Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: 5/28/2024
Rating: R
Film Grade: C+
The Story: John Knox is a professional contract killer who’s now dealing with the deadliest adversary he’ll ever face. Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease is a particularly devastating form of dementia, with most patients dying within a year, but John’s is particularly aggressive. He likely only has weeks to live.
Estranged from his family, he starts setting his affairs in order, while completing one last job. Things don’t go according to plan, leading to deeper complications as he feels the clock relentlessly ticking down on his fading cognitive abilities.
My Take: The movie is a blend of a permanently retiring hit man story, detective procedural, with a heaping side dish of family melodrama, overlayed with the specter of dementia. It’s a tough act to balance, and the movie wasn’t able to fit them all together for me.
Unlike the 2022 Liam Neeson feature, Memory, this movie tries to take a more serious approach to the disease, relying less on action and more on drama. Anyone that has had the misfortune of losing a close one to any of the multiple causes of dementia will be able to relate to those parts of this movie. It hits hard in those spots, but it doesn’t dwell on them. But the effort to add more elements and complications to the story push it over into melodrama, making it less personal than it could have been. Much of the nuances are left aside as the disease progresses, with the effects setting in only when the plot needs it to.
Michael Keaton takes the helm as director for this movie, producing some uneven performances. His role as John Knox is stable, with the literate, intellectual hit man still trying to outthink everyone else despite his rapidly diminishing faculties. Other performances are not as strong. James Marsden throws himself into his role too aggressively, teetering over into melodrama. On the other hand, Suzy Nakamura plays the part of Detective Ikari in an almost flippant manor. This works effectively for some of her sarcastic dialog but doesn’t fit with some of the more serious spots. Al Pacino is largely wasted in a small role that doesn’t allow him to add much to the story.
Visuals: The film has a noir look to it, with a good use of deep blacks for contrast. Scenes in a diner have that classic nighttime diner look to them. Outdoor scenes display a true feeling of earthiness. The different houses have distinct looks and character, reflecting the inhabitants. This is a nice-looking disc.
Audio: The 5.1 DTS-HD MA soundtrack is on the simple side. The slow jazzy soundtrack fits the movie well. Dialog is clear. There aren’t a lot of spatial cues, and there’s minimal use of subs. It gets the job done, but not noteworthy in any way.
Special Features: Not much here, with the standard making-of short that leans toward congratulatory rather than informative.
- Audio Commentary with Director Michael Keaton and Producers Trevor Matthews and Nick Gordon
- Building the Performances of Knox Goes Away
Final Verdict: This was a disappointment for me. Going in, I was expecting a serious adult look at the effects of a devastating disease on an offbeat, career criminal. While there’s a little bit of that in the movie, it spends more time being a standard “hit man at the end of his profession” story. As that part of the goes, it’s alright and slightly above average, but not by much. Had the script been less focused on the usual, this movie would have been Oscar bait.
Fans of Michael Keaton or hit man stories might want to check it out; his performance is good and balanced. For me, it was worth a watch, but not something I’d want to revisit. My wife found it thoroughly depressing.
Telling Quote: “That’s Ok, Doc. Even if I hated you for telling me, I’d forget soon enough.”
My Review System:JVC DLA-RS3100 4K Ultra High-Definition Front Projector
Elite Screens Sable Frame B2 117” Width with Infinitely Variable Height
Monolith by Monoprice HTP-1 16 Channel Processor with Dirac Live
Monolith by Monoprice 7x200 Watts Amp
Monolith by Monoprice 3x200 Watts + 6x100 Watts Amp
JBL Studio 590 for Left, Center, Right, Wides, and Rears
JBL Studio 580 for Side Surrounds
JBL Studio SCS 8 for Tops
JTR Captivator 1400 Subwoofer X 4
Panasonic DP-UB420 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Player
Oppo BDP-93
NVIDIA Shield Android TV - 4K
Xbox One X
HTPC Running madVR (work in progress)
Remote: URC MX-780
Mini DSP 2X4 HD controlling all subwoofers
APC S15 Power Conditioner with Battery Backup
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