DVD Review: Killshot
by Christian Toto
Something must be seriously wrong with “Killshot,” the straight-to-video flick starring the resurgent Mickey Rourke. The movie features not just Rourke, but rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Diane Lane, Rosario Dawson and Thomas Jane – reputable actors, all.
And it’s under the direction of John Madden (“Shakespeare in Love”), working from an Elmore Leonard story. And it still rocketed past every movie theater save one in Arizona earlier this year, netting a measly $18,000?
The film, heading to DVD May 26, deserved a better fate.
Sure, it’s not as snarky as a great Leonard adaptation like “Get Shorty,” but it’s vigorously entertaining and another sign Rourke’s artistic rebound is the real deal – even if the film was shot before the actor’s comeback saga started.
The ex-”Wrestler” plays Blackbird, a killer for hire who shot one too many people on his latest assignment. Now, it’s his turn to run, but a chance encounter with a puffed-up thug named Richie (Gordon Levitt) stops him cold. The kid reminds him of his own little brother who died during a botched hit when he didn’t follow his older brother’s professional code.
Hit men take said codes very seriously.
Richie is all mouth and attitude, but he touches something inside the hardnosed hit man.
Their paths end up crossing a separated couple (Diane Lane and Thomas Jane) trying to see if their marriage deserves a second chance.
The storylines here need more room to breathe, but they aren’t the main attraction in “Killshot.” It’s the fine cast, an eclectic assortment of stars who rise above the narrative gaps. The weakest link might be Gordon Levitt, working so hard against type the cords stand out in his neck. Yet somehow the performance still clicks, mostly because he shares his scenes with Rourke.
The former ’80s mainstay finds another role uniquely suited to his battered visage. He’s playing Hollywood’s latest cliché, the conflicted hit man, but Rourke finds the humanity – and danger – lurking within the stale concept.
“Killshot” sounds like a grade-B thriller right down to its cheesy title, and its DVD debut only reinforces that impression. But the format’s lower expectations, and a cast worthy of a theatrical release, provide some unexpected rewards.
“The Informers,” a drama with a similar grade of actors, earned a wide theatrical release last month. So why couldn’t the far superior “Killshot” get the same level of respect?
Christian Toto is a contributing reporter for The Washington Times, MovieMaker Magazine and The Denver Post. He blogs about film at whatwouldtotowatch.com
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17 Comments
Beats me. I'm still wondering if we're ever going to see John Nolte's film. Not much worth seeing ever gets distributed anymore, apparently.
Hey Christian,
Could it be something Mickey said in the presence of the Hollyweird liberal elite? i think he did come out of the closet with a number of conservative thoughts, recently. Too bad the wussies are so intolerant. Mickey is a diamond in the rough and a man's man. This is also probably sticking in the caw of the metrosexuals in tinsleland. I am really enjoying Mickey's comback in recent movies.
GAGGGG! I just saw the trailer for 'The Informers' and I nearly lost my lunch. If "The Informers" is anything like its trailer, than that movie is now THE classic symbol of Hollywood. Hollywood not only has its head up its own butt – it is also genuinely puzzled why the rest of us don't care for the same view.
GAGGGG! I just saw the trailer for 'The Informers' and I nearly lost my lunch. If "The Informers" is anything like its trailer, than that movie is now THE classic symbol of Hollywood. Hollywood not only has its head up its own butt – it is also genuinely puzzled why the rest of us don't care for the same view.
Happened to see this over the weekend, it wasn't a great film, but I liked it. It was a good solid movie about hitmen crossing with "average folk".
One of things I liked was the much more realistic portrayal of common people using firearms and lethal force in self defense … without the usual Hollywood cliched caveats (you'll shoot your eye out, you'll be just as bad as the bad guy, common folk can never bring themselves to kill, the badguy will just take that gun away from you and use it on you, only spec ops trained men and criminals are capable of hitting the broad side of a barn at 10 ft, etc).
I also agree that Gordon Levitt seriously overplayed the character of Richie, but that was really the only bad bit (other than a couple of minor plot holes … but everything has plot holes these days).
Elmore's novels are virtual scripts. Killshot was an enjoyable breezy Leonard read. It stars Mickey Rourke. While they may have screwed it up totally, I'm going to look out for it. How bad can it be for a couple bucks? I managed to get all the way through The Reader, didn' t I?
That's the first thing that crossed my mind, even to the point of paranoia when thinking what exec producer got paid to roundfile this one. Must have been private money all the way on this in order to bury it.
I'm afraid this film was a victim of the ongoing meltdown of the Weinstein Co. that pretty much gave up actually releasing any movie that's not made by one of Harvey's inner circle of filmmakers (Tarantino, Kevin Smith) or could get Harvey any sort of award.
I love Mickey Rourke. Gonna catch this one. Thanks for the review!
This was originally a Diane Lane vehicle. The films troubled delays and release led the talented, beautiful and ultimately overlooked actress to quit showbusiness altogether. A shame!
Note to self: Hey self, put Kill Shot on your DVD "to get" list. Roger wilco.
Hard to say why some things happen. Equilibrium is a good example. Perfectly fine film, got an ultra-brief theatrical release with no promo a few years back, floppped, went to DVD, became a cult favorite. There's no real reason why it was dumped with no promotion, it just was. Behind-the-scenes studio politics, I guess.
Mickey Rourke is one of the best actors of his generation; note the standing ovation by his peers when he won the BAFTA, Indie Spirit and Golden Globe Awards for The Wrestler. And note Sean Penn's comments during his acceptance of the Oscar.
The movie itself is meh, a very poor man's Fargo, but the performances of Rourke and Gordon-Levitt make it worth a look. It went through post-production hell but I saw nothing here so promising as to make me believe it was something that much better even before Harvey Scissorhands went to work.
Sounds like a movie worth trying. I hope it comes to Australia, but I doubt it. We could do with a few more pro-Second Amendment movies (if this is the case) from the U.S.
Something that needs to be clarified. "Killshot" is not a straight to video movie. It received a limited theatrical release in January.
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