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June 04, 2010
Review - " Killers " - (in theaters) By Roland Hansen
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please send an email to Critics@deltafilms.net
While Heigl and Kutcher are cast as the stars, there are a couple other surprise performances in Killers too.
Heigl’s straight-laced and over-protective father, Mr. Kornfeldt, is played by Tom Selleck. Then in an even more surprising
appearance, one of my long time favorite actors, Martin Mull shows up as Spencer’s Secret Agent handler named Holbrook.
As a result, at times the performances of Heigl and Kutcher pale in comparison to the performances of Selleck and Mull. I
must admit it was a pleasant surprise to discover both Selleck and Mull in this movie. Before screening the movie, and
judging from the trailers, I knew Ashton Kutcher would not be the one who carries this movie. If anything, his performances
are always lack-luster and he still seems stuck in the That 70’s Show immature role style.
Will Ashton Kutcher ever grow up?
As a result, I said going in that Heigl would be the one to carry this movie. But in the end, as a result of the performance of
Tom Selleck, he really becomes the center of attraction. While one might say he has a rather minor role in Killers, whenever
he appears on the big screen in this flick, he takes over the performance and fills the scene with his bigger than life tough-
guy-protective-daddy role.
When it comes to Heigl, she’s funny as usual and her sometimes slapstick comedy style simply works well. In the midst of
bumbling around the idea that her husband is a spy with permission to kill, she’s also great in the fall-down comedic role of
trying to stay alive, and stay sane through the whole thing. Kutcher, well, like I said above, he still has not broken out of the
immature role from his stint in the TV show, That 70’s Show. On the surface, it appears as though his acting is getting better.
However, when you scratch that surface, you quickly discover he appears to be stronger only because he’s playing a
supporting role and he’s not the star. The bottom line is, Ashton Kutcher still can’t carry a scene by himself.
Most of the charm of the film, though, comes
from its supporting actors. Selleck and O'Hara
are both great as Heigl's parents, O'Hara
especially. Rob Riggle, Alex Borstein and
Katheryn Winnick portray a few of the various
killers out to get Kutcher, and Riggle especially
is just hysterical. And though you wouldn't
think it, the writers get some really clever gags
out of the suburban setting, playing off
"suburban Hell" cliches and actually getting
some surprisingly refreshing commentary out
of it.
The Sudden Ending!
Killers clocks in at an hour 40 minutes and
honestly, while this might be hard to believe
coming from me, it could have been just a little
bit longer. The movie starts well and for the
most part hangs together well throughout. But,
the ending leaves much to be desired. In the midst of all the action, Killers just suddenly ends after a type of Kum-Ba-Ya
moment with what Heigl’s character calls a circle of trust. It’s almost like the movie just suddenly becomes a train wreck hitting
a wall hard where everyone that should be dead, walks away like nothing happened at all.
With that in mind, while on an overall note, I liked Killers because it’s full of very funny moments, the ending is simply a let
down. It appears as though the scriptwriters just didn’t know how to end the movie, so they simply stopped writing and stuck
a very tacky ending to wrap it up. But, even though the ending is a let down, that does not mean you should avoid seeing
this movie on the big screen movie. The laughs are big on the big screen. Then, as an added bonus, there are some
surprising twists and turns along the way that make you say – “Okay, I didn’t see that one coming.” – When a movie does
that to me, it’s made an amazing accomplishment.
It's a completely ridiculous plot, but sue me, they get a decent amount of laughs out of its absurdity. Heigl and Kutcher don't
quite pull off the chemistry for this kind of couple, but they do play off each other well enough to work out a sort of twisted
"straight-man/wild-man" cop movie motif, and they certainly act well enough to make their respective characters likable.
The mindless charm really resonates all throughout the film, and really, ones enjoyment of this material will really depend on
whether or not you can check your brain at the door. It's completely silly, schmaltzy, over-the-top nonsense, and for some
Heigl’s straight-laced and over-protective father, Mr. Kornfeldt, is played by Tom Selleck. Then in an even more surprising
appearance, one of my long time favorite actors, Martin Mull shows up as Spencer’s Secret Agent handler named Holbrook.
As a result, at times the performances of Heigl and Kutcher pale in comparison to the performances of Selleck and Mull. I
must admit it was a pleasant surprise to discover both Selleck and Mull in this movie. Before screening the movie, and
judging from the trailers, I knew Ashton Kutcher would not be the one who carries this movie. If anything, his performances
are always lack-luster and he still seems stuck in the That 70’s Show immature role style.
Will Ashton Kutcher ever grow up?
As a result, I said going in that Heigl would be the one to carry this movie. But in the end, as a result of the performance of
Tom Selleck, he really becomes the center of attraction. While one might say he has a rather minor role in Killers, whenever
he appears on the big screen in this flick, he takes over the performance and fills the scene with his bigger than life tough-
guy-protective-daddy role.
When it comes to Heigl, she’s funny as usual and her sometimes slapstick comedy style simply works well. In the midst of
bumbling around the idea that her husband is a spy with permission to kill, she’s also great in the fall-down comedic role of
trying to stay alive, and stay sane through the whole thing. Kutcher, well, like I said above, he still has not broken out of the
immature role from his stint in the TV show, That 70’s Show. On the surface, it appears as though his acting is getting better.
However, when you scratch that surface, you quickly discover he appears to be stronger only because he’s playing a
supporting role and he’s not the star. The bottom line is, Ashton Kutcher still can’t carry a scene by himself.
Most of the charm of the film, though, comes
from its supporting actors. Selleck and O'Hara
are both great as Heigl's parents, O'Hara
especially. Rob Riggle, Alex Borstein and
Katheryn Winnick portray a few of the various
killers out to get Kutcher, and Riggle especially
is just hysterical. And though you wouldn't
think it, the writers get some really clever gags
out of the suburban setting, playing off
"suburban Hell" cliches and actually getting
some surprisingly refreshing commentary out
of it.
The Sudden Ending!
Killers clocks in at an hour 40 minutes and
honestly, while this might be hard to believe
coming from me, it could have been just a little
bit longer. The movie starts well and for the
most part hangs together well throughout. But,
the ending leaves much to be desired. In the midst of all the action, Killers just suddenly ends after a type of Kum-Ba-Ya
moment with what Heigl’s character calls a circle of trust. It’s almost like the movie just suddenly becomes a train wreck hitting
a wall hard where everyone that should be dead, walks away like nothing happened at all.
With that in mind, while on an overall note, I liked Killers because it’s full of very funny moments, the ending is simply a let
down. It appears as though the scriptwriters just didn’t know how to end the movie, so they simply stopped writing and stuck
a very tacky ending to wrap it up. But, even though the ending is a let down, that does not mean you should avoid seeing
this movie on the big screen movie. The laughs are big on the big screen. Then, as an added bonus, there are some
surprising twists and turns along the way that make you say – “Okay, I didn’t see that one coming.” – When a movie does
that to me, it’s made an amazing accomplishment.
It's a completely ridiculous plot, but sue me, they get a decent amount of laughs out of its absurdity. Heigl and Kutcher don't
quite pull off the chemistry for this kind of couple, but they do play off each other well enough to work out a sort of twisted
"straight-man/wild-man" cop movie motif, and they certainly act well enough to make their respective characters likable.
The mindless charm really resonates all throughout the film, and really, ones enjoyment of this material will really depend on
whether or not you can check your brain at the door. It's completely silly, schmaltzy, over-the-top nonsense, and for some
Killers
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine
O'Hara, Katheryn Winnick, Rob Riggle, Lisa Ann Walter, Mary
Birdsong, Larry Joe Campbell, Kevin Sussman
While traveling with her parents in the French Riviera, Jen Kornfeldt
meets the man of her dreams, the dashing handsome Spencer Aimes.
Three years later, she and Spencer are newlyweds living the ideal
suburban life. At least everything seems perfect until the morning
after Spencer’s 30th birthday when bullets start flying.
It turns out Spencer never bothered to tell Jen he’s also an
international super-spy and now Jen’s perfect world has been turned
upside down. Faced with the fact that her husband is a hit man, Jen is
determined to discover what other secrets Spencer might be keeping
as well.
More Of A Comedy Than Action-Thriller
The filmmakers call Killers an action, thriller. However, in my opinion,
while it’s true the movie does contain action and some suspenseful
thriller type moments, Killers is more of a comedy than anything else.
Trying to recover from a sudden break-up, Jen Kornfeldt, played by
Katherine Heigl, believes she will never fall in love again. However,
when she finds herself on a trip to the French Riviera with her parents
she meets the man of her dreams. He dashing and he’s handsome
and his name is Spencer Aimes, played by Ashton Kutcher.
Directed by: Robert Luketic
Starring: Katherine Heigl, Ashton Kutcher, Tom Selleck, Catherine
O'Hara, Katheryn Winnick, Rob Riggle, Lisa Ann Walter, Mary
Birdsong, Larry Joe Campbell, Kevin Sussman
While traveling with her parents in the French Riviera, Jen Kornfeldt
meets the man of her dreams, the dashing handsome Spencer Aimes.
Three years later, she and Spencer are newlyweds living the ideal
suburban life. At least everything seems perfect until the morning
after Spencer’s 30th birthday when bullets start flying.
It turns out Spencer never bothered to tell Jen he’s also an
international super-spy and now Jen’s perfect world has been turned
upside down. Faced with the fact that her husband is a hit man, Jen is
determined to discover what other secrets Spencer might be keeping
as well.
More Of A Comedy Than Action-Thriller
The filmmakers call Killers an action, thriller. However, in my opinion,
while it’s true the movie does contain action and some suspenseful
thriller type moments, Killers is more of a comedy than anything else.
Trying to recover from a sudden break-up, Jen Kornfeldt, played by
Katherine Heigl, believes she will never fall in love again. However,
when she finds herself on a trip to the French Riviera with her parents
she meets the man of her dreams. He dashing and he’s handsome
and his name is Spencer Aimes, played by Ashton Kutcher.
reason, stuff here that wouldn't work for a
second in another film like it, just works. I
don't know for sure if its the cast, the
direction, the solid if repetitive action
sequences, or just the mood of the whole
thing, but it all comes together into a
reasonably entertaining--if a bit
flawed--piece of work.
Overall, "Killers" makes for good quick,
date-movie-ish entertainment, but it's hard
to hold it against anyone who would find
the whole thing an unbearable mess. I think
this is a classic case of an
audience-pleaser and critic-baffler. At the
very least, I found a happy middle between
them, and this is surely a film those looking
for a quick laugh may enjoy with the right
mindset.
second in another film like it, just works. I
don't know for sure if its the cast, the
direction, the solid if repetitive action
sequences, or just the mood of the whole
thing, but it all comes together into a
reasonably entertaining--if a bit
flawed--piece of work.
Overall, "Killers" makes for good quick,
date-movie-ish entertainment, but it's hard
to hold it against anyone who would find
the whole thing an unbearable mess. I think
this is a classic case of an
audience-pleaser and critic-baffler. At the
very least, I found a happy middle between
them, and this is surely a film those looking
for a quick laugh may enjoy with the right
mindset.
