It reads like something out of a gangstar movie reunion party. Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini and Vincent Curatola (Johnny Sack in The Sopranos). The list goes on, and then throw in Brad Pitt brandishing a selection of head splattering firearms.
Pitt plays Jackie Cogan who is basically a gun for hire / mob enforcer / hitman (take your pick) who “investigates” a heist that went on during a mob-protected poker game. That’s it, that’s the story. Straight forward on paper, not necessarily so on screen.
While there are a number of little twists and turns along the way, Killing Them Softly seems to trip over itself on occasion by making things a little too complicated. And while it’s based on a crime novel from the 70’s, at times it feels like director Andrew Dominik is trying too hard to create a tribute in tone to Quentin Tarantino. Now, that Tarantino vibe only comes through in a number of scenes, but it’s a bit too obvious, intentional or otherwise, it leaves the movie down to a degree.
The entire cast are incredibly watchable especially Pitt and Scoot McNairy. Pitt is utterly convincing as the Mr. Mob Enforcer and has got an incredible sense of cold and callous about him, all the time while being incredibly likeable. McNairy, is again really watchable on screen and his a great innocence about his character. On the other hand though, James Gandolfini is utterly wasted here (in more ways than one). And while it may seem like he’s doing a Tony Soprano impression, his role is exceptionally limited and more times that not, it feels like he’s there just to fatten out the movie’s running time. His performance, though is fantastic but fantastically underdeveloped at the same time. The same can be said for many of the characters here, underdeveloped. And with a running time of just over 90 minutes, it’s all a bit too rushed.
Now all that said, Killing Them Softly does deliver the goods. The violence is impeccably shot and the slow motion scenes are quite the bloody spectacle. At times you will find yourself wincing at the screen as punches and kicks are delivered with pin point accuracy, both audibly and visually. Speaking of the audio, the soundtrack is really good, but again, it’s will remind of you of Tarantino. There’s decent pace to Killing Them Softly, but you can’t help feel like you wanted more out of it and it’s characters. Visually it’s quite dark, but this adds to the tone of the movie, which to its credit sucks you in from the very start.
Shortcomings aside. Killing Them Softly is very watchable with a number of brilliant (and at times laugh out loud) scenes and likeable characters. While it would have benefitted from a longer running time and more character development, it is most definitely worth your time to check it out.
