Overall Grade: (B-)
An enjoyably dark comedy with a strange collection of interesting characters and the ever charming Simon Pegg delivering in the lead.
Synopsis
When a professional hit-man arrives to a small coastal town he thinks there will be no trouble completing his contract. Until he finds himself in the middle of a murder triangle filled with people all trying to scheme the other.
My Thoughts
There was nothing extremely spectacular about this film but in the end it told a quirky, odd tale of deception and murder with a comedic twist and for me, it was plenty entertaining to pass the hour and a half. The story was told in three segments that all fill in the pieces of one story and it was done with enough organization to give the story-line a great flow and steady pace.
The locations were beautiful and the cinematography did an excellent job of capturing the most of the exotic locations for the backdrops of many scenes throughout. The story was filled with many types of characters and the leads delivered fun and enjoyable performances.
Simon Pegg was great in this film and his portrayal of Charlie, the professional hit-man was an amusing play on the character-type. Pegg fit the role perfectly and from his appearance (pressed black suits and handlebar mustache), to the score that played whenever he would enter a scene, to his nonchalant demeanor and laughable perspective to the deceit going on all around him, was all comical.
The sequencing of the time-line being out of order actually worked very well to keep the intrigue. You are given a good deal of unpredictability throughout and as the final act comes in you get a enjoyable connecting of the multiple angles and completion to the final story. There were enough moments to surprise you and a good collection of darkly comical moments to make this film worth the time. Sure there are some flaws in the script and there was nothing about this comical crime caper that was of excellence, but it was very good and creative enough to make it a fun comedy to sit back and watch.
None of the characters are extremely interesting but they are fun enough in the wild story-line to keep the connection to see how it will all turn out. There are plenty of comedies out there that fail to hit the mark, but this one managed to deliver a solid story with a creative way of telling itself. Sometimes you want to end the day by turning your brain off and taking in a fun adventure with some laughs, “Kill Me Three Times” does it with clever comedy and never does it seem overly forced. Simon Pegg’s venture as a hit-man is well worth the time in this underrated crime mystery with a comedic twist.