This review was made possible by an advance screeners of Boy Kills World. Boy Kills World releases in theaters on April 26, 2024.
It’s a coincidence that not even a month later, another John Wick-style revenge movie is already here, and just like Monkey Man, this one manages to set itself apart from the rest with its style and direction. A lot of these films struggle to make themselves stand apart. I initially thought that Boy Kills World would be one of these films, but I was easily proven wrong, and once again, for a feature directorial debut from Moritz Mohr, it’s an outstanding achievement that he was able to create such a film that captures the energy you would find in video games and anime without directly being connected to either of them.
Boy Kills World follows Boy (Bill Skarsgård), who, after his mother and sister are killed, vows revenge against their killer, Hilda Van De Koy (Famke Janssen), the matriarch of a corrupt post-apocalyptic dynasty. After being left deaf-mute in the attack, he begins training in martial arts with a mysterious shaman (Yayan Ruhian). Boy then forms a ragtag resistance group that helps him on his campaign of vengeance.
How Style And Direction Sets ‘Boy Kills World’ Apart
There’s no better way of saying it; the action in this film is the star, as it takes centre stage in every scene. This is the first time when watching an action film, where the action director is mentioned first before the producers, such as Sam Raimi, with the credit “action designed by” attached to his name – which is huge and should be practiced more within the industry when we have so many Hollywood films that have a hard focus on the action. Boy Kills World is an amazing watch with action that takes it to the next level; the only thing that lets it down is the blood. Not to say that this film isn’t bloody because it is, and at times, I physically couldn’t stand to look at the screen, but the overuse of CGI blood really brings the tone down when the overall use of gore and the prosthetics that help it come to life are quite phenomenal.
While the action scenes are great and Dawid Szatarski helped make the action fit the film perfectly, with its humorous, video game, and anime nature, I do believe that the cinematography is what helps these scenes excel. With drone shots that move around the action, taking us through the chaotic scenery as bodies are flying across, it’s a lot to take in at first with so much going on the screen, but it ends up working so well as you begin to realise. Not many action films get creative with their camera shots, and it feels very reminiscent of the Dragon Breath shotgun scene in John Wick: Chapter 4, which had people talking because of how different the shot was. Boy Kills World takes that and uses it throughout its entire duration, giving us a breath of fresh air from the action sequences that we’re so used to watching.
To top it off, the action, just like many of these other films, utilises its surroundings during the fight sequences. There are even moments where it feels like the set piece is taking part within the fights – there’s faces getting grated, mascots being used as weapons, and so much more. Boy Kills World never fails to entertain with these absolute wacky fight sequences that continue to help make the film feel unique. It sounds crazy to compare this to anime as there isn’t anything crazy which you would expect, but it still takes inspiration from anime such as Dragon Ball Z, and uses it in moments that tend to focus on the relationship of these characters.
‘Boy Kills World’ Takes Humor And Mixes It With Twists
Boy is deaf and mute, and at first, I thought this film would be similar to John Woo’s Silent Night, where we would have a silent protagonist, but this film takes a different approach by providing Boy with an inner voice that comes from his favourite video game. At first, I wasn’t a fan of this approach and had wished they went the silent route, but it started to become more bearable when he begins bickering with the ghost of his dead younger sister, a character who also brings in humour with the various outfits she changes into, and the many ways she persuades Boy to act out in ridiculous ways. As Boy’s inner voice continued, I began to ease into it, and then I started to recognise the voice – it was H. Jon Benjamin, widely known for his role as Bob in Bob’s Burgers. Once I realised this, the film only got 10x funnier as I couldn’t unhear Bob’s voice, and with that being one of my favourite animations, it only made Boy Kills World that much better.
The story for Boy Kills World is decent for the most part, and it doesn’t suffer from any problems except for being unoriginal with its original story, but in its third act, it completely throws you for a loop with the plot twist that it provides. A plot twist that isn’t predictable and one where no hints are provided to you, and if there are, I wasn’t able to notice on a first watch, but I’m sure if someone takes their time with the film, they might be able to notice something that hints towards it. It’s one that completely changes the whole meaning of the film, makes it its own, and separates itself from all the other revenge films that take inspiration from John Wick.
Bill Skarsgård doesn’t speak a single word in this film but gives an amazing performance, and though he has an inner voice that talks for us, his facial expressions help tell the story. The performances of everyone else are nothing to write home about, but they’re still good. The film excels more with its action than it does with the performances of its actors, so you never tend to focus on how good or bad they all might be.
‘Boy Kills World’ – Final Thoughts
While initially thinking that this film would be a copy and paste of all the many John Wick-inspired films that have come, Boy Kills World manages to set itself apart, and hopefully will be able to inspire a whole new set of films that will focus on their cinematography and how to excel their action sequences with it. The story takes a crazy, unexpected turn that also allows it to be original instead of the uninspired revenge film that we’re so used to getting. While it can get bloody and gory, the makeup team provides grim prosthetics to pull it off. It’s let down by CGI blood, which is unfortunately overused and attempts to take away from the wonderful work that the makeup team can pull off. With a video game on the way inspired by Boy Kills World, I can only hope to see future films with Bill Skarsgård returning.
Boy Kills World releases in theaters on April 26, 2024. Check out the trailer below.
