Genre: Action, Comedy
Runtime: 1 hour 43 minutes
Rating: R
What’s the story about?
Joe Flood, the top hitman in Europe, is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Deciding to go out on his own terms, he hires assassins to kill him. Things get complicated when the hitmen he hires also target his ex-girlfriend.
Review
Dave Bautista stars as Joe Flood, the world’s best assassin, who is very good at what he does. During one mission, he meets a dancer named Maize (Sofia Boutella). Chaos breaks out in a theater, and Maize gets knocked down in the crowd. Joe helps her, and she thanks him by giving him her number and offering to take him to dinner. Their chemistry is believable, and it’s fun to see Bautista play a more romantic side of his character.
Even though Joe is an assassin, he only kills criminals, never innocent people. His boss and mentor, Zvi (Ben Kingsley), is another standout in the film, and Sofia Boutella is great as Joe’s supportive and understanding girlfriend.
Joe has been suffering from headaches and ringing in his ears, and after seeing a doctor, he is diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disorder which has no cure. He doesn’t want Maize to know about his illness and also his true life, so he breaks up with her, hoping she’ll never see him in his final days. Joe wants his life insurance to go to her, so he decides to make it look like he was killed by another assassin.
The movie does a good job of putting us in Joe’s shoes, especially when he meets the love of his life and has to keep his secret from her. Will she leave him if she finds out? Will he be able to retire in peace?
Joe asks his mentor Zvi to put a $2 million bounty on his head, but Zvi refuses. Joe then goes to his rival Marianna, whose father was killed by Joe. She happily agrees to the offer. Later, the doctor reveals there was a mistake in the diagnosis, and Joe is actually healthy. Joe tries to cancel the contract, but Marianna refuses, still holding a grudge for her father’s death. This twist wasn’t surprising, as I had a feeling the doctor would later say the diagnosis was wrong.
The action scenes are the highlight of the movie. As the bounty on Joe’s head doubles to $4 million by Marianna, several assassins, including five Korean gang members, two Scottish brothers,a Spanish dancer and Lovedahl all come after him. Each assassin gets a cool introduction and a chance to show off their skills. Joe takes them all down one by one. and the action sequences are fun and creative, although I didn’t like the CGI blood, which looked a bit fake.
The Spanish guy really is unique with his dancing fighting style. Among all of them Lovedahl gets most of the screen times. I like that they are all given personalities.
One of the Scottish brothers is played by WWE’s Drew McIntyre, so as a WWE fan, I enjoyed seeing McIntyre and Bautista fight. The action is intense, gory, and full of hand-to-hand combat, bombs, and creative stunts. The performances are great all around, and the cast is full of stars.
The movie strikes a good balance between action, romance, and comedy. There aren’t many high stakes or thrills, but there are funny moments that made me laugh. Not every joke lands, but the humor is well-timed. It’s not a game-changer in the action genre, and it’s nowhere near the level of something like John Wick, but if you’re looking for a fun, action-packed movie with some comedy for a weekend night, this might be a good pick.
My Screen Times Score - 6
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