Quartile rating: 7.5/10 · 1 rating
After a fateful near-miss, an assassin battles his employers, and himself, on an international manhunt he insists isn't personal.
Fincher's clinical hitman character study is elevated by immaculate cinematography and production design — cold, precise framing that mirrors the protagonist's detached worldview. The Smiths-heavy score and deadpan interior monologue give it a distinctive ironic tone. However, the plot is fairly thin and episodic, functioning more as mood piece than thriller, and the ending deflates rather than resonates, wrapping up without meaningful consequence or revelation. Michael Fassbender is compelling in a deliberately affectless performance, though the role doesn't demand much range from the ensemble. Novelty is moderate — it's Fincher doing Fincher, stylistically assured but not a departure from his established mode.