Killer's Game kills time

Ever hear the one about a world full of contract killers who live by a code of honor? Or where separate contractors descend on the same mark? Or where a contractor tries to cancel the job? You get an A for tossing in John Wick, Smokin’ Aces, and a raft of other titles including this month’s The Killer’s Game starring Dave Bautista. Familiar plot devices full of gunfire, explosions, and fountains of gushing blood pummel the project, a trait of a genre that features comic book and video game stylistics. Directing a script by Rand Ravich and James Coyne, martial arts specialist J.J. Perry capably stages stunt work and fights. He shows a good eye for logistics, taking advantage of his key location in Budapest, Hungary and even allowing time to highlight an arty ballet sequence at the city’s famed opera house. The opening’s relatively peaceable moments allow stars Dave Bautista and Sofia Boutella to meet cute—well, sort of since it happens during craziness caused by an assassination. Often fun in movies like Guardians of the Galaxy, former wrestler Bautista needs no pretty boy looks to make him a likeable romantic lead. But his forte remains action, and The Killer’s Game goes into hyper-drive finding different ways to dispatch people. The Killer’s Game requires tol

erance for a high body count, a mathematical skill that often eludes me.