Nerdy and newly single Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) is holidaying with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara) in Nice.  There she meets a dapper and rather dashing fellow named Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) who appears to have everything a young woman could hope for.  But Spencer has a teensy weensy secret: he’s a CIA assassin who, as he puts it, kills people for a living.  Seeing in Jen a sliver of the normalcy he’s been craving, Spencer attempts to extricate himself from the bloody world of international espionage, but quickly discovers it isn’t going to be as easy as he thinks. 

Yes it’s corny, yes it’s silly, yes it’s goofy and decidedly unoriginal, but damn me if Killers isn’t a great film.  Kutcher, as ever, works his magic.  Someone once said Tom Cruise was a success largely because his appeal is universal; women find him highly attractive yet at the same time men are unthreatened by him, seeing in the actor a ‘good bloke’ they could conceivably have a beer with.  Kutcher taps into the same boyish, slightly vulnerable universality, and it does the film credit.  He also plays well off Heigl, who here appears in one of her more likable and relatable roles, and Selleck is enjoyable as ever as the stoic, slightly frosty authority figure who reluctantly warms under Kutcher’s relentless charm offensive. 

Killers received a shellacking from critics and performed modestly at the box office.  Okay, it isn’t Citizen Kane, but so what?  It’s an enjoyable, fun and effervescent summer popcorn flick that stars two talented actors at the height of their game and features lots of action scenes, car chases and gorgeous footage of the French Riviera.  I don’t know about you, but that’s about all I’m looking for in a film these days.  The screenplay is fairly abysmal but the cinematography and direction (courtesy of Aussie Robert Luketic, 21) are top notch, and those in search of an aesthetic, hard working and rather rollicking Blu-ray blockbuster need look no further. 

Audio & Video

The 1.85:1 widescreen presentation is perfection itself, with nary a blemish in sight and some stunning shots of the French coastline.  The film is a bright, crisp and highly impressive affair on HD, with a suitably bombastic DTS-HD 5.1 surround soundtrack to match. 

Special Features

Five Deleted Scenes, Five Alternate/Extended Scenes, an Alternate Ending, a short Gag Reel and Killer Chemistry: a 12-minute Behind the Scenes featurette which consists of cast and crew interviews and on-set footage.  Noice.