Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ventures into comedy have often tended to be hit-or-miss, so it’s a touch on the ironic side that one of his best performances in the genre came as the titular hitman in Killing Gunther, a movie that a lot of people never got around to seeing.
Written, directed, produced by, and starring Saturday Night Live veteran Taran Killian, the high concept caper has a fun premise and a talented cast, but even at a brisk 93 minutes, it can never seem to shake the fact that it’s essentially a sketch being unnecessarily padded out to feature length.
There’s fun to be had, though, largely due to Schwarzenegger coming in to steal the scenery every chance he gets as the legendary hitman, who finds himself as the target for once when a band of low-rent contract killers decide to remove him from the equation in order to level the playing field for themselves.
The mockumentary approach does wear thin after a while, and the fits of entertainment don’t come often enough, but Killing Gunther has cultivated a reputation as something of a cult favorite, one that’s been known to perform above expectations on streaming and on-demand.
That’s become true yet again over the weekend, with FlixPatrol revealing the eccentric slice of borderline self-aware shooter shenanigans has circled back around the block to land a plum position on the Prime Video most-watched chart. It’s nowhere near top-tier Schwarzenegger, but fans of the legendary star should at least get a kick out of his hammy turn.
