Kill Me Three Times

Professional hitman Charlie Wolfe (Pegg) goes to the small, coastal Australian town of Eagles Nest for a job.  The job is supposed to be easy, but quickly escalates as more people get involved...

• Unstable hotel owner Jack Taylor (Mulvey) is worried about his marriage, and isn't above violence to get answers
• His harried wife Alice Taylor (Braga) sees an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone
• Dentist Nathan Webb (Stapleton) is in too deep with a gambling addiction
• His wife Lucy Webb (Palmer) has a plan
• Mechanic Dylan Smith (Hemsworth) wants a fresh start
• And crooked cop Bruce Jones (Brown) just wants his piece of the action

Is anyone safe?


This is not your typical Simon Pegg film.  In this Australian film, he is the villain.  It sounds crazy, but it works.  He is violent (and responsible for most of the death/blood on the screen), but still gets some funny moments.  It is great to watch him play against type.

The story tries hard to be clever and keep you guessing.  It is stylized and unravels the plot slowly, showing the main events several times and revealing a little more each time.  Reviewers on IMDb.com compare it to Quentin Tarantino's style, but feel that it never quite reaches that level.  The format reminded me more of TV, when they show the same story from different perspectives so that the audience has to figure things things out with the cast (I know Psych did an episode like this, but I don't know which one.  First example I can think of is Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. episode "T.R.A.C.K.S." in Season 1).  The style works, but isn't really necessary.

The location is gorgeous, as well as the cinematography.  The story is ok, with a few twists and turns, but not overly memorable.  There is a small cast, only focusing on the main people (there are minimal people in the background).  The cast is good, populated with familiar faces.  Everyone gets an arc, and a change to wield a weapon and fight.

It is an enjoyable film, but not particularly memorable (or worth a second viewing).

Kill Me Three Times (2014) 90 minutes
Rating: R for bloody violence, language and some sexuality/nudity
Director: Kriv Stenders
Starring: Simon Pegg as Charlie Wolfe
Alice Braga as Alice Taylor
Sullivan Stapleton as Nathan Webb
Teresa Palmer as Lucy Webb
Luke Hemsworth as Dylan Smith
Callan Mulvey as Jack Taylor
Bryan Brown as Bruce Jones