The Killer's Game (2024)
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A veteran hitman with a terminal diagnosis must survive a deadly contract while trying to build a life with the woman he saved.
The story
After an assassination in Budapest, hitman Joe Flood saves a dancer named Maize. Despite his secret profession, the two fall in love, but Joe's life is upended when he is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Seeking to provide for Maize, Joe attempts to arrange a contract on his own life, but his former mentor refuses. This leads him to a rival handler who puts a massive bounty on his head. As Joe tries to navigate his declining health and his growing feelings for Maize, he becomes the target of a ruthless hunt by various assassins across Europe.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Joe Flood, a veteran hitman, saves a dancer named Maize in Budapest. They fall in love, but Joe hides his identity and is later diagnosed with Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, giving him three months to live. To secure life insurance for Maize, Joe asks his mentor Zvi to put a contract on him, but Zvi refuses. Joe instead turns to Marianna Antoinette, who accepts and puts a $2 million bounty on him. After Joe publicly breaks up with Maize and explains his diagnosis, Marianna doubles the bounty to $4 million, attracting a variety of assassins. Joe sets up traps at a castle to fend off the attackers. Meanwhile, a hitman named Lovedahl partners with an aspiring assassin to kidnap Maize. During a confrontation, Maize escapes and rams Lovedahl's car. Joe reveals his identity and his misdiagnosis to Maize, who reveals she is pregnant. They find sanctuary in a church where they are married, but are interrupted by Max and his men. Joe kills most of the squad and pins Lovedahl. Maize kills Max with a headshot. Finally, Zvi executes Marianna for breaking the assassin's code. Joe and Maize marry, with Joe promising to retire, though Maize suggests he shouldn't give up his skills entirely.
- First release year
- 2024
- Runtime (minutes)
- 106
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- J. J. Perry
- Writers
- Rand Ravich · screenplay; James Coyne · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Dave Bautista · Joe Flood; Sofia Boutella · Maize Arnaud; Terry Crews · Creighton Lovedahl; Scott Adkins · Angus Mackenzie; Pom Klementieff · Marianna Antoinette; Ben Kingsley · Zvi Rabinowitz
- Genres
- action; comedy; thriller
- Themes
- mortality; sacrifice; identity; redemption
- Tone and mood
- action-packed; melancholic; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- hitman; terminal illness; bounty hunt; forbidden love
- Source material / true-story basis
- 1997 novel of the same name by Jay Bonansinga
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews and was a box-office bomb.
- Reported review scores
- CinemaScore · score: B+ · scale: A+ to F; PostTrak · score: 63% · scale: overall positive
- Production trivia
- The film was originally titled Godforsaken.; Wesley Snipes was courted to star in the film in 2002.; The film was granted an interim agreement waiver to proceed amid the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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