Killshot (2009)

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

I would have given this movie a 1 except for Diane Lane. She tried...the movie is just dumb. The character of Nix is obnoxious...Rourke should have shot him the day he met him.

Mickey Rourke plays Canadian Indian Armand, who is a hit-man. He loses both his brothers in the movies opening scene, where they're supposed to kill a patient in a hospital. Years later, Armand gets a little too trigger-happy and the mob boss wants him dead. Through a series of more or less likely events, Armand teams up with Joseph Gordon Levitts character, because he reminds him of his youngest brother. This only gets him into more trouble and soon they have to kill more people to cover their tracks, namely Wayne (Thomas Jane) and Carmen (Diane Lane), who are going through a rough marriage.Apparently the book works well. Despite good acting all around, the movie just isn't very interesting and doesn't work well. If you don't watch the movie you're not missing anything.

Okay, maybe I'm just such a movie lover that I'm easy to please, but - I LIKED IT! Filmed predominantly in a wintry Canada, it's the story of an out-of-love couple who eyeball a professional hit man, and are then pursued by him and his maniacal cohort. Yes, it's been done before, and the ending was very predictable, but Director John Madden keeps the pace red-hot, and I enjoyed the characters so much that it finished the way I wanted it to. Here's how it goes down with me: movies are supposed to be entertaining, and this one was. The people should be real, and they were. Mickey Rourke's hit man was cold as ice; Joseph Gordon-Levitt was the most appallingly awful villain I've seen in a long time; and Diane Lane in fetching underwear gave my octogenarian heart the most exercise it's had in a long time. And the fact that I bought the DVD for $2 at my favourite second-hand store in no way influenced my rating!

"Killshot" (2008) is a thriller/drama about a mob hit-man (Mickey Rourke) who inexplicably teams-up with a twerp psycho (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). They go after a separated couple (Diane Lane & Thomas Jane) who witnessed a botched hit. Rosario Dawson is also on hand as the twerp's girlfriend.I've heard people go on & on about how this film had post-production problems, sat on a shelf, was re-edited and whatever else. As such, they say it doesn't flow well. Don't believe it. "Killshot" is a very professionally-made film and I never got the sense that the story didn't flow, regardless of what they edited out, re-edited or what have you. The story's easy to follow and makes sense.Mickey Rourke is always a highlight even though he essentially plays the same character, which I guess most actors do. His character in "Killshot" is the same likable, brooding one seen in "The Wrestler" (2008) and "Passion Play" (2010) with the variation that he murders people for a living. Yes, that's a big difference and it does cause the viewer to disapprove of him but it's hard to hate him, unlike his two-bit partner. Somewhat likable or not, the Rourke character HAS to pay for his misdeeds (or should).Speaking of the twerp partner, Joseph Gordon-Levitt shines here as a scumbag with almost zero redeeming qualities. Someone does something to him at the end and you just can't help saying "THANK YOU!" Thomas Jane is always a solid masculine protagonist as is Lane in the feminine department. The film is just as much about the potential re-establishment of their relationship as it is about the thugs trying to find them. But this is definitely a thriller/drama. You get a lot of quality drama interrupted by sudden and intense thrills.The score's nice and atmospheric and there's a great song on the soundtrack ("Monkey" by Low).The film was shot in Port Perry, Uxbridge and Toronto, Canada, as well as Cape Girardeau, Missouri, and Detroit.GRADE: B