Parents' Guide to Killerman

It has a few potent moments, but this violent, vulgar crime drama doesn't use its amnesia theme for any kind of creative storytelling or character development; it's just too long and too predictable. Written and directed by Malik Bader, Killerman does a fine job of painting its grimy, crime-ridden urban atmosphere, with Buric's haywire performance as the hot-and-cold crime boss at the center. But the annoying shaky-cam, the constant swearing, and the nasty, one-dimensional bad guys also make it rather unpleasant to watch. Hemsworth is another problem; he seems badly miscast and out of place -- he can't even pretend to be a money launderer without looking suspicious.

Yet another flaw is the criminal underuse of Guerrero (Orange Is the New Black), who shows up for maybe two scenes and serves only as a catalyst for the hero. (This is further undermined by an earlier, gratuitous sex scene between Moe and an anonymous bar girl.) Conversely, the "bromance" between Moe and Skunk is kept at arm's length. The amnesia aspect, which could have been used to drop viewers into Moe's world and help us identify with him, is instead simply introduced at the end of the third act and almost ignored throughout; it's used mainly to reveal a "surprise" at the end, which is all too easy to spot early. Killerman could have been a vibrant, unique crime story, but instead it's drearily routine.