First Kill (trailer below) looks like a terrific, if predictable movie. Given the lack of buzz surrounding the film (the trailer only has 384,000 hits) and Mr. Willis restrained performance, it could well be a sleeper hit. Especially for The People of the Gun. The plot . . .

A dad takes his bullied son hunting for therapy. A bank robber abducts his son. Much gunplay ensues. Needless to say, the virulently anti-gun New York Times is not thrilled with the thriller.

“First Kill,” a decently executed but generic thriller, is most notable for advancing the dubious theory that the best way to help a child who is being bullied is to traumatize the heck out of him.

I doubt the film suggests that trauma is the best way to help a bullied child. But the fact that the boy is helped — with guns!– is beyond the pale for The Times,.

To learn inner strength Danny sure does have to witness a lot of carnage . . . the movie, directed by Steven C. Miller, doesn’t hold a lot of surprises, but there is worse terror-in-the-woods fare out there — rather a lot of it, in fact.

Can someone please take The Times’ staff out for some serious trigger time? Preferably somewhere in the heartland, where the combination of gun rights and morality is still a thing. There’s rather a lot of it, in fact.

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32 COMMENTS

  1. Well it’s Bruce Willis being Bruce Willis. For the kajallionth time. At least he hasn’t descended to the Nick Cage/Steve Seagal/Liam Neeson hackery…yet.

      • I used to like him – until he opened his mouth. He used to be one of my favorite actors. But I can’t watch his movies now because everytime I see him, all I see is a guy that hates me and my culture.

        • A month before Gibson’s Wallace, Neeson made a decent Rob Roy…. likely while Gibson was pounding Rob Roys.

          And then he was believable as Schindler, although I’m sure plenty of other stern Germanic-looking actors could’ve done the same, and most with a better accent.

          Speaking of Neeson & Gibson, they were both in Excalibur, and later again in The Bounty w/ Sir Hopkins. And still, Gibson was far better than Neeson, who always seems to be playing variations of the same character.

          At least Gibson is a true character with real skills (who likes to party alone); instead of just acting one for other people, and pretending his shit don’t stink.

        • Same for me. I used to like him. Now I can’t stand him. His hypocrisy ruind him for me as an actor.

    • Bruce Willis seems like he doesn’t fit in with the rest of the Hollywierd crowd. I’ll go see this just to spite the fake news times.

  2. Bruce has always been one of the few actors I like.

    NYT would rather see Planet of the Apes 20 or Superman 39.

    • I appreciate the sentiment, but I don’t think that’s remotely possible. Maybe he spent the last however-many-years since SW Ep3 taking acting lessons?

  6. “advancing the dubious theory that the best way to help a child who is being bullied is to traumatize the heck out of him.”

    Is Neil Genzlinger Gersh Kuntzman’s little brother? Maybe he took his wife’s name, he seems like the sort that would.

  7. Not one I am likely to go see in a theater,, but I’ll watch it if it ever shows on Netflix. I’m saving up my spare change for Dunkirk. Nothing against Willis, I’ve enjoyed quite a few of his movies. the Fifth element is one of my favorites. I watched Slevin a week ago and loved it. He makes a great cold blooded (kinda) killer.

    • I love Slevin. That is one of those movies that it seems few have seen but every time I recommend it to someone they enjoy it. Boron (the fifth element, ok it was lame) is also a great flick.

    • One of the gawd-awful-est actors in the history of the universe. Casting him as Anakin Skywalker absolutely ruined that franchise. Episodes II and III are unwatchable, IMO.

      Maybe he’s taken some acting lessons since. Even Tom Cruise has gotten better. Or at least learned to stay within his limitations.

      • Nah, it was planned. They wanted to keep the tradition alive of picking the worst actor for the lead part, like Mark Hammil for Luke Skywalker, the other worst actor in the Galaxy.

        Maybe it’s part of the story arc. It’s genetic. Along with the strongest connection to the Force, maybe father and son have the worst acting genes, not just in the Galaxy, but the whole universe.

        • Come’on, Hammil was sooo much better than the hack that played Aniken. Watching that it felt like someone was dumping hot garbage right into my living room. I always assumed he was some rich guys kid who had work bought for him.

  9. Bruce Willis, guns and panned by the NYT? Fits my criteria of a good movie. I’m gonna go.

    • When I was going to Catholic prep seminary in Apartheid Chicago in the ’70s, I used to pick movies by reading the list of movies condemned by the Church. I Never would have seen Sonny Chiba in “The Streetfighter” if I hadn’t.

  10. But he’s a cop so the NYT should be okay with it. Just another only-one doing awesome only-one things that no mere mortal could ever dream of doing.

    Those six months at the academy. Whoo boy. You come out a gosh darned super hero able to leap tall buildings and what not.

  12. This movie seems to be, at least partially, about a bitter old man who solves problems with cold brutality and violence. So, yup, definitely seeing that, you know, normalcy bias and all.

    • Live long enough and you will learn that some problems are best solved with cold brutality and violence.
      Hopefully, you will never experience one such problem yourself, but they definitely exist.

      • Don’t be ridiculous.
        Everybody knows that Trenton, Antietam, the Bulge, and Guadalcanal were solved with empathy… and bullets and bayonets.

      • Mr. Funk, I think my multiple combat tours already checked that box. I have, indeed, seen the elephant.

  13. I saw this on the movie list for DirecTV the other night when the wife and I were looking for something to watch… the description just seemed “meh,” so we passed.

    Having seen the trailer, though, I think we’ll have to give it a watch!

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