The Killer’s Game

It starts by subverting expectations for a Dave Bautista action vehicle. And then The Killer’s Game turns into exactly what you’d expect from a Bautista action vehicle.

Emphasizing brawn over brains, and spectacle over substance, this thriller from director J.J. Perry (Day Shift) becomes a frenetic compilation of videogame-style set pieces in which our hero faces an assemblage of avengers with little doubt about the endgame.

It begins with a stylish opening sequence set in Budapest, during which veteran hitman Joe Flood (Bautista) nonchalantly dispatches random rogues with clinical precision, causing a panic among those attending an upscale ballet performance.

As a bonus befitting any tough guy, he winds up meeting Maize (Sofia Boutella), who brings out his softer side as their relationship deepens. But she doesn’t know his backstory, and his worsening headaches prompt a dire diagnosis.

Joe finds a sympathetic ear in his longtime friend and boss, Zvi (Ben Kingsley), who takes a philosophical approach. “There are two ways out of the killer’s game,” he explains. “You walk away clean or you go out on your back.”

Assuming he has just weeks to live because of a degenerative nerve condition, Joe can’t bear to break the news to Maize. He decides to put out a hit on himself, so Maize can benefit from an insurance policy that wouldn’t cash if he committed suicide.

Since Zvi refuses, Joe contracts with a rival crime boss (Pom Klementieff) with a deep roster of assassins eager to claim the bounty. But a twist gives Joe a new chance at survival.

Early on, Bautista flashes versatility in some quieter moments, revealing a gentle vulnerability that generates sympathy for a character whose legacy leaves him in need of a moral reckoning.

However, this adaptation of a novel by Jay Bonansinga works against its star by unleashing a nonstop barrage of cartoonish violence inhibiting any underlying emotional depth or sociopolitical intrigue — and in the process showing what the film’s true priorities are.

Shifting between exotic locales, the outrageously contrived screenplay serves to set up a series of equally outrageous confrontations featuring a dizzying array of quirky adversaries and combat techniques.

After a while it starts to feel like an endless, repetitive montage with indifferent stakes. The Killer’s Game doesn’t yield any winners.

Rated R, 104 minutes.