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.