A unique take on familiar action tropes, Kill leaves one hell of an impression.
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There's a lot of reasons why the Die Hard model works so well for action movies. Folks like to root for underdogs, even highly capable ones, they're nearly ideal self-insert characters for audiences, and there's a natural tension in the ultimate outcome (i.e. if it's a hostage situation we don't want hostages to die). And at first glance, that's exactly what Kill is. A train-based Die Hard with slightly more brutal violence in a cramped environment. But Kill isn't a Die Hard movie. In fact, Kill might be closer to a slasher horror movie...
The Setup
The movie centers around a commando named Amrit, who has hopped a train to break up his true love's engagement. But while the two are able to rendezvous and make plans to get married, their bliss is broken up by a violent band of bandits who want to rob the train and take Amrit's soon to be father-in-law, and very wealthy man, hostage.
I really liked this movie. I bought a digital copy on a lark and I'm very glad I did, because this is one of the most efficiently brutal action movies I've seen in some time. There's a couple of big reasons, one of which is a major spoiler, so let's start with the less spoilery reasons.
Reason #1: Close-Quarters Action
As he recently pointed out in second part of his train-centric episodes, film video essayist Patrick H. Willems noted that trains are excellent for action movies because they present a lot of natural obstacles and difficulties for fight scenes.
The primary one in this case is space.
The primary one in this case is space.
In America, I think we're very used to trains having a lot of space in the passenger cars. So while things can get crowded, if it becomes a one on one bout, there's enough space to move around effectively and maybe high kick a guy.
But this passenger train isn't like that. It is very cramped and very crowded, which means the aisles are very hard to operate in and the seating areas aren't much better. Thus every fight Amrit and his compatriots get into, are pitched one on one bouts where things like doors, beds and beyond all becoming limitations, a saving grace (i.e. grabbing a bed to prevent a takedown), or weapons themselves.
But this passenger train isn't like that. It is very cramped and very crowded, which means the aisles are very hard to operate in and the seating areas aren't much better. Thus every fight Amrit and his compatriots get into, are pitched one on one bouts where things like doors, beds and beyond all becoming limitations, a saving grace (i.e. grabbing a bed to prevent a takedown), or weapons themselves.
And just in case that isn't enough, we've got a whole host of melee weapons, including all kinds of stabbing utensils, to keep things fresh.
The camera work here is really impressive because the tight-quarters requires a lot of up close camera work and selected shots combined with well timed editing so we can see who's hitting who when and how.
Reason #2: Cyclical Violence
A lot of action movies pay lip service to the cyclical nature of violence and revenge. About once a John Wick movie someone asks John what on earth he's fighting for, and he doesn't seem to have an answer outside of...I dunno...staying alive? Some kind of loyalty to ideas and friends? Whatever. I'm gonna go murder 100 dudes now.
Kill on the other hand, really wants to the audience to sit with each death whether it's inflicted by our villains or our heroes.
Without getting into spoilers, I'll demonstrate what I mean. When Amrit or his allies kill someone in self-defense, it's not treated like a random henchman kill. Every damn time there's a bandit who then shows up to call this guy by name and mourn him. And it's chilling, especially when those people then commit murders of their own which inspires more violence and on and on it goes.
It's unsettling in a way most violent action movies actively refuse.
It's unsettling in a way most violent action movies actively refuse.
Reason #3: The Kick (Spoilers Ahead)
So this is a big spoiler for the movie, but also integral to explaining why I like the movie so much and why it stands out in its genre (outside of having excellent fights).
So as you'd expect, our hero's love interest Tulika (or Tuli) is taken hostage by the bad guys. But...lucky for her, Amrit and his commando buddy arrive to ensure their safety and begin to try and work their way up the train.
Just one problem, the bandits have doubled back and now the psychopathic son of the bandit leader attacks Tuli. And then he kills her. Brutally and certainly. As Amrit watches. And then the title card Kill hits.
Pretty clear indication that this isn't a Die Hard movie anymore, this is a revenge movie. Which means Amrit, who has been trying to disarm and coax his opponents into giving up, begins a vicious killing streak where he's raining blows on guys faces until there's nothing left.
It means the movie's final hour is this horrific wail of grief as Amrit endures constant punishment, only to kick things into overdrive because he can't die without avenging Tuli.
And none of this is said. It's just what he starts doing and is clearly conveyed with these ghostly memories of Tuli fueling Amrit's madness before he breaks another guy's face with a bladed weapon or blunt object.
So much so, that by the time Amrit is facing these guys face to face, they're just as pissed at him as he is at them, and if anything view him like a Terminator.
Now if there is one thing I would change about this movie it would be to strengthen the bandit's motivations. When they first hop on and things go to hell, and they stick with it too long, that makes sense. As does their logic for sticking around too long (they fear the rich guy's reprisal). What I really wanted was a bigger emphasis on what drives them, which could indicate some kind of shared experience between Amrit and these bandits (i.e. they're both workers who don't have the kind of money Tuli's father has). It would also justify the emphasis on the star-crossed lover bits early on.
Still, when the beat drops in this movie, it's something special.
The Verdict: Terrifying and Exciting
A unique take on familiar action tropes, Kill leaves one hell of an impression. 8/10
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