“How to Make a Killing” (2026) is a contemporary update of “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949), which adapted Roy Horniman’s 1907 novel, “Israel Rank: The Autobiography of a Criminal.” Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) has the training and pedigree, but not the money that comes with being a Redfellow unless he is the last, oldest living Redfellow standing. He decides to eliminate the competition. Wait. Didn’t I use that line already when I reviewed “No Other Choice” (2025)? Dear reader, you should probably skew upwards in favor of Powell’s latest flick because I’m suffering from watching too many movies and kept comparing it (unfairly?) to Chan-wook Park’s latest film. When judged on its own terms, it is a clever remake updating the victims and the kills to suit twenty-first century sensibilities. Comparison is the thief of (en)joy(ing) this movie on its own terms. Timing is everything, and it is being released too soon after an auteur’s imaginative and groundbreaking work.
While I am thrilled that Powell is finally getting leading man roles, is he? I’ve enjoyed Powell’s work for years then went on an accidental hiatus to discover that other than “Twisters” (2024), his performances feel more like Powell impersonating Cruise if he played the role of Becket. He was more of a warm, unpredictable weirdo before, and now, he has lost or suppressed the spark that made him special. OR that spark cannot be magnified beyond supporting roles. He is still attractive, but there is something waxy and pale about his visage, malleable, as if he is morphing into other actors to hit the right notes for his character. I saw flashes of Christian Bale and even Benedict Cumberbatch, but not him. It is not a bad performance, but it does not feel as if he owned it, and only he could bring that role to life. Anyone could have taken that part and given that performance, but I did not get the performance that Powell can give. Maybe like Becket, to get success, he must kill parts of himself, but is it worth it? He is flat now. I feel as if I am watching a ghost or a photocopy.
As a character, Becket is sympathetic because of his circumstances, not because he is innately interesting. Becket is more like an everyman killing affluent archetypes that the audience is already primed to hate and is closer to a Dickensian protagonist because he serves as the vehicle to get to more interesting characters. It is like watching a delightful, murder satire anthology barely tied together. Raff Law plays cousin Taylor, and unlike his parents, Jude Law and Sadie Frost, makes no onscreen impression as the spoiled party boy. Nepo baby, strike one. Chop chop, kid. Zach Woods, who was great in “Veep,” plays the insufferable rich kid, full time artist, and Woods is so good that you will want him to live. Topher Grace does not get a lot of screentime, but he makes a meal out of a morsel as a money hungry pastor. McArthur (Sean Cameron Michael) feels like a barely disguised dig at Jeff Bezos. Cassandra (Bianca Amato) is not onscreen long enough to register, but Amato was memorable for the contrast between her public and private face.
Then there are Bill Camp and Ed Harris, the great character actors. Before I recognized Camp, for a split second, I thought that he was Paul Giamatti. Camp plays the nicest Redfellow of all, and Becket’s closest relative in terms of relationship and proximity. He does his job and seems effortless. Can you sue a movie for underutilizing Harris? If the updating modus operandi flounders, it does so with the patriarch and his scenario. It is the one time where “How to Make a Killing” feels as if it jumped the shark and just decided to copy other movies.
The love interests, Julia (Margaret Qualley) and Ruth (Jessica Henwick), battle for Becket’s soul. Julia is a childhood friend who only gets in relationships with men in the right tax bracket, so she keeps an eye on Becket in case his prospects improve. Henwick is always so good and different in all her roles, which are varied and reflect a broad range. As Ruth, she is the most relatable character blissfully unaware of Becket’s key to success. No one would dare fix their mouth to call Qualley a nepo baby. No one cares if you are a nepo baby if you are talented. You have seen her play this type of role before, specifically in “Sanctuary” (2022), “Kinds of Kindness” (2024) and a bit of a stretch, but “Blue Moon” (2025), women who know how to play the game and move up in the world without calling attention to it. It happens almost imperceptibly, but it is borne of determination, manipulation and focus. Despite her consistency and excellence, I occasionally get tired of the schtick because unlike most reviewers, I’m not attracted to her, so my thumb is not on the scale, regarding judging her performances but this time, it was just shy of being unhinged (compliment).
Writer and director John Patton Ford did fine and will always be remembered fondly for his work in “Emily the Criminal” (2022), but because of my inability to get the legendary Park out of my head, I could not appreciate “How to Make a Killing” on its own terms. To be fair, probably no movie visually and in terms of sound would live up to that comparison. It is just an unfair ruler to measure any movie against. Editor Harrison Atkins keeps the murders light and funny with the way that the family vault keeps getting revisited. The old film stock reels of markers of wealth montage felt like an old-fashioned shout to “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous.” Otherwise, it is a decent looking film, but nothing good or bad sticks out. It is fine. People gasped in glee that it was the AMC Unseen feature. I’m just a jaded movie critic today, and it happens.
The moral of “How to Make a Killing” is kind of obvious. Did Becket take the wrong meaning from the last promise that he made to his mother? Even if he did not, is it more important to keep a promise to a dead person or to live a full life of love? “It’s just scary to dream small. Nobody teaches us how to do that.” “Chef” (2014) did a better job of hammering home that lesson. Becket’s mom’s life choice reflect what she wanted and Becket spends most of the movie doing the opposite. It also redefines what a death sentence is. As a former finance and corporate attorney., I’m probably the only person who wishes that they fleshed out that side of the world. No one cares.
As a remake, “How to Make a Killing” is a brilliant and perfect transplant from twentieth century British royalty to twenty-first century American one percenters. As satire, it is merciless and incisive fun. As an ensemble cast, it is stacked with more memorable performances than not. As a vehicle for the leading man, Powell is lucky that actors do not get roles like his character gets an inheritance otherwise Byhung-hun Lee would not even have to use a weapon to destroy him. He could cut him with his cheekbones as he sucks in air to seem calm during a tense interview. Powell, remember who you are or be the most forgettable person when you are the headliner.
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The end drags, and if influential and wealthy people can allegedly be cannibal pedophiles or chop off the head of their roommate and get exonerated, I don’t buy that Becket would get and stay in trouble for long with the amount of money that he had.
