How to Make a Killing

This weekend, How to Make a Killing, the newest Glen Powell film, releases in theaters. How to Make a Killing follows Becket Redfellow, seventh in line to a vast family fortune, as he picks off those in front of him one by one. The premise sounded interesting, and I like Glen Powell, so I thought this would be worth a watch.

I actually had a pretty good time with this movie. I was worried that How to Make a Killing was going to be very episodic as Becket goes through his relatives, but it actually has a pretty cohesive flow. It goes from him taking out one relative to showing the aftermath and changes in his life with each death, adding more and more stakes to the story. Even though it is about taking out seven people, the movie doesn’t feel repetitive or get stale. The movie also moves at a pretty fast pace. It moves through each plot point very quickly and doesn’t have any real slow points. I thought Glen Powell was a lot of fun in the lead role. He has really grown into quite the leading man, and this film is no exception. Even though his character is doing bad things, you can’t help but like him and want him to succeed, as you feel bad for him, and the people he is killing are worse than he is. It is in a similar vein to Ocean’s 11, where you know what they are doing is illegal, but you want them to succeed anyway. How to Make the Killing also does a great job of not being too predictable, as you don’t know if he is actually going to go through with killing all seven people or be content with his life and stop. I also thought the ending was very well done, as it goes in a direction I did not expect.

I don’t have a ton of issues with this film. I did feel it rush a little bit in the middle of the film. The first three family members’ deaths felt fleshed out, but the next two get brushed through in like 5 minutes.

Overall, this was a very interesting movie with a good structure and a likable lead. I just think it could have padded the middle a bit more.

Score:8/10 Grade:B+ Recommendation: Check it out