Movie Review: “Kill Order”

kill1

Bloody, kinetic and near-as-makes-no-difference plot-less, “Kill Order” is about a human super weapon hunted by his creators.

It’s a psychotronic martial arts/sci-fi mashup where all the mayhem is rendered in slow-mo, or sped-up motion. As you’d expect from a stuntman turned writer-director, it’s all about the fights. Even the effects. Especially the effects.

Writer-director James Mark cast his felllow stunt-man younger brother Chris Mark in this, a tale of a schoolboy who turns out to be an escapee from some psyche experiment run by “The Organization.”

David Lee has crimson-coated nightmares, awakening to visions of a flaming zombie. The dreams cause him to snap, something only his “uncle” (Daniel Park) can stop with a quick injection. David is deeply disturbed, which is catnip to classmate May (Jessica Clement).

When commandos clad in black storm their classroom, she’s the one person he can reach out to. After “Uncle.” Who is nabbed by “The Organization” before he can be of any help.

David is hounded by assassins, alone or in teams, clad in black and coming after him in broad daylight and in public, at times. He does a Bruce Banner freak-out, his eyes blaze blue, and it’s On like Donkey Kong — brawls and swordfights aplenty. Bullets? They’re just for bystanders.

His wounds heal instantly, and the only thing that makes the fights fair is many of his foes — male and female — have the same special abilities.

As he flees, David has flashbacks, to “the experiment” and his training. “I remember the pain.

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,” he is told.

Those running his experiment lecture him, “You have no name, only purpose.”

“My name is DAVID…I don’t want to kill. I want to LOVE!”

There’s a lot of insanely confused mumbo jumbo (some of it in Japanese) by “The Organization,” or are they “The Great Five?” Villains exchanging non-sensicalisms like “How can I say this?” and “I want the codes to the massive project.”

As the film is no longer titled “Meza,” one can assume that’s what that line actually said. But lacking that title, well, I didn’t catch a first reference to “Meza.”

 

The fights are impressive, in a retro R-rated “Power Rangers” way. Few are performed at real speed.

No performance stands out as so much as competent, no character is compelling enough to root for and the whole, empty-headed mess isn’t worth interrupting scrolling down your phone over.

In other words, let’s make this a FRANCHISE.

1star6

MPAA Rating: Unrated, graphic violence

Cast: Chris Mark, Jessica Clement, Daniel Park, Denis Akiyama

Credits: Written and directed by James Mark. An RLJ Entertainment release.

Running time: 1:17

About Roger Moore

Movie Critic, formerly with McClatchy-Tribune News Service, Orlando Sentinel, published in Spin Magazine, The World and now published here, Orlando Magazine, Autoweek Magazine
This entry was posted in Reviews, previews, profiles and movie news. Bookmark the permalink.