When you think of a solo action film, your mind instantly jumps to John Wick, the Bourne franchise and Mission Impossible. What if I told you they made a comedy like one of those movies? Well, that is exactly what Moritz Mohr’s Boy Kills World is. This wild take on the solo action killer can definitely be a hit or miss for some people.
Boy Kills World is a revenge story about “Boy” played by Bill Skarsgard who is a deaf and mute man trained by a shaman played by Yayan Ruhian (The Raid franchise) to take revenge on the leader of the dystopian/post-apocalyptic city, Hilda Van Der Koy. Through brutal training, the shaman does not believe that the Boy is ready for the task. However, after a massacre in the streets, the Boy couldn’t take anymore and decided to take matters into his own hands.
I am always skeptical when heading in to see a non-advertised solo action flick. Was there a reason why I have not seen one trailer for this movie? Especially with profound actors and actresses such as Bill Skarsgard, H. Jon Benjamin, Jessica Rothe and Famke Janssen? To put it simply, this movie was okay.
One thing I was NOT expecting in this film was the comedic aspect of it. At first, I hated it (because I wasn’t expecting it). It was hard to get past the voice of Archer and Bob out of my head, two series H. Jon Benjamin is most well known for; Archer and Bob’s Burgers. However, further into the film, I realize it was intended to be a “comedy”. And honestly, it worked. Nothing was too forced and Skarsgard did a great job with expressions as it is narrated by H. Jon Benjamin. It wasn’t a burst out laughing comedy but something to make you chuckle or smile after a scene of blood and guts spewing everywhere.
Speaking of blood and guts, this movie was grisly. Maybe a little too much and unneeded at some points. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone with a light stomach. I was even disgusted by some of the scenes.
The first third of the movie wasn’t great. I think it was far too extended in the time where he was training with the shaman. I was bored just seeing him fail and then succeed, then fail again and then succeed again and the shaman finally saying that he is still not ready for the overall task he has planned for him.
However, where the first third of the film failed, the rest of the movie succeeded. This is where Boy Kills World really picked up. The action and fight sequences were pretty decent. Nothing was too long or too short and the camera work was great. The story also became a little more interesting now also. Spoiler, there is a twist at some point. To be honest, I was kind of expecting something like that but not the actual plot twist itself. That one definitely took me by surprise. I kind of predicted that June 27, played by Jessica Rothe, and basically the “captain” of the security forces protecting the Van Der Koy family, would play another big role in the film. But then again, not to the same extent as what she actually was.
Final Thoughts:
This movie is fine. Sure it’s no John Wick or Monkey Man. But it’s a fun action flick with decent performances and good action sequences. Will I see this movie again anytime soon? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t recommend it for at least one watch, especially if you’re a fan of Bill Skarsgard and looking for something a little different from a stereotypical solo action film.
