Lionsgate‘s action thriller comedy, The Killer’s Game, is poised to hit U.S. theaters this Friday, promising equal parts über-violence and irreverent humor.
Based on Jay Bonansinga’s eponymous book, stuntman/filmmaker J.J. Perry (Day Shift) directs Dave Bautista as veteran assassin Joe Flood who, on receiving a devastating medical diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, resigns himself to a merciful end by authorizing a kill order on himself. After ordering the kill, he finds out that he was misdiagnosed so, in a desperate bid to save his own life and reclaim the future he was nearly robbed of, Flood must fend off the army of former colleagues trying to kill him.
The film co-stars Sofia Boutella, Terry Crews, Scott Adkins, with Pom Klementieff, and Ben Kingsley.
In anticipation of the upcoming release of The Killer’s Game, we’ve compiled a list of thrilling, every-man-for-themselves action movies that are sure to scratch your action movie itch, whether you watch them before or after seeing Joe Flood navigate the predicament he finds himself in for failing to seek a second opinion.
Directed by Scott Mann, responsible for 2022’s wildly effective, sustained adrenaline rush survival thriller Fall, this British indie actioner centers around the titular tournament that takes place every seven years in a different city around the world. The point of the tournament is for 30 of the world’s greatest combatants, selected from the world’s special forces, serial killers, athletes, trained contract killers, and assassins, to go head-to head and kill each other until the last one standing takes home $10 million and bragging rights as the world’s greatest killer. Each of the contestants carries a tracking device, embedded under their skin, allowing the observers to monitor their movements, and the contestants to track each other. The tournament lasts twenty-four hours, and if no one has won, the tracking devices will explode.
This is certainly not the first or last move of this type but it is populated with a huge ensemble cast including Ving Rhames, Robert Carlyle, Kelly Hu, Ian Somerhalder, Liam Cunningham and Scott Adkins, who make the fairly familiar tropes all the more enjoyable.
The Contenders is a deranged reality television game show that blends familiar tropes from classics like BATTLE ROYALE and The Running Man. Directed by Daniel Minahan (“Game of Thrones”, “House of Cards”), the show forces six randomly selected contestants to kill each other until only one champion remains – all in the pursuit of securing the highest possible TV ratings. Now in its seventh season, two-time champion Dawn hopes to retain her title…at any cost.
After five years of marriage, John (Brad Pitt) and Jane Smith (Angelina Jolie) have reached a nadir in their relationship. Desperate to recapture the electric chemistry they once shared, they seek counselling. Little do they know, however, that their marital woes are the least of their concerns – for unbeknownst to them, they are both highly skilled contract killers, assigned by rival employers to take out the same target: Benjamin “The Tank” Danz. When their botched assassination attempt ends up exposing their respective secret identities, the tables are turned, and their employers force them to carry out their most challenging mission yet: to kill each other. In a twist of fate, the adrenaline rush of their deadly dance reawakens a renewed appreciation for one another that had been buried beneath the monotony of everyday life.
A seasoned crime enforcer has a sudden change of heart, abandoning his former life of crime to rescue a young girl. However, early retirement is not an option in his line of work.
Timo Tjahajanto’s second banzai action movie, starring Iko Uwais, Joe Taslim, Julie Estelle and Zack Lee, raises the bar for visceral on-screen brutality, surpassing even the intensity of the recent John Wick films.
Jason Statham stars as Adam Clay, a reserved beekeeper who lives a tranquil life tending to his hives and honeycombs. However, beneath his unassuming exterior lies a highly trained operative with a deadly set of skills – Clay is a member of a top-secret government programme known only as “Beekeepers”. When someone close to him falls victim to a ruthless scam and is driven to harm, the beekeeper embarks on a mission to hunt down the greedy, power-hungry syndicate responsible.
David Ayers’ The Beekeeper plays out like a modern-day equivalent of and ’80s action classic, packing compelling characters, stunning cinematography and jaw-droppingly coreographed, pulse-pounding action sequences.
The Killer’s Game releases exclusively in theaters on September 13. 2024.
