What Do The Critics Say?

"If you can ignore all the plot holes the adventure is entertaining. Most of this is due to two things. The first is that Luketic is a talented director who knows about pace. The second is that Heigl and Kutcher are gratifying and likeable light comedic actors. I like all three of them and I finally enjoyed this movie, despite the script and dismal setup." Tony Medley TONYMEDLEY.COM "It's better than The Bounty Hunter, with the two leads making a more charming couple than Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler." Simon Reynolds DIGITAL SPY "I laughed a few times and was fairly entertained. I just wish it had a better structure and not such a flat ending. The main problem is that Killers doesn’t know what kind of film it wants to be.It’s great to see Selleck and his fine moustache back on screen and the performances are generally good." Graham Young BIRMINGHAM POST "A disjointed and unnecessarily lengthy comedy which has a number of flaws but still manages to garner enough laughs throughout to make it worth a watch." Cassam Looch VIW LONDON "The combo of the divine Katherine Heigl and the beefed up Ashton Kutcher works nicely, as does the incongruity of Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara as the in-laws. Kutcher does a great job of seducing us (and Heigl's Jen), while Heigl wins us with her unnerving feminine guiles." Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE "Heigl makes the most of a marriage to die for to a secret government assassin, in a kind of family that slays together stays together post-nuptial pandemonium. A boobs 'n biceps fluffy espionage burb romance, helped in no small part by a host of unlikely everyday unneighborly assassins." Prairie Miller NEWSBLAZE

"Displaying their excellent flair for comedy, both co-stars deserve kudos for their amusing performances. Gone is the man-child persona Kutcher adopted in What Happens in Vegas. He delivers a much more mature, yet still humorous, turn in Killers. Heigl shows the almost perfect comic timing she demonstrated in 27 Dresses. And the chemistry between these two actors snaps, crackles and pops in many of their scenes together, especially at the beginning of the film." Betty Jo Tucker REELTALK MOVIE REVIEWS "Luketic brings the same sought-after element that Heigl and Kutcher bring: charm. It's not a perfect film and it's not a piece of cinematic refuse, but Killers is able to find happiness in the middle." Jason McKiernan FILMCRITIC.COM "Directed by Robert Luketic and scripted by T.M. Griffin and Bob DeRosa, "Killers" is more amusing than consistently laugh-out-loud funny, but makes up for it in rousing action set-pieces of all types and nice chemistry between the two leads." Dustin Putman THE MOVIE BOY "Worth the investment for the cinematic capture of the Southern France backdrops, as well as the badinage between Heigl and Kutcher reminiscent of those classic Doris Day-Rock Hudson exchanges in flicks like Send Me No Flowers. Send Me No Hit Men!" Kam Williams NEWSBLAZE "Killers is paint-by-numbers filmmaking scrubbed clean of even the faintest puff of creativity, here making for an unfortunately banal foundation, but one nevertheless elevated, somewhat amazingly, by the sharp comedic rapport and genuine chemistry of its leads. You could do far worse at the multiplex this weekend than Killers, a modestly pitched rom-com actioner that outdoes most of the competition on compulsive watchability alone." Rob Humanick SLANT MAGAZINE

The Inside Story While "Killers" has no shortage of action and suspense, director Robert Luketic believes the appeal of the film: and the lion’s share of the comedy; lies in the thorny issue facing the couple. "It’s this great comedic situation where Jen is saying, 'You’ve got a lot of explaining to do' while they’re running for their lives. And while they’re on this adventure, the audience is wondering, 'Is this relationship going to last? Can it withstand the lie?' The film was first conceived as an action thriller in the vein of James Bond, but with an added dose of humor. "I wanted the action and the intrigue, where there are stakes and people can actually die, but I also wanted people to laugh," says co-screenwriter Bob DeRosa. "When you put people who have real issues into that kind of action, they’re just naturally going to blow off steam, because otherwise the situation’s going to be just way too tragic and scary." But while he was supervising the script’s development, "Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging" executive producer and "Killers" producer Scott Aversano, realized that the relationship between Spencer and Jen was the freshest element in the story. "I thought, what if you used an action movie as the test for a marriage?" he says. Several rewrites later, "Killers" achieved its appealing mix of relationship comedy and action movie that caught the attention of its two stars. For Kutcher, the opportunity to play Spencer was a welcome opportunity after the box-office success of films like "What Happens In Vegas", "A Lot Like Love" and the cult hit, "Dude, Where's My Car? "I haven’t played a character like this before. I’d been looking for opportunities to move into other genres, specifically action, adventure, things like that," says Kutcher. "This was a marriage of the two, so it made sense for me to make an action film that had a comedic tone." Aversano ("Team America") agrees that the role comes at a perfect time for Kutcher. "Many of the movies that people remember him for he’s playing the wacky dude who seems perennially eighteen, nineteen, twenty years old and he is vastly different than that. He is more than ready to transition into a role where he has real gravitas, where he is both a physical presence and is struggling with adult issues." "He’s a genius with comedy," Heigl notes, "but in this movie he’s also got this beautiful balance with being more serious. He’s trying to protect his relationship and his wife, and you can really feel how important those things are to him." Luketic believes we're, "going to see a vulnerability in Ashton in this film that perhaps you haven’t seen before." Apart from his performance, Kutcher impressed everyone involved with his prowess and commitment as a producer of "Killers", which is one of several projects he has produced with his partner, Jason Goldberg ("Beauty and the Geek USA") at Katalyst, the production company they founded in 2005 and which is located at 6430 West Sunset Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA. Luketic notes, "Ashton is a very astute businessman, as well as a wonderful actor, and it was a real pleasure to see those two personalities work together. He really wanted the movie to be a success and you could see it in how hard he worked to make everything look the way it did. Our movie looks stunning, and that’s due to having great producers." Aversano agrees. "He produced the movie with me, and really, I laugh sometimes when I think about the roles that people know him for and what he is capable of. He’s an incredibly capable business man and a very thoughtful producer." With Kutcher on board, Katherine Heigl readily committed to the role of Jen Kornfeldt, the woman who turns Spencer’s world on end. Heigl says she loves her character because: "she’s a little bit geeky, a little bit nerdy. She’s a computer science kind of techno-gal and she’s a little bit tragic because she’s been in a lot of really bad relationships." Best known for her EMMY Award winning role as Dr Izzie Stevenson ABC TV's acclaimed drama, "Grey's Anatomy", Heigl has risen to big-screen fame with a series of hit romantic comedies. "I was really excited about working with Ashton," the two time CARNIE Award winning actress (2003 & '05) says. "I’d heard so many amazing and great things about him as a person. But I also knew that this was a departure for him and it was a departure for me because I’ve been doing a lot of romantic comedies. I love them and I don’t want to tear myself away from them just yet. So this was a great way for me to get the romantic comedy but with a slightly different spin." "You feel a warmth when you watch Katherine on the screen," says Luketic ("Monster-in-Law"). "There are very few people who have what she has. Part of Katherine’s charm is her accessibility and vulnerability, and no matter how ridiculous a scene may be, the sense of grounding she brings to it." Kutcher believes Heigl "has a childlike sense of innocence but she’s very smart and she knows what’s going on. She combines that with Jen’s sense of wonderment, where she's suddenly questioning everything about her life, and it makes for an intoxicating mix." Having worked with Australian director Luketic (a graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne) on "The Ugly Truth", Heigl was eager to collaborate once again with the director. "Robert is one of my favorite not only directors, but people. We did a film last summer together that we had such a great time on, so I knew working with him would be dreamy." As luck would have it, the 2002 Young Hollywood Award winning director (Hottest Young Filmmaker) had been searching for a project just like "Killers". "I’d always wanted to make a film that blended romance and comedy and suspense. They’re hard genres to blend together and get totally right. And this script hit my desk and I fell in love with the concept instantly. It had elements of romance. It was funny. It had adventure. It had it all." "Robert does two things that I have great admiration for," Aversano declared. "One is he manages to attract fantastic people around him. And second, he knows what his objective is. He can get real performances from his actors and do something interesting and great, yet not lose sight of the fact that this is commercial entertainment conceived to satisfy audiences." For Luketic, the challenge of the film was successfully blending comedy and action. He admits "It can be a tonal minefield. You need to pick those moments when it’s right to be serious and when it’s right to be funny." As casting continued, the filmmakers faced the challenge of finding the right comedic actors to play Mr and Mrs Kornfeldt, Jen’s protective and overbearing parents. "They’re maybe a little too close, a little too involved," 2008 & '10 People's Choice Award (USA) winner Heigl explained. "Jen’s dad is super protective of her and she kind of succumbs to it and poor Spencer gets the constant barrage of opinions." For the part of Mr Kornfeldt, Kutcher was determined to find someone who was genuinely intimidating. "I call Mr Kornfeldt 'Sir' in the script a lot. And I was thinking, 'Who am I going to call Sir?' Who’s a bigger guy, who’s got an intimidating thing, but doesn’t have to try to be intimidating?. The answer to his question was an actor he admires and who appeared in 162 episodes (1980 - 1988) of the seminal television show, "Magnum P.I.": EMMY and Golden Globe winner, Tom Selleck. Four time People's Choice Award (USA) winner Selleck (1981, '03, '04 & '05) was eager to be a part of the project. "It’s kind of a no-brainer to be asked to do a movie like this and be a part of it. I’m glad they thought I could contribute." "Tom brought just this wonderful, stoic figure of a father. He’s subtle and always spot-on and he’s a real presence. You absolutely believe that he’s someone who can rattle Spencer’s cage," Luketic ("Legally Blonde") says. "He has a comedic ability without telling jokes," adds Kutcher. "Just his sensibility is funny. He doesn’t move. He’s like a rock. He also has the most epic mustache ever known to man. He was Magnum. I’ll never be that cool, ever, in my life." Playing the part of Mrs Kornfeldt, gave comedy veteran Catherine O’Hara ("Waiting For Guffman" & "Best In Show") demonstrates her talent for improvisation. "Catherine O’Hara is a comedic genius. She has random strokes of brilliance that just come out of her. We had to do significant ADR in this film because the crew would just lose their mind when she opened her mouth. I don’t know how she does it," Luketic notes. Rounding out the principal cast as Spencer’s best friend, Henry, is comedian, actor and Marine, Rob Riggle (Officer Franklin in the comedy hit, "The Hangover"). "Henry is a pretty happy go lucky, lovable guy," says Riggle. "He's an architect and he’s Spencer’s best friend. But he’s got some secrets, some issues that we discover as the movie goes on." "We looked at a lot of people for Henry," Aversano ("The Last Airbender") recalls. "There are always different versions in people’s mind of what the buddy part looks like. But Rob stood out. As a human being, he just radiates warmth, like you want to hang out with him." Kutcher approached the physical demands of his role with great enthusiasm and commitment. He began training two months prior to the start of shooting, met with former CIA officials for research, and studied a range of martial arts disciplines in the process. "He must have doubled his muscle mass," the director recalls. "He was totally convincing as an action man." Conversely, Jen Kornfeldt is completely oblivious to the world of espionage and hand to hand combat, and by her own admission, that suited Connecticut (from the Mohegan word quonehtacut, meaning "place of long tidal river") raised Heigl (pronounced HI guhl) just fine. "I'm not a big stunt person and I can go into all the reasons why. I’m really uncoordinated, I’m not terribly athletic." Heigl recalls saying: " think you guys should be prepared for someone who can look a lot like me doing these very exciting things." Stunt Co-ordinator Doug Coleman ("Get Smart" & "Hancock") designed the fight choreography so that each stunt played by the rules of the world the filmmakers had created. “We always wanted to keep it true to the story, so that nobody leaps seven feet in the air and is able to karate kick through a wall." With its combination of comedy, romance and action, the filmmakers hope the film will appeal to a wide range of audiences. "I hope people will be wildly entertained," Luketic said. "I think it’s a great date movie. The romance is thoroughly engaging and real, and then we have the action and intrigue that men will relate to." "It’s kind of an outrageous yet still realistic look at marriage and what a marriage can go through," says Heigl (who made her debut in 1992 in "That Night"). "The thing I love the most is the humor. And there’s a surprise ending. I don’t think anyone will see it coming." "The thing about this movie is it offers a little bit of everything," Kutcher (who made his debut in "Coming Soon") adds. "It’s exciting. It’s a thriller. But it’s also funny, and at the heart of it, it’s a relationship movie." What's It All About?

Trying to recover from a sudden break-up, Jen believes she'll never fall in love again. But when she reluctantly joins her over-protective parents on a trip to the French Riviera, Jen happens to meet the man of her dreams: a dashing, handsome hunk named Spencer. Three years later, her seemingly impossible wish has finally come true: she and Spencer are newlyweds living the ideal suburban life. That is, until the morning after Spencer's thirtieth birthday, when bullets start flying. Literally! It turns out Spencer has never bothered to tell Jen he's also an international super-spy, and now her perfect world is being turned upside down. Faced with the fact that her husband is a former hit man, Jen is determined to discover what other secrets Spencer might be keeping; all the while trying to dodge bullets, keep up neighborly appearances, manage the in-laws and work out some major trust issues.

The Verdict "It's a chick flick! It's a date flick! And it's fun! While Ashton Kutcher may not be everyones flavour of the month, Katherine Heigl certainly is. With films such as: "Bride of Chucky", "The Ringer", "Knocked Up", "27 Dresses" and "The Ugly Truth" to her credit: as well as a starring role in 118 episodes (2005 - 2010) of TV'S "Gray's Anatomy" playing Dr Izzie Stevens; it's almost come to the point that any film with her name on it will instantly qualify as a 'must see'. So why have the US critics given it a hiding? Is it the Kutcher factor? Could it be that they are all totally pissed off with Lionsgate who have denied them entry to previews for their most recent releases "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse" and "Killers"? To be honest, it's got me beat. I was fortunate enough to sit in with around five hundred women at a 'Chicks At The Flicks' special screening and, despite a few 'down moments', it sounded like they were having a great time. So what do you get with "Killers"? It's an action packed, romantic comedy. That pretty well sums it up. If I had one point of complaint, it would be the wasteful use of talented actress Catherine O'Hara. The 2001 American Comedy and Candian Comedy Awards winner for "Best In Show" deserves better than this. "Killers" is good fun as most will discover. 3 1/2 STARS." The Production Team

Director Screenplay Story Producers Original Music Cinematography Film Editors Casting Production Design Set Decoration Costume Design

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Robert Luketic Bob DeRosa and Ted Griffin Bob DeRosa Scott Aversano/Jason Goldberg/Mike Karz/Ashton Kutcher Chad Marting/Christopher S Pratt/Josie Rosen Rolfe Kent Russell Carpenter Richard Francis-Bruce & Mary Jo Markey Deborah Aquila/Jennifer L. Smith/Mary Tricia Wood Missy Stewart Michel Rollant Johanna Argan

Who Is Playing Who?

Ashton Kutcher Katherine Heigl Tom Selleck Catherine O'Hara Katheryn Winnick Kevin Sussman Lisa Ann Walter Casey Wilson Rob Riggle Martin Mull Alex Borstein Mary Birdsong Ric Reitz

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Spencer Jen Mr Kornfeldt Mrs Kornfeldt Vivian Mac Bailey Olivia Brooks Kristen Henry Holbrook Lily Baily Jackie Vallero Dougie Vollero

Run Time 93 minutes Rated M [AUST] Copyright ©2010 - Roadshow Films - All Rights Reserved ©1999-2010 The Movie Pages & impact Internet Services. All Rights Reserved. Protected by Australian and International Copyright. Trademark Laws and Intellectual Property Rights apply.