Kill Me Three Times (Kriv Stenders, 2014): USA, Australia

Reviewed by Phill Hunziker, Viewed at the Metro 4 Theater, part of the Santa Barbara Film Festival 2015.

I don’t get it. Why has this film been universally panned by critics? Some claim that it’s a poorly executed Tarantino ripoff. Others hated the dialogue, characters, plot, direction; essentially everything except for the beautiful setting. However, I and the audience that viewed it with me in the packed theater loved it. About 85% of the audience stayed for the special Q&A with the producers afterward. Now if this was the atrocity that so many critics have claimed it to be, then why was my experience so drastically different?

Charlie Wolfe (Simon Pegg), a hit-man for hire, is hired by a controlling bar owner (Callan Mulvey) to ‘take out’ his unfaithful wife (Alice Braga), who also is the target of a gambling dentist (Sullivan Stapleton) and his conniving wife (Teresa Palmer). Throw in a corrupt cop (Bryan Brown) and a sincere-yet-dim mechanic (Luke Hemsworth) and you have quite the ridiculous plot. Maybe the critics take issue with the numerous twists and turns, deeming it a convoluted plot that loses its way. They may also have a problem with the fact that there really is no character to root for, creating a far too cynical and ugly portrait of life for their tastes. Both of those arguments would be valid in my eyes if not for great execution in terms of acting and direction. The plot doesn’t lose its way, nor is it predictable. Maybe it wasn’t challenging enough for the critics. Maybe they don’t like stupid fun. The characters are shallow, greedy and have a tendency to back-stab everyone that crosses their path. So what? Their pettiness is well portrayed by the actors and the likability of Simon Pegg is more than enough to make up for the negativity of the others.

I do agree with the problems people have with the dialogue. There was so much potential for a bevvy of witty one-liners and hilarious arguments. In that department, I was severely disappointed. There were a few good lines scattered throughout the film, mostly given by the always funny Pegg. Another issue I wasn’t too fond of was the “three times” format. At first, it seemed well suited. In retrospect, it just seems random. It’s not consistent with the flow of the rest of the film and there’s no real explanation as to why that format is being used.

Even with its deficiencies, it still is extremely enjoyable. There’s enough violence, profanity, blood, back-stabbing, gunfire, explosions and Simon Pegg for the whole family to enjoy! It also helps that the location is beautiful, making for so many enchanting shots. It’s not the most intelligent film you’ll ever see and that’s okay. There’s a place in the world for films like this.

If you’re one who’s cynical and tries to find everything wrong with a film in the context of its genre and comparisons to other films, then you should skip this one. There’s no need to get all worked up about a film that clearly doesn’t take itself seriously.