HEAVEN KNOWS HE'S MISERABLE NOW (THE KILLER)

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It's a story we've seen loads of times before.

A criminal is on a job that goes badly wrong and those next to him or her suffer as a result.

This triggers a cycle of vengeance.

Jean Pierre Melville's 'Le Samourai,' John Boorman's 'Point Blank,' Clint Eastwood's 'Unforgiven,' Michael Mann's 'Heat,' Steven Soderbergh's 'The Limey' and Chad Stahelski's 'John Wick' are some of the best examples of this genre.

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And now David Fincher has waded into this territory with 'The Killer' for Netflix.

Michael Fassbender is cast a professional hitman whose name we never really know but who often uses the name of sitcom characters as he moves around the globe under different identities.

Over the course of the film, he uses the names of Felix Unger and Oscar Madison from 'The Odd Couple,' Archibald Bunker and George Jefferson from 'All In The Family,' Sam Malone from 'Cheers,' Lou Grant from 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show,' Reuben Kincaid from 'The Partridge Family,' Howard Cunningham from 'Happy Days' and Robert Hartley from 'The Bob Newhart Show'.

At the start of the film, however, we watch him pass the time in an office building in Paris opposite the home of a wealthy businessman, waiting for the moment to go in for the kill.

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In a narration that recurs at key points in the film, The Killer is quite frank about the tedium that his job entails.

We see him bide his time doing yoga stretches, going to McDonalds and listening to songs by The Smiths on an MP3.

Eventually while observing through his rifle lens his target with a dominatrix in the apartment opposite, The Killer launches into a mantra about the state of mind and low pulse rate required to successfully carry out his hit.

The job, however, is a failure.

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The Killer shoots the dominatrix instead and he has to leg it from the office.

Fleeing the scene on an e-scooter before the gendarmes arrive, the hitman efficiently disposes of all his equipment en route to the airport.

When he rings his boss in New Orleans, it is clear there are going to be serious consequences for the botched assassination bid.

Flying to his hideaway in the Dominican Republic The Killer is on edge, fearing retribution.

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His worst fears are realised when he arrives at his gated house to find Portishead music blaring and signs that people have forced their way in, smashing it up.

Blood smears on the walls indicate they have obviously attacked his girlfriend, Sophie Charlotte's Magdala.

As she recuperates in a hospital bed from her injuries, her brother Emiliano Pernia's Marcus tells The Killer that he was clearly the target 

Marcus reveals two people attacked her - a man and a woman who looked like a Q Tip.

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He mentions they were also seen using a local taxi company.

This sets the assassin on a personal revenge mission to New Orleans, St Petersburg in Florida, Beacon in New York and Chicago to establish the identities of the two people who attacked Magdala and mete out his own punishment.

Along the way, he will encounter Gabriel Polanco's Dominican taxi driver Leo, Charles Parnell's The Lawyer who commissioned him for the Paris attack, Kerry O'Malley's secretary Dolores, Sala Baker's The Brute, Tilda Swinton's The Expert and Arliss Howard's The Client.

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Will he be able to get his revenge before his enemies stop him?

After years of producing visually stylish but emotionally hollow movies, Fincher turns in his best work for 16 years, reuniting with screenwriter Andrew Kevin Walker who he previously collaborated with on the serial killer classic 'Seven'.

Stylishly shot by Erik Messerschmidt, the film is beautifully lit in green, gold and blue filters as the film's anti hero hops between locations.

There is something wonderfully old fashioned about this revenge tale - even if it looks anything but old fashioned.

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The movie it most recalls is Melville's 'Le Samourai'.

But it has to be acknowledged that Fassbender is central to its success.

He's brilliantly cast as a cold, Smiths obsessed assassin - delivering a performance that is almost android like, yet still somehow managing to engage the audience's sympathy.

Only occasionally does his narration grate.

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Part of the reason why you forgive it is you're very quickly hooked by its quirky tale of survival and revenge.

As for the rest of the case, Charlotte, Pernia, Polanco, Parnell, O'Malley, Baker, Swinton and Howard all bring something to the party.

However there's no question this is Fassbender's movie, with the German Irishman carrying every scene from beginning to end.

Action fans will no doubt enjoy a spectacular fist fight in the second half of the film which rivals anything in the Bourne or Bond franchises.

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However there is also a wonderful existentialist strain that runs through the entire film, giving it a Gallic feel rather than a Hollywood one 

 'The Killer' is a well executed, agile thriller from a director recovering his form. 

It is undoubtedly Fincher's best work since 2007's 'Zodiac'.

The plot may seem familiar but it never feels like a tired retread.

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It is sleek and sinewy and it wonderfully dips into The Smiths' arsenal of great indie rock songs.

Hopefully Fincher's return to form will continue.

('The Killer' was given a limited release in North American, UK and Irish cinemas on October 27, 2023 before being made available for streaming on Netflix on November 10, 2023)