Reviews for “The Killer” have been largely positive, and as of this writing, Fincher’s latest has earned an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes. Many of those reviews point out the distinct sense of humor. “It’s gallows humor, to be sure, but this is an incredibly funny film,” wrote Joey Magidson for Awards Radar.
Some critics, however, feel that the humor didn’t go far enough. “Leaning further into the comedy might have worked, but Fassbender’s submerged performance and Fincher’s controlled direction are a bit too cool to be deadpan,” Bilge Ebiri wrote in his review for Vulture.
Regardless of its execution, the pitch-black comedy in “The Killer” is undeniable. For some fans, the film functions as a meta in-joke about Fincher’s own fastidious reputation as a filmmaker. “It’s Fincher making fun of… himself? It’s hilarious,” wrote u/funktion. That assertion was eye-opening for u/TheTruckWashChannel. “Fincher the man of 100+ takes for a single scene, making a movie about a perfectionist repeatedly seeing his carefully thought-out plans go for a toss.”
