This is one of the biggest letdowns in years. You simply cannot go wrong with Fassbender, until you go voiceover all the way! The story is never thrilling, clever or original… it’s just a B-movie that was reanimated for a Netflix release. It somehow gave me the same disappointment as George Clooney in The American, but think that movie won by a margin… skip this movie and enjoy the better 2023 releases.

The most straightforward genre film Fincher has made since _Panic Room_, and probably his goofiest effort since _The Game_. It’s not great, what’s really lacking here is that inventive spark that makes his best work tick. The script is generally cliche, repetitive, predictable and sometimes cheesy. That’s not entirely surprising given that the film’s based on a graphic novel, and thankfully the film is at the very least somewhat aware of its own shortcomings. For example, there are some really funny moments of dark comedy through the film’s use of cynical narration. I also feel like Fincher is self-inserting himself in Fassbender’s character here (it’s kinda obvious if you’re familiar with his other work), but that ultimately doesn’t lead to a new, unique insight. It’s not a secret metaphor for filmmaking or Fincher’s career, at least I’m not seeing that. At most it just feels like Fincher taking a laugh at himself. It’s also not really reinventing the wheel when it comes to the way that it explores the serial killer as a cinematic archetype. Instead, this movie is at its best when Fincher’s finding new ways to present familiar ideas. The set pieces are pretty decent, he still knows how to bring the tension, shoot with precision and use great sound design & score. His use of songs from The Smiths adds a cool stylish touch, or it comments on scenes in an ironic way. Again, the sum doesn’t add up to something special or unique, but because it's made with a lot of skill and sleek style, it doesn't feel as disposable as a lot of other films like it. 5.5/10

What a dumb freaking ending!!! He says "Empathy is vulnerability, vulnerability is weakness" . So he kills the cab driver , dolores (people who don't deserve to die) but actually leaves the main villain of the story?!! I mean what the f- I know the villain didn't do it personally, but he still ordered some guy to be killed , that makes him a bad person right? Seriously, one of the worst David Fincher movies I've ever seen. Wanna be John Wick. 1/10

Over average “portrait of an assassin” film. Fassbender plays the role very well. The inner monologue is ok but seemed to fail, at times, at being as interesting, as original or as funny as it intended to be. Having our assassin listen only to the Smiths was a little cheesy IMO. I know it was meant to be cheeky but it missed the mark for me. My daughter and I agreed that because of Fincher we entered the theatre with high expectations and were a tad disappointed. Had Fincher tightened things up and sprinkled in a couple more tasty morsels it could have been a great film… … and there are a ton of plot holes and implausible situations. Here are a few in chronological order (spoiler alert): 1. Being invisible is impossible our man says because there are cams everywhere. So his camo is dressing like a German tourist. He scopes out the location of his future assassination for days as the German tourist, then switches to ninja clothes for the dirty deed, then switches back to his same German tourist outfit to make his escape. Ridiculous. 2. Why didn’t the assassins that beat up his gf wait around to kill him? You would think that would count as a failed assassination and that they too would be targeted for cleanup. I need to rewatch the part with the attorney because perhaps he says that he expected our man to have disappeared to the other side of the planet and that sending the assassins to his house was just a gesture to make it look like he made an attempt to clean up. And in that case to whom were they making this show of cleaning up? The botched assassination victim? That makes no sense… 3. The first assassin has one of those loud entrance door beeps when our man enters the assassins house and yet our man goes about looking through the house as if he expects to find the assassin asleep on the couch with a bag of potato chips. Of course the assassin gets the drop on him… Ridiculous. 3. Billionaire client says attorney suggested the proper thing would be to cleanup (kill our man) for an extra $150K. What? $150K? Assuming the attorney takes 1/3 as commission, that means each killer gets $50K to fly to Puerto Rico and murder another assassin? Dang assassins are on sale in this movie! They must have killed a lot of folks at $50K a pop to have “more money than they could ever spend”. That’s it for now. If I’ve missed any other plot holes or implausibilities please let me know. PS: I don’t usually care about holes and implausibilities but this movie pretends to be a realistic peek into the life of a highly competent, no frills assassin.

Felt like the script had been sitting on a shelf for 20 years, but since it's based on a graphic novel that old, that kind of explains it. A C- script elevated to B+ by Fincher's direction and a Reznor/Ross score and excellent sound design.