A Wall Street broker is forced to evade a police chief investigating a
bank robbery as he attempts to recover the stolen money in exchange for
his son's life.
First Kill (2017)
Director:
Steven C. MillerWriter:
Nick GordonStars:
Country:
USALanguage:
EnglishRelease Date:
21 July 2017 (USA) See more »Company Credits
Technical Specs
Runtime:
Color:
ColorAspect Ratio:
2.35 : 1
In an attempt to reconnect with his son Danny, successful Wall Street
broker Will takes his family on a vacation to the cabin where he grew
up. While Will and Danny are hunting, their trip takes a deadly turn
when they witness the murder of a crooked police officer as a bank
robbery goes awry. When Danny is taken hostage by the criminals, Will is
forced to help them evade the police chief investigating the murder and
recover the stolen money in exchange for his son's life.
First Kill marks the third collaboration between director
Steven C. Miller and Bruce Willis, but their efforts are not likely to
enter the pantheon of such previous cinematic teams as Alfred Hitchcock
and Jimmy Stewart or John Ford and John Wayne. Produced by the aptly
named Grindstone Entertainment, the film, much like its Miller/Willis
predecessors Extraction and Marauders, is strictly
grindhouse level, if grindhouses still existed. Their modern-day
equivalent, VOD, will be the natural home for this mediocre thriller
receiving a limited theatrical release.
As with most of his recent vehicles, Willis here plays a supporting part. Hayden Christensen plays the central role of Will, a hotshot investment banker whose importance is signaled in an early scene when he exasperatedly asks his assistant, “Did the meeting with the Saudis get moved to today?”
Not surprisingly, Will’s home life has suffered due to his workaholic ways. When he discovers that his 11-year-old son Danny (Ty Shelton) has been bullied at school, he decides to take his family to the small town where he grew up so that he can teach his boy how to hunt in an effort to give him confidence.
Using the same rifle that his grandfather gave him, Will takes Danny on a deer hunting expedition. But father and son get more than they bargained for when they encounter a pair of criminals and Will winds up having to shoot one of them in self-defense. It turns out that the duo was involved a recent bank robbery, and the surviving one, Levi (Gethin Anthony), winds up kidnapping Danny to force Will to help him find the key to a bank vault that contains $2 million in loot.
To complicate the situation even further, the local police chief (Willis), who’s known Will since he was a boy, becomes suspicious of Will’s actions after his boy is taken. The two men are soon involved in a twisty cat-and-mouse game even while Danny bonds with his captor over their shared love of video games. Levi, it’s soon revealed, isn’t really a bad guy, just a desperate one, trying to get the money to pay for an operation to remove his mother-in-law’s 80-pound tumor. (Yes, the screenplay by Nick Gordon gets that baroque).
More reminiscent of a broadcast network crime drama episode than a feature film, the generically titled First Kill features one decent chase scene involving a pick-up truck and ATV barreling through the woods and a suspenseful gun stand-off near its conclusion. Otherwise it’s all pretty tedious, with Miller failing to infuse the proceedings with the stylistic flair necessary to compensate for the cliché-ridden plotline, whose twists can be seen a mile away.
Christensen, who’s been unable to capitalize on the buzz over his acclaimed performance in Shattered Glass, at least goes through his paces with professionalism. The same can’t be said of Willis, who turns in yet another phone-it-in performance that makes one yearn for the actor to hark back to the sort of superb character work he did in such films as In Country and Nobody’s Fool. The best performance on display here comes from Anthony, a British actor who displays both a credible Southern accent and an entertaining relish for his intriguing character. It’s the one genuine pleasure in this otherwise forgettable genre exercise.
Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.
As with most of his recent vehicles, Willis here plays a supporting part. Hayden Christensen plays the central role of Will, a hotshot investment banker whose importance is signaled in an early scene when he exasperatedly asks his assistant, “Did the meeting with the Saudis get moved to today?”
Not surprisingly, Will’s home life has suffered due to his workaholic ways. When he discovers that his 11-year-old son Danny (Ty Shelton) has been bullied at school, he decides to take his family to the small town where he grew up so that he can teach his boy how to hunt in an effort to give him confidence.
Using the same rifle that his grandfather gave him, Will takes Danny on a deer hunting expedition. But father and son get more than they bargained for when they encounter a pair of criminals and Will winds up having to shoot one of them in self-defense. It turns out that the duo was involved a recent bank robbery, and the surviving one, Levi (Gethin Anthony), winds up kidnapping Danny to force Will to help him find the key to a bank vault that contains $2 million in loot.
To complicate the situation even further, the local police chief (Willis), who’s known Will since he was a boy, becomes suspicious of Will’s actions after his boy is taken. The two men are soon involved in a twisty cat-and-mouse game even while Danny bonds with his captor over their shared love of video games. Levi, it’s soon revealed, isn’t really a bad guy, just a desperate one, trying to get the money to pay for an operation to remove his mother-in-law’s 80-pound tumor. (Yes, the screenplay by Nick Gordon gets that baroque).
More reminiscent of a broadcast network crime drama episode than a feature film, the generically titled First Kill features one decent chase scene involving a pick-up truck and ATV barreling through the woods and a suspenseful gun stand-off near its conclusion. Otherwise it’s all pretty tedious, with Miller failing to infuse the proceedings with the stylistic flair necessary to compensate for the cliché-ridden plotline, whose twists can be seen a mile away.
Christensen, who’s been unable to capitalize on the buzz over his acclaimed performance in Shattered Glass, at least goes through his paces with professionalism. The same can’t be said of Willis, who turns in yet another phone-it-in performance that makes one yearn for the actor to hark back to the sort of superb character work he did in such films as In Country and Nobody’s Fool. The best performance on display here comes from Anthony, a British actor who displays both a credible Southern accent and an entertaining relish for his intriguing character. It’s the one genuine pleasure in this otherwise forgettable genre exercise.
5/10 genre
4/10 overall
Thanks for reading and have fun watching movies.
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