Killing Gunther might’ve made for a fun enough short film but in feature length form it stretches the joke out too far and even Schwarzenegger’s scenes can’t save it.
Killing Gunther
(2017)
Genre(s): Comedy, Action
Lionsgate | R – 92 min. – $21.99 | December 26, 2017
Date Published: 01/06/2018 | Author: The Movieman
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THE MOVIE — 2.25/5 |
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Plot Synopsis: Blake (TARAN KILLAM) is a young and off-beat assassin who hires a docu-crew, at gunpoint, to follow him on his journey as he attempts to kill the nefarious and mysterious contract killer, Gunther (ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER). To do so, he assembles a team including explosives expert Donnie (OBBY MOYNIHAN), lethal sniper Sanaa (HANNAH SIMONE), Izzat (AMIR TALAI) and his bionic arm, poison specialist Yong (AARON YOO) and computer whiz Gabe (PAUL BRITTAIN), amongst others.
Quick Hit Review: Killing Gunther is a movie that takes a joke and runs it into the ground. While I did genuinely chuckled a few times, the vast majority of the time I sat there stone faced (not on pot) and wondered when it would be over. Now, the movie does pick up some steam towards the end when Arnold Schwarzenegger, who also was an executive producer, finally enters the picture and he does have a larger role than I expected, having about 15-minutes of screen time and at least he does seem to have a good old time. Outside of Schwarzenegger, the rest of the cast are rather forgettable. Writer/Director Taran Killam takes the lead role and has some of that millennial-esque ego that works for the role while the third person credited on the cover, Cobie Smulders, has a rather small part playing Blake’s ex who so happened to have dated Gunther and knows his true identity. Bobby Moynihan more or less is a cheaper, and less annoying, version of Zach Galifianakis down to having a hot chick, in the form of a beautiful assassin played by Hannah Simone, being attracted to him.
I don’t know, it would seem Killing Gunther had an interesting hook but there really isn’t enough here for a feature-length movie and probably would’ve worked better as a 30-40 minute short film instead. I suppose if you like the idea, it might be worth a rental. |
SPECIAL FEATURES – 1.5/5 |
| This release comes with a matted slip cover and inside is a redemption code for the Digital HD copy. The features are limited with only some Deleted Scenes and a Blooper Reel. |
VIDEO – 4.0/5 |
| Although this Killing Gunther is entirely done in documentary style (think The Office), the picture still looks good. The 1.85 widescreen transfer is sharp throughout and colors are bright in keeping with the more light-hearted nature of the film. |
AUDIO – 3.25/5 |
| The disc’s included DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track is rather bland especially for a movie that contains plenty of gunfire and explosions, several in one scene in fact. The track lacks very much depth though dialogue levels did come through well enough and I did notice some ambient noises coming from the surround speakers. |
OVERALL – 2.25/5 |
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Overall, Killing Gunther might’ve made for a fun enough short film but in feature length form it stretches the joke out too far and even Schwarzenegger’s scenes can’t save it. It’s not terrible as I did manage to chuckle a few times but the humor wasn’t consistent. The Blu-ray release offers good video, so-so audio and limited features. |
Check out some more 1080p screen caps by going to page 2. Please note, these do contain spoilers.