KillersMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 21 out of 100 Generally unfavorable reviews Metascore^® based on all critic reviews

Information for Parents:

Iffy for 13+

Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

40

Salon.com | Andrew O'Hehir
Somehow Kutcher and Heigl and Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara (as her parents) are all fun to watch a fair amount of the time, without the movie they're in being any good at all. Read full review
38

USA Today | Claudia Puig
Killers is dead on arrival: miscast, horribly paced and murderously uninvolving. Read full review
25

Boston Globe | Wesley Morris
Just as I was beginning to hope that she'd (Heigl) find a part that called for intelligence and sophistication and backbone, she plays another uptight naif. Read full review
25

Philadelphia Inquirer |
At a certain point, it actually becomes embarrassing to watch Heigl and Kutcher play at being in love. Read full review
25

Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum
The steady drip-drip-drip of nothings like this are killing us all. Read full review
20

The Hollywood Reporter | Frank Scheck
An action comedy that nearly renders the term an oxymoron, Killers is devoid of suspense and laughs. Read full review
20

New York Daily News | Joe Neumaier
Robert Luketic's bland action comedy focuses on the uninteresting relationship between its two bland main characters, and that's the deadliest thing in sight. Read full review
10

Variety | Rob Nelson
Bullets fly and jokes land with a thud in Killers, a deadly dull hubby's-a-hit man farce that alternately resembles a knockoff of 2005's "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" and a rehash of "Knight & Day" avant la lettre . Read full review
10

The New York Times | Jeannette Catsoulis
Unless you're trapped on an airplane or enjoying movie night at the penitentiary, you have no excuse for watching Killers. A brain-deadening collision of high concept and low standards. Read full review
10

Los Angeles Times |
Is it some monstrosity of awfulness, as its lack of advance screening suggested? No, that would imply at least a spark of some kind. This is just an empty summer hodgepodge of stale romantic comedy exchanges, witlessness and lackluster action. Read full review

Metacritic link View more reviews for Killers on Metacritic

Information for Parents

Common Sense Media says Iffy for 13+ Bland spy romcom mines violence, stereotypes for laughs.

What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this dull romantic comedy finds humor in the violence associated with being an undercover assassin. Characters shoot, stab, and strangle each other throughout the movie, which doesn’t shy away from showing the bloody consequences. The movie’s premise rests on the idea that a man hasn’t been completely honest with his wife about a big part of his former life, but that’s not explored. (Neither is the idea of killing as a profession.) There’s some swearing (including "f--k" and s--t"), but nothing over the top, plus several sexual innuendoes. One character drinks excessively (and she’s actually the funniest of them all).

Families can talk about how this movie portrays coupledom and marriage. Is it realistic? Can you imagine getting into a serious relationship while keeping a big secret? Do movies need to be realistic to be good?
What do you think about Jen's character? Is her relationship with her parents healthy? Is she too dependent? Do you know women like Jen? Does this movie reinforce or challenge stereotypes about women?
What do you think about the violence in the movie? How does humor affect the way violence plays out in a movie or on TV? What would be the real consequences of some of the violence seen in the movie?

The good stuff

Positive messages: Killers is a strange concoction: Murder is played for laughs, but since the film’s not very funny, how does that leave the body count then? Jen is such a caricature of a weak, immature woman, that she would be offensive if the movie weren't overall so lame. Still, the movie does attempt to explore the idea of honesty in a marriage, and its importance to making a relationship successful.
Positive role models: In a strange way, Spencer, the professional killer, appears most sympathetic of all the characters, perhaps because he appears genuinely interested in reforming himself. Jen, on the other hand, comes across pleasantly, if a bit superficial. Her focus after finding out that her husband is an assassin is on how she was misled, not that her husband is a killer. Plus, her squealing and generally immature behavior puts her squarely in female stereotype-land.

What to watch for

Violence: Consider the title: For a rom-com, Killers is laden with bone-crunching fistfights and guns-ablaze sequences (and their fairly bloody aftermaths). The lead character is an assassin, after all, and off the bat, he’s shown at his “job.” One character gets impaled by a chandelier (her remains are briefly visible); another’s car is skewered by metal rods at a construction site while he’s still in it (we don’t see his body).
Sex: Lots of sexual innuendoes; Heigl’s character is seen in her underwear. She and her husband flirt and kiss often. An older woman shows off her cleavage to a younger married man. Frank discussion of a married woman’s sex life.
Language: Not excessive, but “s--t” and “f--k” do pop up.
Consumerism: Logos for Ford, Ferrari, Maalox, and other products clearly visible.
Drinking, drugs and smoking: Some social drinking, plus one character who’s clearly a lush (and her drinking is played for laughs). Nearly every time she’s onscreen, she’s fixing herself a sizable cocktail. Another character passes out from knocking back too many drinks on her first date with a guy who, curiously, finds the whole debacle charming (only in the movies.). A few guests get drunk at a party, and one of them leaves the hosts wondering if he’s able to drive (though they let him go).

Common Sense Media An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.