4k Movie, Streaming, Blu-Ray Disc, and Home Theater Product Reviews & News (2025)

Overview -

The Killer’s Game, the hitman action-comedy (and box office flop) starring Dave Bautista comes to 4K UHD from Lionsgate. The film itself is somewhere between a John Wick parody and an homage to Smokin’ Aces, but never fully commits to its zanier elements and plays it far too safe. The disc itself boasts impressive stats, however, with video grading in Dolby Vision HDR and a Dolby Atmos sound mix. The Killer’s Game on 4K UHD Blu-ray is Worth a Look.

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Joe Flood (Dave Bautista) has just met the woman of his dreams. Maize (Sofia Boutella) is gorgeous. She’s a ballet dancer. She’s educated. She’s funny. She has no idea that Flood is a contract killer. Flood decides to go straight. He can’t balance his dangerous lifestyle anymore, now that he’s finally in love for the first time in his life. Sudden, blinding headaches and double vision are plaguing Flood. He’s afraid that if these episodes continue, he’ll get himself killed before he can get out of the life for good and start a family with Maize. That’s when he’s told that he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, a rare (and untreatable) neurological condition that will only get worse and worse until he finally dies from it.

He first goes to his boss Zvi (Ben Kingsley) to have a contract put out on his own life, but Zvi refuses. So, he goes to the competition, Marianna Antoinette (Pom Klementieff) who’s happy to oblige him. She’s wanted to see him dead for years, but due to rules of engagement and a code that the assassins live by, she was unable to see it through. But now she can, with a blessing from Flood himself. The plan is for Flood’s life insurance policy to pay Maize out, and the policy won’t pay if he kills himself. This way, the love of his life is taken care of financially and he gets to die as he lived: By the sword.

Moments before the contract he put out on himself is set to go live, he gets a call from his doctor. There was a mix-up down at the lab. Flood doesn’t have Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. Someone else does. Flood might just need to wear glasses. But it’s too late. Antoinette won’t cancel the contract and Flood must fight off swarms of assassins who’ve come gunning for him, including one of the best, the legendary Lovedahl (Terry Crews).

There is a lot of talent onscreen and behind the camera in The Killer’s Game, all in service of a by-the-numbers actioner that’s not merely derivative, but derivative to the point of parody. As a child of video stores, I grew up on action flicks that proudly wore their knockoff brand labels on their sleeves. Store-brand Mad Max or Terminator clones were a dime a dozen, and some were better than others. Those movies were my bread and butter. The Killer’s Game is set in a world not unlike John Wick where men are socially well-adjusted assassins and women are ballerinas, but without the inventive mayhem that camps out in ludicrous situations, mining the over-the-top for material in an ongoing game of one-upmanship. It also made me yearn for the hypnotic allure of killer-versus-killer in the Japanese classic Branded to Kill. The Killer’s Game plays it too safe and is afraid of going too far in its portrayal of a criminal underworld. Assassins here only kill criminals, never civilians. Making a movie with a main character is a killer, but a nice one, which makes the story feel insultingly watered down. What’s the point of toying with a complex character only to strip him of his complexity and moral nuance?

Dave Bautista has a wonderful screen presence and he has a genuine chemistry with co-star Sofia Boutella. It’s a pity that Flood is such a dull character. Bautista does as much as he can with the character and gets some laughs, but it’s tough when there’s a dearth of material to work from. The issue, I suspect, is that stuntman-turned-director J.J. Perry was so preoccupied with the spectacle of the action sequences that he forgot that these movies are only as interesting as our involvement in them allows them to be. The Killer’s Game is loaded to the brim with shootouts, chases, explosions, and graphic mayhem that’s gorgeously filmed and lensed but feels lifeless and uninvolved. There’s a checklist of exciting elements and it checks the boxes, one by one, without any interest. There’s nothing worse than an action movie without excitement, or a comedy without laughs. But an action-comedy without excitement or laughs feels particularly insulting.

Vital Disc Stats: The Ultra HD Blu-ray
The Killer’s Game comes in a standard case with a removable slipcover containing identical cover art with raised details on the actors’ faces, weapons, etc. Inside the case are two discs, a 4K UHD Blu-ray and a standard HD 1080p Blu-ray. The film, plus special features, are available on both discs. Also found inside the case is a slip containing a code for digital redemption.

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Both the 4K UHD and standard Blu-ray contain the same special features, which are four featurettes and a theatrical trailer. The features do a decent job diving into the film’s production with interviews from various members of the cast and crew.

• Meet Joe Flood (HD 5:32)
• The Conductor (HD 5:16)
• World of Assassins (HD 6:28)
• Killed It! (HD 6:48)
• Theatrical Trailer

The Killer’s Game is a disappointment because it has so much going for it, but it doesn’t know what to do with it all. The cast is game, with Bautista turning in a charming performance, and all the ingredients are there, but for far too much of its runtime, the film goes on autopilot, hoping its spectacle will elevate it. While the film is often tedious or prone to doldrums, it does have a terrific 4K video presentation in Dolby Vision. Its Dolby Atmos sound mix isn’t quite as good in overall atmospherics, but dimensional height speakers and rear speakers give the movie’s mayhem an appropriate punch. And, though not loaded with special features, the supplements that are there do help provide some inside look into how the sausage is made. All in all, The Killer’s Game is Worth a Look for action junkies looking for a fix.

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