In the wildly entertaining new action flick Boy Kills World, an unlikely partnership between Bill Skarsgård and the iconic voice of H. Jon Benjamin results in a balls-to-the-wall fight fest destined for cult classic status.
Directed by Moritz Mohr, the R-rated film imagines a post-apocalyptic world where a young deaf-mute man known only as “Boy” (Skarsgård) is on a vengeful quest to kill the evil dictator Hilda Van Der Koy (Famke Janssen) after she murders his sister. While Boy cannot speak, Benjamin voices his inner thoughts and motivations to darkly comedic effect.
On paper, the Skarsgård/Benjamin pairing seems bizarre. But on screen, their odd chemistry crackles from the moment Boy begins training with a mysterious martial arts shaman (The Raid’s Yayan Ruhian) to master the fighting skills needed to take down Van Der Koy’s regime.
As Boy’s lethal abilities grow, so does Benjamin’s raunchy commentary – delivering killer take-no-prisoners one-liners that offset the brutal violence. When Boy finally teams up with a hallucinogenic-fueled crew to attempt the assassination, the film kicks into hyper overdrive with an endless array of insane, exquisitely choreographed action sequences.
Boy Kills World revels in over-the-top grindhouse gruesomeness, featuring everything from “cheese grater kills” to intense gunplay to physics-defying martial arts feats. But it’s the breakneck camerawork that really gets your adrenaline pumping, whipping around rapidly to capture every bone-crunching strike and death-defying flip from multiple angles.
The standout climactic battle aboard a TV studio set is a breathtaking tour-de-force of kinetic cinematography. At one point, the camera seamlessly transforms into a drone zipping through the entire set before settling on an actual camera rig used to bludgeon the final enemy.
While the Asian master/white student trope feels somewhat regressive, the film attempts to subvert those stereotypes by the third act. And any missteps are easily forgiven thanks to the combustible chemistry between its two antihero leads.
Skarsgård is captivating as the strong-and-silent badass, oozing brutal charisma with his imposing physicality. But it’s Benjamin’s utterly unhinged voice work as Boy’s riotous inner id that provides the hilarious, foul-mouthed yin to Skarsgård’s brutish yang.
With its thrillingly choreographed action, darkly comedic tone and outstanding lead performances, Boy Kills World doesn’t reinvent the genre. But Mohr’s clear, realized vision and the killer Skarsgård/Benjamin partnership make it an exciting new cult classic in the making. Catch this fast and furious flick on the big screen before it inevitably develops a rabid following.
You can also watch the trailer of ‘Boy Kills World’ below.
