This fun concept gets slashed to death.
The concept of “Boy Kills World” could work as a happy marriage between “John Wick,” Kill Bill,” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” for a number of reasons. One reason is how it loves bloody carnage in many forms. Another reason is how the narration of the Bill Skarsgard fighter is provided by H. Jon Benjamin (A.K.A Bob Belcher), since his character has been deaf since childhood and likes to assume his inner thoughts are the voice of his iconic video game hero. Those are the elements I liked about “Boy Kills World.”
But the problems with this movie are it’s too convoluted for me to stay focused and there’s very little character development in the supporting actors to be delivered. There are interesting characters, but the writing doesn’t give them their due, and it’s basically back to Square 1 again. It’s a real missed opportunity.
Skarsgard plays the deaf-mute fighter, labeled by the movie as Boy, whose city is under the control the evil Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen), the same person who murdered his family and his hearing. According to a note he presents to a law enforcer as a child, he writes that he is mute and can’t hear, but can read lips. So, I guess that’s how he can understand people, unless one of them looks like he’s mumbling words. As I was trying to acknowledge that, I was reminded of a “Memento” question asked to Roger Ebert about how the main character Leonard knows he is unable to make new memories. His response: “is to make us identify with the hero’s confusion.” I guess I’m gonna have to assume that here.
Under the training of a mysterious shaman (Yayan Ruhian), Boy makes it his life long mission to take out Hilda. But first, he must face the rest of the Van Der Roy tribe, consisting of her arrogant brother Gideon (Brett Gelman), who seems too silly to be related to her; their dangerous sister Melanie (Michelle Dockery), who looks like a Karen with her black hair and straight face; and Melanie’s clownish husband Glen (Sharlto Copley), who obviously had to take his wife’s last name. At least, two of these characters say that Hilda has gone too far with her sinister leadership.
And they also have a chief of security named June 27 (Jessica Rothe), who wears a helmet that uses words in its digital screen, and has the same combat skills as Boy.
Meanwhile, Boy has some allies in the form of a resistance group, which consists of the wisecracking Basho (Andrew Koji), whom he saves from the bad guys, and the resourceful Benny (Isaiah Mustafa), who looks like he’s mumbling to the young fighter.
I’m looking at “Boy Kills World” with almost the same disappointing views as “Argylle” in terms of its plot twists and character development. It’s often too difficult to stay focused and they just come and go with some underwritten features and sometimes mean-spirited behaviors.
Benjamin can voice funny characters outside his “Bob’s Burgers” persona, like the Quahog Mini Mart clerk Carl on “Family Guy,” and there’s something about his voice inside Boy’s head that makes me think he should be involved in Tarantino movie. And Skarsgard is a fresh actor with charisma and style. He still applies those features in his character, but I think that’s all the movie thinks he’s good for. He needs more development and less movie trailer pacing.
You have Tarantino violence in the mix, like a Winter show that involves carnage and a cheese grater that does work as a movie weapon, but you don’t have meaning in them. In fact, it has to act all crass. Even “Shoot ‘Em Up” had a better attitude than “Boy Kills World” does. Yes, I enjoyed “Shoot ‘Em Up,” and I don’t care what you say in the comments on this site or on Facebook.
I wanted to like this movie because of my taste in “John Wick” inspired movies, but the better action movie to be stylized by that is “Monkey Man,” which is still out in theaters, and now online. Boy, that was fast. No offense, kid.