9/10
I was beginning to wonder if my heart had deadened to movies as a whole these last few weeks...I haven't seen much (new or old) but what I have seen has not excited me. Maybe it's for that reason that I'm overrating Killing Them Softly...its flaws may be more apparent in a stronger year. But as 2012 winds down and looks more and more like a dud of a year in films, thank god there was this movie. It's not perfect, it's not brilliant, but it was incredibly enjoyable. The political theme may have been laid on too thick for some - indeed, we could probably have cut out a couple of those radio snippets or voiceovers from Bush/McCain/Obama. But I didn't really mind. The atmosphere was incredible (a huge strength of Dominik's previous outing), the soundtrack great (if as unsubtle as the political subtext - VU's "Heroin" while they're shooting up heroin? Really?), and the acting is top-notch. I don't know much about Andrew Dominik but our sensibilities and appreciations seem to be pretty much in line.
