Killers

Katherine Heigl and Ashton Kutcher star in "Killers", an action-packed romantic comedy from director Robert Luketic ("Legally Blonde").  Heigl plays Jen, a stammering neurotic who has recently been dumped and decides to go on vacation in the south of France... with her parents.  Kutcher plays Spencer, an assassin-for-hire who is starting to question the integrity of his line of work.  When Spencer meets Jen while on a job, she falls for his hunky good looks and he falls for her girl-next-door ordinariness, so Spencer decides he wants to get out of the game for good and settle down with Jen.  There's just one problem: quitting being a covert killer is easier said than done.  The story starts off very promisingly as we see the couple meet-cute: Kutcher pulls off an easygoing charm that suits him well, while Heigl has perfected the art of playing the insecure loser.  It really is amazing to me that someone as gorgeous as Heigl - with her sunny, round face and sexy curves - is able to be convincing as a goofy, unlucky-in-love gal and someone we can sympathize with, but somehow Heigl manages to pull it off.  The banter between Jen and Spencer is witty and fresh.  But once the couple is settled into their romance and the truth about Spencer's former job starts surfacing, the film becomes rote as one action scene gives way to another action scene, and soon plot advancement goes out the window.  What makes the story interesting from the beginning is the relationship between Jen and Spencer, but that dynamic quickly dissolves once the couple goes on the run.  It was also confusing and convoluted to me how all of a sudden it seems like a small nation of assassins is after the couple... I mean, how many trained killers live in this town anyway?  The film succeeds as a likable romantic comedy, but in the end the incessant and mindless action kills the mood.

2 out of 5 stars