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Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Thomas Jane, Rosario Dawson

Prime Suspect 4 and Inspector Morse director John Madden comes back to the world of crime after a brief foray into romance with Shakespeare in Love and Captain Corelli's Mandolin with this adaptation ... read more read more...of pulp icon Elmore Leonard's novel concerning a real estate agent and her husband (Thomas Jane) who become the targets of two relentless mafia hitmen. When real estate agent Carmen Colson (Diane Lane) catches a glimpse of a hitman named the Blackbird (Mickey Rourke) as he carries out a job, a subsequent request for her to testify against the aging gun for hire soon lands both Carmen and her husband, Wayne (Thomas Jane), in the Witness Protection Program. Blackbird isn't a man who likes to leave loose ends when it comes to his work, though, and now as the seasoned assassin and his psychotic partner (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) attempt to catch the couple in their crosshairs, Carmen and Wayne are going to need much more than a few federal agents to make it out of increasingly deadly situation alive. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

32% liked it

21,157 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

7 critics

R, 1 hr. 24 min.

Directed by: John Madden

Release Date: November 13, 2008

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DVD Release Date: May 26, 2009

Stats: 1,633 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (1,633)

  • phubbs1
    February 9, 2012
    phubbs1
    This starts of looking like a great hitman flick with an ice cool looking Rourke and a possible gun totting plot brooding...but alas. Enter Joseph Gordon Levitt with a massively over the top performance as a loose cannon southern hick and trying his best to do what Brad Pitt and ... read moreJohnny Depp have done before, be a cool, sexy and charismatic villain.

    Instead he comes across as rather embarrassing and annoying with way too much eyebrow movement. The film itself is pretty disconnected with plot holes and jumps making you wonder why and how until you later realise but then don't really care. You watch this really hoping for some cool gun play from Rourke or something, just to confirm his cool looking character but again alas....

    Nothing much happens until the predictable end which is helped along by the predictable Thomas Jane haha can read that guy like a book. Filler for Rourke until some big flicks get made.
  • MrMarakai
    August 14, 2011
    MrMarakai
    Novelist Elmore Leonard's writing is always sharp with snappy dialogue and well drawn characters. His stories are so descriptive that he's practically already written the script, making his books easy to adapt to the screen. This was one that had all the ingredients for being ano... read morether successful transfer from page to screen, but for the fact that it's mediocre and lifeless.
    Wayne Colson (Thomas Jane) and his estranged wife Carmen (Diane Lane) are placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing an extortion scheme go wrong. Under the protection of the F.B.I isnt enough though, when experienced hit-man Armand "Blackbird" Degas (Mickey Rourke) and psychopathic young upstart killer Richie Nix (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) are determined to track them down.
    Notable successful adaptations of Leonard's novels have been Steven Soderbergh's "Out of Sight", Barry Sonnenfeld's "Get Shorty" and Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown" but this actually achieves something that none of them managed to do and something thats not easy to do either... making Elmore Leonard's writing seem dull. This is devoid of any excitement at all. They have taken any form of suspense out and made a slow, lethargic excuse for a thriller. Rourke (as usual) is great in his brooding role and Gordon-Levitt adds some edge to the film as his pyschotic sidekick - roles that were originally intended for Robert DeNiro and Quentin Tarantino - but "Shakespeare in Love" director John Madden gets it all wrong. His treatment is flat, but I'm assuming that the fact the screenplay went through uncredited rewrites and the film itself was held back from release due to extensive cuts (Johnny Knoxville playing a crazy sheriff being a major one) that the whole troubled production has not been kind to its director. It all shows in the end result.
    If it wasn't for Rourke and Gordon-Levitt, this would be a complete waste of time. A wasted opportunity and an example of how a good story can be wasted in the wrong hands.
  • Chiefilms
    June 1, 2011
    Chiefilms
    Short and bizarre. Diane Lane still looking good like Reggie Miller. Mickey Rourke is robotic Native American. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a Detroit redneck which is arguably the most annoying performance since Al Jolson in the Jazz Singer. Thomas Jane is a shoe in for the bro... read morenze medal in Hollywood's Driest Actor Ever, he peaked early in Boogie Nights. Vin Diesel wins the gold, Bill Pullman wins the silver.
  • hunterjt13
    April 13, 2011
    hunterjt13
    A tortured hitman teams up with a loose cannon to stalk witnesses, a husband and wife who are undergoing marital strife.
    With Elmore Leonard penning the novel and a cast that includes some real talent, most notably Mickey Rourke and Diane Lane, I got my hopes up, but this film is... read more ultimately a disappointment. It reminds me of another Leonard work, Out of Sight. Both films are equally slow and amount to predictable conclusions. The only difference is that for some reason Out of Sight was critically acclaimed and Killshot was panned.
    Regardless, the film takes an awful long time to unfold, and the only character who is able to hold our attention is Levitt's psychopath. Rourke's Armand is moody, and in response to his partner's shenanigans, he groans like Al Gore did during the 2004 debate; both performances were not representative of their abilities. And Lane and Mickey Mantle are stuck in a plot that goes nowhere and magically resolves, then just as magically, "un-resolves."
    Overall, the film probably deserves two stars, but my disappointment in this capable cast and writer knock it down one.
  • fb100000145236770
    January 17, 2011
    fb100000145236770
    Just ok...great cast,dull story. But man do I loooooove diane lane,yummy!
  • bbcfloridabound
    June 10, 2010
    bbcfloridabound
    Mickey Rourke takes the place of Charles Bronson in Deathwish as the bad guy killer I would want coming after me. Plays an excellent part in this movie, And Joseph Levitt plays the pain in the ass partner, he was so much a pain I wanted to shoot him. Nothing but awesome. 5 Stars.
  • deano
    February 28, 2010
    deano
    Not really exciting suspense-thriller with Mickey Rourke, but his latest film, The Wrestler was the best film of 2008. The performances are wooden, the scripting is clumsy, and much of the plot just doesn't make sense. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is entertaining as the psychotic ... read moremadman, although by staying on 10 the whole time, the effect does dull after a while. Thomas Jane, too, is a pleasant enough screen presence, and believable as the blue-collar worker looking for a way back into Diane Lane's heart.
  • LWOODS04
    November 29, 2009
    LWOODS04
    Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, Thomas Jane, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson

    Beautiful Carmen Colson (Lane) and her ironworker husband Wayne (Jane) are placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing an "incident". Thinking they are at last safe, they are ta... read morergeted by an experienced hit man (Rourke) and a psychopathic young upstart killer (Gordon Levitt). The ensuing struggle will test Carmen to the limit.
    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
    Thought it was an OK movie. Worth the watch. All of the actors have done better work. Just kinda feel like the movie could have been better. JGL character got on my last nerve with all his non-stop talking about the most random shit. But all in all a decent movie. =)
  • MovieGeek13
    June 30, 2009
    MovieGeek13
    After going through four years of being delayed, shelved, reshot, and reedited, it's hard not to notice how Killshot has been affected by its troubled production. It clocks in at under 95 minutes in length, and it feels like many pieces of the puzzle, character arks, and importa... read morent subplots have been omitted in favour of a sleek, quick, and harmless action thriller.
    However, this is based on an Elmore Leonard novel, and no amount of reassembly can take away from the colourful and richly thought out characters that are always present in Leonard's work. Mickey Rourke, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Diane Lane, and Thomas Jane all give top notch performances. There is a lot of great tension in the film's more suspenseful moments. The drama does work. But ultimately, it feels rushed.
    Carmen Colson and her husband Wayne are placed in a Witness Protection Program as a result of being hunted by a ruthless assassin. But we never fully understand why they come out of Witness Protection. This subplot is somewhere on the cutting room floor as our Johnny Knoxville and Rosario Dawson's performances. In fact, much of what could have made this film great is left on that same floor. Ultimately, Killshot is a decent thriller that was neglected by the Weinstein brothers and left to suffer a straight-to-DVD fate.
  • fb619846742
    June 22, 2009
    fb619846742
    A decent suspense thriller featuring three outstanding performances from Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke, and the heavily underrated Joseph Gordon-Levitt (one of the best young actors out there right now). Although some gaping plot holes weigh the movie down to a degree, the suspense a... read morend sympathy for the chief characters are there, thanks in large part to careful direction by John Madden. While the ending is a bit of a letdown due to its inability to close on an appropriate note, the bad guy combo of Rourke and Gordon-Levitt is as intimidating as it is totally mismatched. The rifle scenes are pretty excellent.

View All Killshot Reviews

Critic Reviews

Bill Goodykoontz
January 22, 2009
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

It's ultimately Rourke who makes the film worth watching. Full Review

Kevin N. Laforest
June 16, 2009
Kevin N. Laforest, Montreal Film Journal

An Elmore Leonard adaptation starring Mickey Rourke as a contract killer. And this barely got released? Goddamn Weinstein Company... Full Review

Don Willmott
June 12, 2009
Don Willmott, Filmcritic.com

the quality of the A-list cast's performances do deserve a tip of the hat. Full Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson
June 1, 2009
Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid

The film's biggest problem is not that it's a disaster, but that it's merely tepid and dull. Full Review

David Nusair
May 28, 2009
David Nusair, Reel Film Reviews

...a thoroughly misguided endeavor... Full Review

Joseph Proimakis
May 10, 2009
Joseph Proimakis, Movies for the Masses

Click for full review Full Review

Brian Orndorf
May 7, 2009
Brian Orndorf, BrianOrndorf.com

Killshot is undoubtedly a mess, but it's a nicely contained jumble with a few great moments of thespian interaction to counteract the estimated 1,000 hands that mangled this picture over the last thre... Full Review

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