Blake, a hitman, decides—for reasons that are as baffling to himself as they are to everyone else—that he’s going to kill Gunther, the coolest assassin in the game. To pull off this major job, he assembles a ragtag crew of fellow assassins. Oh, and he also ropes in a documentary film crew—obviously, just to ensure his failure is recorded for posterity. Featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger among the cast, Killing Gunther not only parodies the action-movie genre with its icy-cold, badass killers but also hilariously mocks itself in the process.
Budget Hitmen for a Bargain
The problem? Everyone in Blake’s team is an idiot. Or a loser. Or both an idiot and a loser. And not the funny kind, mind you—just lame. And painfully dull. Watching this sorry excuse for a crew bumble through their mission, you can’t help but think that if you ever needed to take someone out, you’d be far better off doing it yourself.
Taran Killam’s action-comedy never takes itself seriously, which isn’t necessarily a strength in a film about assassins. Especially during scenes where, you know, they’re supposed to be killing someone. In Killing Gunther, they’re always trying to kill someone—and that someone is, of course, Gunther.
