Triggered

The Killer opens like a Brian De Palma movie but turns into a David Fincher film pretty quick. Armed with a script like Zodiac or The Social Network, Fincher is one of the best filmmakers alive; the screenplay for The Killer, however, which is based on a graphic novel, can be elevated only to a certain point. I haven't read the comic version and I wonder how it tracked because the defining mechanism of the framed strip is juxtaposing emotions and a hitman story requires few – think Le Samouraï or Point Blank.

As such, The Killer runs efficiently on grim procedural sequences and flashes of the wry humour that lightened The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011). It's a Fincher film in the class of Panic Room or Mank: a mindful workout that tests every aspect of its genre.

The narrative spans multiple international locales but feels appropriately trapped in one place. Apart from one anachronistic mention of "the cloud" it's set pre-iPhone. Much of the action is framed in mid-shot – a true relic of the 1970s. Fassbender's killer tech comprises candy bar phones, modest pursuit vehicles, chain store items, a Dadcore disguise. The narrative devices can also be purchased off-the-shelf. The Killer is standard hardware: it's reliable and it works.