Killing Them Softly

This is one of those rare new crime flicks that actually landed for me. If you're the type who prefers a plot that actually makes you think—and values sharp dialogue over mindless explosions—I’d highly recommend giving this a shot. It’s got some political undertones, too. Honestly, I'm not sure if Steven Spielberg produced this under a Hollywood banner or what, but it definitely isn't your typical Hollywood garbage.
What did you guys think?

It’s a bit tedious, though I won't pretend it drags on forever...

There were really only two scenes in this film worth the time spent watching it...

The shortened shootout sequence



And that final scene...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5V6GHnxEJjg

Honestly, this was one of the standout films from last year.
The way they handled Mark Wahlberg’s assassination—it was practically turned into an art form!

Monoton, pretentious, and unnecessarily slow. Aside from the Ray Liotta murder scene, the pub dialogue between Brad Pitt and Matthew McConaughey, and the final shot, there isn't much to it.

It’s a solid enough movie, but I really expected more since The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is easily one of my all-time favorites. Honestly, the plot felt pretty banal... neither the story nor the characters really grabbed me. There was zero tension, and while watching, I just couldn't bring myself to care about who was who or what would happen next. Stylistically, though? It's flawless. Visually and musically, it's stunning. The only clunky part was those heavy-handed interruptions about crises and political choices—it feels like they're always on the menu whenever some uneducated hack turns on the radio or TV. While they should probably provide more context for the story, the way they're forced in gives this hilarious impression that junkies and low-level thugs from the slums are deeply invested in high-level American politics and economic commentary from experts on Wall Street. That said, the scumbags in this film are top-tier, actually outperforming white-trash classics like The Fighter, The Wrestler, Blue Valentine, and Rise of the Footsoldier. That dim-witted Australian junkie is fantastic when he's describing his sexual encounters or his mishaps with dogs; he's a truly layered, high-quality character you rarely see... Unfortunately, the gritty realism and grotesque atmosphere get totally derailed by that unexpected political-philosophical monologue at the end. It feels like the movie suddenly, and quite awkwardly, tries to pivot from the raw world of street criminals into some sort of moralistic social drama about injustice and inequality. Still, overall, it's another pretty good Dominick film.

Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that moral gray area 🙂 And the character played by Brad Pitt feels real enough—that little monologue he delivers fits his persona perfectly (no pseudo-intellectual nonsense involved), so I'd say it actually lands.

It’s not really my cup of tea, but I can't say it's bad—the cast is solid enough to pull it off

I actually fell asleep during this one. The first half grabs you, but after that, it’s just dead air. A few decent scenes involving addicts at the start, though..

I was expecting so much more from this; even some solid acting couldn't pull it out of the jaws of pure boredom

I’ll certainly remember this movie as a major turning point in my "cinematic journey"—it was actually the very first film where I completely drifted off to sleep right there in the theater.

I mean, look at the lineup: Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini... when you see heavy hitters like that all sharing the screen, you basically go in expecting a masterpiece, right? But man, this one somehow managed to fall even below average, which is wild because I was hoping it wouldn't be anything less than just okay.

To be fair though, it’s not like the movie is total garbage; it’s just a bit sluggish and honestly kind of a bore in parts, but all things considered, it’s decent enough if you have nothing else to do.

My rating: 4/10

4/10. This movie is painfully dull—honestly, I don't think it gets any slower than this. Nothing happens for the first 15 minutes, then another 15 minutes of absolute nothingness. It’s a total disaster. If Brad Pitt hadn't been in this, I'd be embarrassed to have even watched it. And they blew a $15 million budget on this mess?

The movie is great—it’s just highly intellectual, whereas most people were probably expecting your run-of-the-mill action flick. It actually has some depth, plus the acting is top-tier. I'm giving it an 8/10.

Tedious,

I wasn't expecting an action flick, nor did I have any real grasp of what this movie was actually about.
I can endure just about any kind of cinema—bad, unwatchable, whatever—but this particular film kept tempting me to just walk out.
I barely managed to make it to the credits, unfortunately. 🙂

It feels like a total imitation of Quentin Tarantino—except the script drags and just doesn't land, plus the acting feels way too over-the-top for my taste... honestly, given all the rave reviews from the critics, I’m feeling pretty let down...

This movie is lightyears away from anything 😁
Quentin Tarantino would ever put out.

Honestly, the only scene that actually stuck with me was that one near the end—you know, the tavern scene? In the background, you can hear Bob Obama rambling on about some idealized version of America and their little community, while Brad Pitt just basically says how nothing like that exists in the real world 🙂—it’s more like the absolute antithesis of that dream
.

tt via iPad

Personally, the soundtrack is killer. As soon as I hear the Velvet Underground, I'm sold. They always lean on them when there's heroin involved, but hey, that's just how junkies roll. The title pretty much tells you exactly what's going down. It’s got this slow-burn vibe where Brad Pitt just systematically takes out the crew. The acting is top-tier across the board. I found it interesting how they bring up using dogs as a side hustle for criminals—kind of like a nod to Seven Psychopaths. It's probably just a stylistic choice. Overall, the movie isn't exactly a masterpiece. I get why some people were a bit harsh on it. 🙂

Edward Cooper11 said:This movie is honestly nothing like the stuff Quentin Tarantino puts out 😁

aha... you've got your criminals, the mafia, heists—but most of the runtime just drifts into these long dialogues where characters overthink everything, focusing on their personal baggage, which eventually drives all their choices and how things wrap up... yeah, it's definitely different, but while Tarantino actually seems to know what he's doing, this one kind of missed the mark...

I noticed the critics have really dragged his score down compared to those early reviews that were actually looking pretty good. I honestly don't get what it is about Dominic... why does he always get so underrated? Is there some specific reason people just won't give him the credit he deserves? He’s easily one of the best living filmmakers out there, yet it seems like he can never quite break past that 60-70% mark with the critics. It honestly kills me to see some unwatchable, total garbage getting 90+ on Rotten Tomatoes these days... probably just because the director is some socially conscious, third-world gay guy or something. Meanwhile, you can only stumble upon actual masterpieces like UNKNOWN if you happen to trip over them by accident. I really hope this doesn't shake his confidence moving forward; I think adaptations of Pop. 1280 and Cities of the Plain could be absolutely legendary films...