First Kill Blu-ray Review
What does a failed bank heist and school bullying have in common? In the real world, nothing. But in the world of FIRST KILL, it’s a lot. Imagine if every person who was bullied was empowered with learning how to operate a firearm. Better yet, if they spent a weekend away hunting down animals, learning how to operate a firearm, and implementing violence against strangers. Simply put, it sounds like teaching your kids to fix their problems with the barrel of a gun pointed at their foe. Luckily FIRST KILL doesn’t go that far. But the implication, as I waited for this movie to end by forming my own theories, was there.
Will’s (Christensen) son is the bullied child. A friendly outing in the woods, covered from boot to hat in camo and armed with hunting rifles, is apparently just what his son needs to toughen up. For some in rural America, it works and I can’t judge that method of parenting. For a lot of mid-Midwestern families, that’s life and just another step in adolescence. What’s not predicted during this father-son bonding is that Will and his son would stumble upon the aftermath of bank robbers quibbling in the woods.
For some brief moments, there’s legitimate tension in FIRST KILL as two strange men argue, one pointing a handgun at the other. These moments of anxiety are legitimately rare in a movie that’s otherwise predictable and aimless. While Will isn’t an alpha male, he slowly has to become one as his son, and soon his wife, is embroiled in a backstabbing criss-cross of various criminals.
Bruce Willis is in this as well. I only say that as a footnote because when you get top billing, your character should be important. So it’s incredibly clear from the get-go that the only cop in this story is crooked. Not crooked in, he’s going to help bend the law to help Will in his side quests, but he’s in on the botched robbery. That’s one of many action film clichés that FIRST KILL pulls from its grab bag of tropes. FIRST KILL’s predictability keeps it from ever being exciting.
This isn’t the first time I’ve watched a Steven C. Miller movie. ARSENAL was another movie where Miller managed to get some top notch talent for a trash script. Willis is a great bad guy when used properly, but he coasts through this much like his cameos in the EXPENDABLES franchise, but I can’t imagine he got paid much more for his role in this film. Christensen, who’s not a bad actor and has some talent, is squandered much like his role as a young Darth Vader.
On some level, I’d like to believe Miller is just a few tweaks and studio notes away from doing something good. He didn’t write this movie. That credit goes to someone who shouldn’t work in Hollywood anymore. Miller manages to replicate a lot of action film techniques that make for some inspired cinematography moments, but overall the absurdity of the scenarios and actions bog down anymore credit I should be giving it. FIRST KILL is a polished turd with talented people phoning it in.
BLU-RAY REVIEW
Video: (1080p HD Widescreen 2:39:1) Gloomy and depressingly vibrant is how I would describe the look of this movie, thanks to the clarity of the blu-ray.
Audio: (English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1) I didn’t have too many problems with the audio, like most action films that fail to balance dialogue and gunplay.
Director’s Commentary: Director Steven C. Miller finds something to talk about nearly every single minute of the movie, some good, and some bad. He keeps the commentary flowing despite being alone in the recording studio, but he sheds nothing new on the creation or purpose of the film. He has nothing, but glowing reviews of Christensen’s performance.
Behind the Scenes of FIRST KILL (11:19): This behind the scenes feature tries to bring about more meaning than is actually on screen. It’s admirable that they’re able to sell a bad movie so well.
Deleted Scenes (5:26): There are six deleted scenes on this feature. None of them add anything to the film overall, and if anything, the majority of clips show inconsequential characters doing inconsequential things.
Cast/Crew Interview (1:02:13): There are seven interviews on this feature. It’s a mix of crew and cast, essentially being asked the same generic questions about what the film means to them as well as how they were drawn to the project. The interviews are very dry because they’re minimally edited and there’s no splicing in of clips for them to talk over.
FIRST KILL Trailer