The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman November 16, 2024

The Golden Age of Hollywood was famous for typecasting performers, especially after they had hit the veritable "big time". The thinking by the major studios seemed to be that evidently audiences weren't exactly buying (in more ways than one) the "acting" chops of any given star, but instead a persona that was malleable enough to fit into various (though often extremely similar) roles. There is still certainly typecasting in abundance suffusing even modern day productions, but how does a producer, director and/or casting agent handle someone as distinctive as Dave Bautista? Bautista has had a perhaps surprising run in the movies for close to two decades now, though he's still probably best remembered in supporting roles, as in Guardians of the Galaxy. The Killer's Game attempts, fitfully, to thrust Bautista into ostensible "marquee" status, and while he continues to be an affable screen presence, as even he admits in one of the brief supplements on this disc, he tends to be a "monotone" performer, which he probably meant to indicate his line readings, but which may in fact be a more generalized assessment of his acting "skills". The Killer's Game is an uneasy blend of action and supposed broad comedy, but it just never quite connects, instead offering some interstitial adrenaline rushes and some camp-tastic supporting performances, along with an intentionally retro style that according to director J.J. Perry was inspired by the original 1968 version of The Thomas Crown Affair.

The Killer's Game relies on a conceit that is so hoary it can actually be traced at least as far back as one Jules Verne and his 1879 novel Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine, but there have been numerous films and television productions utilizing much the same plot underpinning, including such lesser remembered fare as Killing Emmett Young. The basic idea is that a character hires someone to kill them (typically with some kind of insurance payment going to a loved one), only to have a change of heart and then tries to prevent that murder. Here, Bautista is a professional hitman name Joe Flood who "meets cute" with a dancer named Maize Barkley (Sofia Boutella), when Joe shows up at a Budapest concert hall where Maize is already on stage and Joe is marauding through various hallways and balcony boxes to take out untold numbers of (one assumes) bad guys. During the fracas, Joe starts to experience debilitating headaches and visual disturbances, and afterwards he's informed by a doctor that he has a mortal illness and only a few weeks left to live. Having already fallen for Maize in a "love at first sight" formulation, Joe decides to use his "professional contacts" to order a hit on himself, with Maize the unsuspecting beneficiary of a future life insurance payment.

The "high concept" of this story then entails Joe contacting an old nemesis named Marianna Antionette (Pom Klementieff), who has her own reasons for wanting Joe dead and gladly accepts supervision of doling out a contract on Joe. Hilarity supposedly ensues when Joe's doctor alerts him to a "terrible mistake" and that Joe is not in fact dying imminently, though Marianna is having none of that "hey, let's call the whole thing off" business from Joe, and the film then offers a series of sometimes intermittently goofy vignettes documenting Joe dealing with various assassination attempts, pretty much video game style.

If Bautista is the kind of dead weight at the center of this enterprise, there are some occasionally lively supporting performances by a gaggle of folks, including Scott Adkins and Drew Galloway as two gonzo Scottish brothers whose brogue is so thick it can't be understood, Marko Zorar as a Latin killer who likes to attack while listening to Flamenco tunes in his earbuds, and Shaina West and Lucy Cork as two pole dancing females who are also experts in slashing and dashing (there's a lot of dancing in this film, beginning with Maize). Ben Kingsley turns in a dutiful check casher as Zvi, another of Joe's cohort who may offer some advice if not ultimately much safety. I will say that one of the few surprises, albeit in a negative sense in that an expected twist never developed, involves this character. The film ends with an obvious setup for a sequel, but considering how dismal the box office returns were on this effort, it's doubtful that follow up is ever attempted.

The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc in this package, which probably gives an overall better representation of the palette in particular than had screenshots been sourced directly off the 4K UHD disc, which by necessity would have been downscaled to 1080 and SDR. The Killer's Game is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.00:1. The IMDb specifies that the Sony Venice was utilized, but as of the writing of this review fails to identify the resolution of the DI, though I suspect 4K. This is a very appealing looking presentation which takes an already excellent 1080 version and delivers more energy in the palette in particular courtesy of HDR / Dolby Vision. There are certainly some noticeable if probably pretty minor upticks in fine detail throughout the film, notably in any number of extreme close-ups where everything from facial features to fabric textures (not to mention sprays of blood) receive precise renderings. But it was the rather interesting palette which repeatedly struck my eyes in this 4K UHD presentation. Interestingly, some of the almost monochromatic "clinical" material where Joe gets his first (mis)diagnosis looks even less colorful here than in the 1080 version, something that can occasionally be echoed in some other scenes featuring a wide array of neutral tones, as in Zvi's office (where just the red/crimson drapes really pop). Otherwise, though, there are some really gorgeous highlights introduced throughout, including an almost purplish undertone in the opening opera house sequence, and later some actual purple and teal tones in a nightclub scene with Maize which probably deliberately evoke John Wick. Vis a vis Zvi's office and the drapes, there's what seems to be a deliberate "mapping" approach throughout the film to offer at times relatively bland colors in the frame with just sudden pops of incredibly vibrant hues at isolated points in the frame, as in Maize's bright red dress during the opening dance routine, where she's surrounded largely by blacks and whites.

The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Killer's Game features a nicely boisterous Dolby Atmos track that is more often than not "turned up to 11", so to speak, delivering some incredible LFE in action sequences, and whirlwinds of bombastic effects blasting through the side and rear channels especially once the "assassin(s) ante" gets upped. The video game like antics of one set of opponents after another provides a lot of consistent surround activity, but even in early scenes, like the opening opera house murder spree, deliver really convincing immersion. The score is well positioned in the side and rear channels, and there is a glut of source cue material that also provides good surround activity. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Both the 1080 and 4K UHD discs in this package sport the same slate of supplements:

• Meet Joe Flood (HD; 5:32) introduces the character with a number of brief interviews with J.J. Penny and Dave Bautista, among others.


• The Conductor (HD; 5:16) profiles J.J. Penny.


• World of Assassins (HD; 6:28) offers the glut of bizarre potential hitmen and/or hitwomen.


• Killed It! (HD; 6:48) looks at some of the action sequences and stunt work.


• Theatrical Trailer (HD; 2:32)

A digital copy is enclosed, and packaging features a slipcover.

The Killer's Game 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

It's probably patently unfair to place the blame for the lackluster effect of The Killer's Game solely on Bautista's immense, hulk like shoulders, because he is an undeniably genial presence. The writing here is simply silly a lot of the time, though at least the cartoonish array of supposed supervillain nemeses at least are offered without any high falutin' pretense. Technical merits are first rate and the supplements enjoyable for anyone who may be considering making a purchase.