STUDIO: Signature Entertainment RUNNING TIME: 1hr 51m AGE RATING: 18
STAR RATING: 4 Stars
VERDICT: Bloody brilliant fun, Boy Kills World is an action comedy at it’s very best. Anarchically exhilarating.
The blood splattered action revenge comedy seems like an oversaturated sub-genre at the moment. John Wick? Heard of it! Deadpool? Back for another round of fun this summer! But somehow, German director Moritz Mohr’s gleefully grubby feature debut ‘BOY KILLS WORLD’, is able to carve out space for itself. Largely thanks to an incredibly game performance from Bill Skarsgård. Boy Kills World is nothing groundbreaking or new, but it’s an incredibly charming new addition to this subset of movies.
I think it’s impossible to understate how much of an acting challenge this must’ve for Skarsgård. So much so, i’m surprised it’s one he chose to take on. For an actor of his quality, there must be thousands of movies desperate to see him to star in their latest fledgling feature. So why did Bill chose to lead this? Clearly, just because he wanted to. And you can see that in every single frame of the movie. He clearly wants to be there, he’s clearly having fun, and is clearly enjoying this role quite a bit. It’s a difficult task to pull off. You have to nail characterisations without being able to speak, due to Skarsgård’s aptly named “Boy” being deaf and mute. This and the over the top nature of the comedy, and the physicality of the role, presents a certain unique set of challenges, which Skarsgård keenly rises to. His work feels at home in the earliest form of comedy presented on film, silent comedy. The works of Buster Keaton, and Charlie Caplin come to mind. Deeply charismatic and charming men who due to the limitations of the medium at the time, were rendered silent. Skarsgård is a perfect choice for this role. As he’s always naturally been able to imbue even the most stoic characters he’s played with a glowing sense of charisma. He could give cardboard a soul! And when you’re leading a movie; especially a movie as batshit as this one, it’s crucial to have your core and foundation be strong. Without Skarsgård this movie would be lost. He’s somehow able to navigate every single second of this movie deftly, but also imbue the movie with a real heart, and soul. Real humanity. Something that could easily be left out amongst the grit and grim.
Moritz Mohr has crafted a really interesting world and society for Skarsgård’s titular protagonist to navigate. Two part Hunger Games, One part Battle Royale – The society Boy’s nemeses The Van Der Koys’ have created is cruel, harsh, and brutally realistic. Which creates an interesting juxtaposition to the more cartoonish elements of the picture. There are really interesting moments of social commentary here, corporations funding (and actively promoting!) the death of the weakest in our society for example, but Mohr isn’t really interested in exploring that. And I can’t blame him, considering he is making a splatter fest of an action movie, not a thought provoking drama on the state of our society today! But it was nice to see those elements included, if only slightly!
As for the action? It’s well choreographed, and shot. It’s inventive, deranged, violent, and pretty much everything I signed up for. As for the comedy? It’s a little shaky. It works. It certainly does. But there are moments where I wish it was pushed just that little bit further. Boy’s internal voice, brought to life by the incredible H. Jon Benjamin is charming, but overused. By the midway point of this, overly long, film; I was kind of wishing he would occasionally shut up to allow us to focus on the action at hand.
The rest of the cast do a mixed job. Ranging from decent, to completely naff. Even Jessica Rothe, who’s work in the Happy Death Day trilogy I respect, doesn’t really get to sink her teeth into anything. At the end of the day this is the bloody Bill Skarsgård show. You know what you sign up for when you go to see a film like this, and overall I left incredibly satisfied. The Audience Wins!
Reviewed By Lewis Powell
BOY KILLS WORLD is in UK cinemas now
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