Mikes Film Talk

Boy Kills World is Bill Skarsgård and evil cereal mascots. The film itself is directed by Moritz Mohr and plays like an ode to Street Fighter, Battle Royale and Twisted Metal (for the pacing.) There is also a huge nod and a wink to Hunger Games.

Liongate roars

Lionsgate, along with Moritz Mohr, take us on a high octane ride in a world both dystopian and totalitarian in nature. Boy Kills World stars the most excellent Bill Skarsgård as Boy. The vast majority of this movie deals with him.

The villains are the Van Der Coys. Famke Janssen is the all powerful and uncontrollable Matriarch; Hilda. Michelle Dockery is Melanie the brains behind “The Culling.” Sharlto Copley is Glen, the face of The Culling and lastly, there is Gideon. He is a frustrated performer/writer/director. He is played by Brett Gelman who manages to bring a touch of schizophrenia to the proceedings.

A shaman (Yayan Ruhian) trains Boy to become an instrument; a weapon. Boy’s mission is to kill the Van Der Coys. All of them.

A touch of the Raid: Redemption

There is a lot of intricate choreography here. It is not surprising at all to watch this film and think of The Raid: Redemption (2011) with the long and complex fight scenes. Ruhian, played the second to last “big boss” in the film. His moves are just as flawless in Boy Kills World and other Indonesian thrillers he has worked in.

Like the 2011 action thriller, there is a big body count. At the end of the day, it also features a long fight with the big boss.

Something familiar

Mohr co-wrote the screenplay along with Tyler Burton Smith and Arend Remmers. Mohr and Remmers initially wrote the short film that Boy Kills World is based on.

The movie itself seems to borrow from a lot of sources that came before it. Sure, 2023 and 24 seem to be filled with high octane action thrillers, but there is a feeling that the trio of screenwriters, and one director, have borrowed quite a bit.

*Kudos however, for managing to work in the Wilhelm scream during the breakfast cereal mascot battle.*

It should also be noted that Boy Kills World works in a fair old bit of black comedy. This helps to make the film that bit more watchable.

Been There done that

It is a shame that such a wonderful collection of choreographed fights and a plot that valiantly throws in an O. Henry type ending falls a tad short.

Audiences have given this film a 72 percent rating (Rotten Tomatoes) while the critics, mea culpa, have almost scorched the film. A paltry 59 percent makes it seem like a film that will disappoint.

Boy Kills World is definitely not Shakespeare. How can it be when The Culling is death by cereal Mascots. Breakfast cereal reference aside, it entertains. The plot is pretty clever and there are enough gunfights, fisticuffs, karate matches and pure mayhem to please the harshest audience members thirst for action.

The film may even surpass The Fall Guy for stunts and choreographed fight scenes with accompanying wire work. I feel that the movie entertains well enough to watch again.

The Verdict

Boy Kills World offers up a great cast:

It manages to roll along nicely at just under 2 hours and there is no nudity, sex or smoking. Just a lot of blood and violence. Boy Kills World even manages to have a message: The people we fear, according to the Van Der Coys, are “just like us.” This allows them, they say, to hide in plain sight. That may be true in our, the real vs reel, world as well.

And about that smoking? There is one scene with a cigarette that is very funny though.

We give this action/thriller a whopping 4.5 stars. Sure the movie did feel a tad like other films in the genre but it was good in spite of this small problem. Boy Kills World is in cinemas and online.

The trailer