King of Killers

NOW IN THEATERS! In the action/thriller King of Killers, Kevin Grevioux brings his graphic novel to life following a family-man assassin in the fight for his and his daughter’s lives. Marcus Garan (Alain Moussi) is a former member of an international assassins society who quit after his wife died in the line of duty. The distraught Garan is now a single father of Kimberly (Zoe Worn), who is dying from a rare illness.

To pay for her treatment, the reluctant Garan is proposed one last job by a mysterious client (Frank Grillo), who wants him to assassinate the legendary hitman Jorg Drakos. When Garan arrives at the client’s mansion in Japan, he finds out that the benefactor is indeed Drakos and that Drakos has invited other assassins to kill him to see who is the King of Killers…but why?

King of Killers is an exciting thrill ride into the action genre. The film is all about the action and having a hero in Marcus Garan to root for. Yes, the plot is a bit similar to John Wick, but since when could you copyright a plot device?

“…Drakos has invited other assassins to kill him to see who is the King of Killers…”

The film’s take on the action is to spotlight close-contact fighting with fists, guns, and blades as the weapons of choice. Of course, our rag-tab band of assassins offers a diverse palate of combat styles. Taking on Drakos first is the military guns expert LeCroix (Georges St-Pierre). Then there’s the grizzled veteran Dyson Chord (Kevin Grevious), bringing honor to the proceedings. The small scrappy Asha Khanna (Marie Avgeropoulos) and the martial artist Ren Hiro (Shannon Kook) round out the pack.

Each battle is unique, and the contrasting fighting styles make King of Killers a thrilling film to watch, mainly when your budget does not allow for elaborate and dangerous car chases. The fighting looks good and is tailored to the style of each character. It’s definitely a ride worth going down if all you are looking for is action. What I would have liked to really give the film a score boost is some action set piece that elevates the genre. Sadly, that moment is not there (in my opinion). The plot pretty much exists to properly build sympathy for killing machine and family man Marcus Garan.

The ending is a bit of a letdown. It’s not really that hard to figure out who ultimately comes out on top, but the film makes the mistake of going in the obvious franchise direction. I get it. Everyone wants to make a series of films. There’s nothing wrong with that, but the twist in the narrative in hopes of scoring a sequel is a bit too on-the-nose.

King of Killers is perfect for anyone wanting to see trained killers fight and kill each other. The film is about the action, and Alain Moussi and Frank Grillo come through with bloody banners waving high.