her own moral compass to live by. She believes she has the right to execute ultimate justice, killing people she finds unredeemable. Furthermore, the story is violent and gory to the extreme while also featuring excessive foul language. Thus MOVIEGUIDE® rates THE KILLER excessive and unacceptable.