KILLING SEASON
R
91 Minutes
Writer: Evan Daugherty
Director: Mark Steven Johnson
Robert De Niro , John Travolta, Milo Ventimiglia
‘Love is a battlefield.’ -Pat Benatar
CAST
Emil Kavoc…John Travolta
Benjamin Ford…Robert De Niro
Milo Ventimiglia …Chris Ford
Cruising past Redbox, something caught my eye, and piqued my curiosity. A film with John Travolta and Robert De Niro. Mark Steven Johnson, writer of JACK FROST, and director of GHOST RIDER. Creates, yet another masterpiece.
Originally, KILLING SEASON was planned as a prequel to FACE/OFF, set in the 70s. Except for Nick Cage didn’t like the script (baffling, I know). So Robert De Niro filled his place. But, what’s that you say? De Niro doesn’t look like Travolta. This doesn’t sound anything like FACE/OFF. There’s a fix for that. Things get changed to take place in the present and all the characters have different names.
I can just see those alien anthropologists of the future now, uncovering the ruins of the 21st century. They’ll look at the KILLING SEASON DVD. Thinking:
'Travolta and De Niro, this has to be good. We shall watch these titans of motion picture. And after doing so, we’ll have a good idea of what the best of humanity had to offer.'
The plot is simple. Two men, on opposite sides of the Bosnian conflict in the 90s, try to kill each other in the woods. With bows and arrows, in a game of cowboys and idiots. Archery duals can last a long time. Shooting arrows is not as easy as Orlando Bloom made it look in LORD OF THE RINGS.
Travolta is not the worst aspect of this film. He provided most of the comic relief. His accent was awe-inspiring. It’s like he got Bosnian lessons from Yakov Smirnoff. Furthermore, KILLING SEASON is not John Travolta’s worst movie. But I can only say this because he’s’ been in OLD DOGS, and BATTLEFIELD EARTH. I guess it’s like saying THE CHRONICLES OF RIDEDICK isn’t Vin Diesel’ s worst movie.
De Niro can play an Italian, and a knife salesman, but he can’t play a convincing redneck. With Ben, he often forgets to stay in character, randomly switching between his normal voice, and the character’s twangy drawl.
‘How does it feel to be the one being tortured?’
After a long, and pointless battle. Ben and Emil patch things up, not literally, they still need serious medical attention. They make amends, which includes a friendly chat, and a good hug. In the end, Ben and Emil come to understand that the only real enemies they have are in the audience.
Final Verdict: 10 out of 100
Sidenote: The movie is 81 minutes long, the credits last 10 minutes.
