If you want better tonal consistency
Choose Girls Like Girls. It scores 5.0 vs 2.4 for tonal consistency, with a 4.0 overall score.
How to Make a Killing Movie Review
Bottom Line
Choose it for Glen Powell’s charisma, a strong ensemble, slick presentation, and a few sharp twists. Skip it if you want incisive satire, airtight crime logic, deep characterization, or consistently biting black comedy.
Best for
Best for viewers who want a slick, lightly twisted crime comedy led by Glen Powell and can overlook implausible murder mechanics, broad satire, and uneven tonal shifts.
Not for
Not ideal for viewers seeking sharp Ealing-style wit, rigorous crime logic, deep characterization, or consistently tense and biting black comedy.
Verdict
How to Make a Killing works best as a glossy showcase for Glen Powell, whose charisma carries a murderer that many critics think the script never makes psychologically convincing. Margaret Qualley, Jessica Henwick, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris give the supporting cast plenty of spark, while the cinematography and score add polish. The harder sell is the movie around them: its death-row framing can drain suspense, its murder logic often strains plausibility, and its class satire frequently feels familiar or underdeveloped. Customer viewers are generally warmer, especially about the fun, twists, and watchability, but expert reactions repeatedly flag tonal indecision and thin characterization. The result is an entertaining dark comedy for some and a frustratingly muted remake for others.
Feature Scorecards
Summary
45 reviewed features-
Very positive 4.5-5.05 (11%)
-
Positive 3.5-4.418 (40%)
-
Neutral 2.5-3.418 (40%)
-
Negative 1.5-2.44 (9%)
Pros
-
The cast is one of the film’s steadier strengths, with many viewers praising the ensemble even when the material around them feels uneven.
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The film’s slick, colorful, polished look is a regular positive, even among critics who think the style never fully coheres with the tone.
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The polished, grainy photography is widely admired, with several critics singling out the lighting, texture, and camera work.
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Audience reactions lean warmer than the critic consensus, with many calling it watchable, fun, or worth seeing even when imperfect.
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Glen Powell is the clearest consensus strength, repeatedly praised for charisma and likability even by critics who think he is miscast or too mild.
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It works best for viewers who accept it as a light dark-comedy thriller; critics wanting sharper farce or tougher suspense are often disappointed.
Cons
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Plausibility is one of the sharpest recurring complaints, especially around the FBI, forensic gaps, and how easily Becket gets away with repeated murders.
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Tone is one of the most repeated weaknesses, with the movie often described as caught between farce, noir, thriller, and moral drama.
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The film’s polish and some modern touches are appreciated, yet its remake roots and familiar eat-the-rich ideas make originality a major weakness.
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Character depth is a recurring weakness: Becket’s motives and several supporting players are often described as thin, rushed, or underwritten.
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The modern reworking of Kind Hearts and Coronets divides critics, with a few admiring the update but many finding it far weaker than its inspiration.
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The confession structure helps some viewers follow the story, but others find the narration cumbersome and the timeline or logic needlessly confusing.
Cast & Creators
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Julia SteinwayQualley brings sharp femme-fatale energy and often gives the film a jolt of personality. Several critics wish the script gave her more room, with some calling the role underwritten despite her presence.
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Noah RedfellowWoods is a frequent comic standout, with several reviewers singling him out as one of the funniest parts of the movie. His eccentric energy lands even for critics who find the broader comedy weak.
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Steven RedfellowGrace’s brief megachurch-pastor turn is often called funny, juicy, or scene-stealing. One reviewer found the character intensely annoying, and several wished the role had more room to develop.
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RuthHenwick is repeatedly praised for warmth, groundedness, and an endearing presence as Ruth. The main drawback is the thinness of the role and romance, which can leave her with too little to do.
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WarrenCamp gives the ensemble humanity, gravitas, and some of its most enjoyable comic character work. Even when his screen time is limited, reviewers tend to see him as a stabilizing presence.
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WhitelawHarris brings menace and weight to a small role, with reviewers praising how much impact he gets from limited screen time. Some still see the part as underused or constrained by the script.
View all 45 feature scores and cast & creators
Compared With Category Average
Compared with other Movies, this product is above average in sexual content level, runtime, language level, near average in pacing, ending satisfaction, below average in soundtrack quality, realism, faithfulness to source material.
Comparison summary
45 compared features-
Above average 0.4+ pts higher11 (24%)
-
Same as average within 0.3 pts17 (38%)
-
Below average 0.4+ pts lower17 (38%)
Largest category differences
| Attribute | This product | Category average | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| soundtrack quality | 2.0 | 4.0 | -2.0 |
| sexual content level | 5.0 | 3.0 | +2.0 |
| runtime | 4.3 | 2.7 | +1.6 |
| realism | 2.0 | 3.3 | -1.3 |
| faithfulness to source material | 2.7 | 3.9 | -1.2 |
| language level | 4.5 | 3.0 | +1.5 |
| message quality | 2.7 | 3.7 | -1.0 |
| tonal consistency | 2.4 | 3.4 | -1.0 |
Consider This Instead
If you want better originality
Choose Night Nurse. It scores 4.7 vs 2.5 for originality, with a 3.4 overall score.
If you want better realism
Choose Stop! That! Train!. It scores 4.5 vs 2.0 for realism, with a 3.5 overall score.
If you want better plot originality
Choose The Invite. It scores 5.0 vs 3.0 for plot originality, with a 4.5 overall score.
Compared in Reviews
Products reviewers directly compared with this model, grouped into quick takeaways.
Kind Hearts and Coronets
- Compared: remake relationship The reviewer describes the film as essentially a remake of Kind Hearts and Coronets.
- Better: overall quality versus the source classic The reviewer says the remake falls far below Kind Hearts and Coronets.
No Other Choice
- Better: capitalist satire and similar premise The reviewer calls No Other Choice a similar but much stronger film.
- Better: dark class-revenge comedy The reviewer considers No Other Choice substantially stronger.
Hit Man
- Better: Glen Powell disguise-driven crime performance The reviewer says Powell’s disguise work was handled better in Hit Man.
FAQ
Is Glen Powell good in How to Make a Killing?
Mostly yes. His charisma and likability are the clearest performance strengths, though some critics find him too mild or superficial to fully sell Becket’s darker side.
Is How to Make a Killing actually funny?
It depends on the viewer. Several reviews praise specific jokes and supporting performances, while many critics say the film never becomes consistently funny enough for its black-comedy premise.
How does it compare with Kind Hearts and Coronets?
The film closely reworks the earlier story in a modern American setting. A few critics appreciate the update, but many regard it as less sharp, less distinctive, and less effective than its inspiration.
Is the movie suspenseful?
Only intermittently. The death-row framing and predictable structure reduce tension for many critics, although later twists and the third-act escalation work better for some viewers.
Does the ending work?
The ending is divisive. Some viewers praise the twists and coda, while others find the resolution contrived, hollow, or unsatisfying.
Is it worth watching?
It is a better fit for viewers drawn to Glen Powell, dark crime comedy, and polished style than for those wanting airtight plotting or incisive satire. Customer reactions are generally warmer than the expert response.
Sample Expert Reviews We Analyzed
These are a few of the reviews included in our analysis.
Video Reviews
Article Reviews
curtonthemovies.com
A blue collar relative to an oligarch dynasty goes on a killing spree to eliminate every heir between him and a billion dollar fortune in the...
- Review score
- 2.3
dcfilmdom.com
Writer/director John Patton Ford clearly wants How to Make a Killing live in ambiguity, and his ability to hold us in this uncomfortable...
- Review score
- 3.9
techradar.com
I've reviewed How to Make a Killing, and despite having all the ingredients to be compelling, it's sadly let me down.
- Review score
- 2.3
bfi.org.uk
John Patton Ford's modern reimagining of Kind Hearts and Coronets, in which Glen Powell plays a disowned son who kills off his relatives to...
- Review score
- 2.4
empireonline.com
Glen Powell stars in John Patton Ford's How To Make A Killing, a remake of Ealing classic Kind Hearts And Coronets — in cinemas now. Read...
- Review score
- 3.7
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