Killers (12A)

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The ViewLondon Review

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Review byCassam Looch16/06/2010

Three out of Five stars
Running time: 100 mins

A disjointed and unnecessarily lengthy comedy which has a number of flaws but still manages to garner enough laughs throughout to make it worth a watch.

What’s it all about?
Shy and retiring Jen (Katherine Heigl) is on holiday with her parents following a messy break-up. Her overprotective father (Tom Selleck) wants to keep a close eye on her, but in one of the rare moments she is alone Jen bumps into the suave and handsome man of her dreams. Spencer (Ashton Kutcher) seems too good to be true… and he is, with a secret identity as a government assassin threatening to ruin his happiness with Jen. He decides to turn his back on his dangerous lifestyle and settles down to a normal life of wedded bliss.

Three years later, and with things seemingly going well, Spencer realises that his old career might not have been so easy to put behind him, whereas Jen begins to worry that her husband is beginning to grow tired of their relationship.

The Good
Despite being utterly predictable, there is enough of an off-beat charm to proceedings to make Killers worth investing in. Heigl manages to pull off playing dumb without being annoying and Kutcher convinces in the few action scenes he has. As the assassins seek out Spencer, there’s fun to be had in seeing the couple’s casual acquaintances turn into professional killers. The suburban setting is also wonderfully used in a couple of sequences and Tom Selleck oozes cool as the disapproving father-in-law.

The Bad
There is a real lack of impetus in the second act and the setting up of the happy couple in domestic bliss takes an age, making the whole film feel too long and detracting from the best bits. Some of the humour is also misjudged with some quite brutal violence sitting uncomfortably next to standard romcom fare.

Worth seeing?
Not bad for what it is, Killers is an inoffensive offering which does exactly as it implies on the poster. Unoriginal but perfectly acceptable.

Film Trailer

Killers (12A)
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Content updated: 21/05/2013 23:23

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