Killers (2010 film)

Killers is a 2010 American action comedy film directed by Robert Luketic and starring Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher. The film was released on June 4, 2010. The film centers on a young woman (Heigl) who meets the man of her dreams (Kutcher) who turns out to be an assassin.

Killers
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRobert Luketic
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story byBob DeRosa
Starring
Music byRolfe Kent
CinematographyRussell Carpenter
Edited by
Production
company
Distributed byLionsgate
Release date
  • June 1, 2010 (2010-06-01) (Hollywood premiere)
  • June 4, 2010 (2010-06-04)
Running time
100 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$75 million
Box office$98 million[1]

Plot

After a break-up, overcautious Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) travels to Nice, France, with her parents. She meets Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher), and agrees to join him later for drinks. Spencer sneaks aboard a boat and plants a bomb on a helicopter, then arrives for his date with Jen; when the helicopter takes off, Spencer triggers the bomb. After a night of drinking, Spencer, unaware Jen has fallen asleep, reveals he is a professional assassin. Despite the advice of his boss, Holbrook (Martin Mull), Spencer quits contract killing and begins a relationship with Jen, eventually asking her father, Mr. Kornfeldt (Tom Selleck), for his blessing to marry her.

Three years later, Spencer and Jen have settled into their married life. When she surprises him with tickets to Nice for his birthday, Spencer is less than enthusiastic, which Jen's friends convince her is a sign he is bored with their relationship. Spencer receives a "romantic" postcard from Holbrook and is given an ultimatum to take another assignment. Trying to refuse the job over the phone, Spencer hangs up suddenly when Jen's father arrives, prompting Mr. Kornfeldt’s suspicion; he also notices the postcard. Mr. Kornfeldt brings Spencer to a surprise birthday party, where Spencer’s distraction over the assignment strengthens Jen’s doubts about his commitment, further fueled in the morning when he rushes her off on her business trip.

Jen decides not to leave, and returns home to find Spencer fighting off his best friend Henry (Rob Riggle), secretly a fellow assassin who reveals that a $20 million bounty has been placed on Spencer and that anyone in his life could be an assassin. A sniper opens fire on the house, and Spencer and Jen flee. They lead Henry on a car chase through the neighborhood and ram his car onto rebar, killing him. After they find Holbrook dead in his hotel room, Jen vomits and realizes she may be pregnant. At Spencer’s office, Jen takes a pregnancy test, and Spencer is attacked by his secretary Vivian, but Spencer, with Jen's distraction, manages to kill her. Jen’s test is positive, and despite Spencer’s pleas, she drives off alone. Spencer is attacked by a delivery driver, who is run over and killed by one of Spencer's co-workers, Olivia. She tries to run him over, but Jen returns and rams Olivia's car into a fuel tank, which Spencer shoots. The car explodes, killing Olivia in the process.

Spencer and Jen discuss their future together and return home, evading a neighbor couple, Mac and Lily – also assassins. Making their way through the neighborhood block party, they enter the house to retrieve Spencer’s bug-out bag. Spencer subdues the neighbors, while Jen’s best friend Kristen, another assassin, holds Jen’s mother hostage in a Mexican standoff with Jen. Jen's father arrives and kills Kristen; in a standoff with Spencer, he reveals that he placed the bounty. Aware of Spencer's career all along, Mr. Kornfeldt explains that he was a former operative himself, and had been Spencer’s target in Nice; he embedded the assassins in Spencer and Jen’s lives. The postcard from Holbrook led Mr. Kornfeldt to believe that Spencer had resumed his old job, and he activated the assassins.

To prove he has truly left his old job behind, Spencer drops his gun, assuring Mr. Kornfeldt he has no intention of killing him. Jen, now convinced, reveals her pregnancy to her parents, and her father, after killing one last assassin, drops his gun as well, and the family makes peace by building a trust circle.

Months later, Spencer – growing a moustache to emulate Mr. Kornfeldt – and Jen leave her parents to babysit their child, guarded by lasers.

Cast

In addition, Usher (credited with his full name, Usher Raymond IV) has a cameo as Kevin, the K Mart manager, while Mary Birdsong briefly appears as Jackie, Jen and Spencer's obnoxious next door neighbor.

Production

Filming began in the fall of 2009 and took place in the Tributary community in Douglasville, Georgia, Nassau and Villefranche-sur-Mer doubling for Nice.[2]

Home media

The DVD and Blu-ray of the film was released on September 7, 2010.

Reception

Killers received generally negative reviews from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 10% based on 107 reviews with an average rating of 3.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Dull, formulaic, and chemistry-free, Killers is an action/comedy that's largely bereft of thrills or laughs."[3] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 21 out of 100 based on 22 critics, indicating "generally unfavorable reviews".[4] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B" on an A+ to F scale.[5]

Ashton Kutcher "won" the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actor for his performance in the movie (also for Valentine's Day).[6]

Box office

The film debuted at #3 at the box office behind Shrek Forever After and Get Him to the Greek, with an estimated $15.8 million in its opening weekend. Based on a budget of $75 million, Killers took in only $47 million domestically in the United States. With an additional $51.1 million overseas, the film grossed $98.1 million worldwide.

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References
  1. Killers at Box Office Mojo
  2. Siegel, Tatiana (2009-02-18). "Heigl, Kutcher to star in 'Killers'". Variety. Retrieved January 9, 2010.
  3. Killers Movie Reviews, Pictures. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  4. Killers Reviews, Ratings, Credits. Metacritic. Retrieved 2011-11-30.
  5. "CinemaScore". cinemascore.com.
  6. "The 31st Annual Razzie Awards". Archived from the original on 2012-12-23. Retrieved 2011-02-27.
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