Exploring 'Boy Kills World': A Bloody Action Comedy with Media Critique at its Core

 

A regular program called "Boy Kills World" centers on a lone mixed-media junkie who wants to kill the bad guys he believes are to blame for his life's demise. Skarsgård's character, who speaks to us in an overly dramatic voiceover (H. Jon Benjamin), eventually feels uncomfortable about his murdering spree. The fact that his favorite Frosty Puffs has teamed up with Van Der Coys, however, doesn't bother him. The youngster also says he likes Frosty Puffs cereal in a later scenario. It all doesn't make sense.

"Boy Kills World" is based on criticism of the media, revealing the Van Der Coy family's manipulation of the press. It's just an action comedy, bloody and depressing, with media consumers and political rebels imagining themselves as unmemorable extras. The protagonist's stream-of-consciousness narrative doesn't prevent us from understanding or experiencing all he thinks or feels, so we are aware of what the revenge-seeking character desires.

We might also talk on how Boy's purpose is spiritual based on the ordinary training montage sequences with Yayan Ruhian from "The Raid." Ruhian plays a distinct martial artist and meditator who lives in the swamp. Quinn Copeland, the boy's deceased sister, haunts him in dreams and communicates with him.

The Van Der Coys are also very explicit: Melanie is conceited and feels that her TV ratings come from her antics; her husband Glenn (Charlotte Copeland) is a smug comedian who is reportedly well-liked by those who support his wife (or was?); and Gideon (Brett Gelman), Glenn's brother-in-law, is a dejected artist who devotes his life to writing dramatic speeches and scripts for his dysfunctional family's public performances. Another pivotal scene features Melanie projecting her fears onto the child due to his nonverbal communication. Which is strange given that he continues to use the vocabulary of extreme violence, in which he is fluent.

The camera swerves through the throng of heavily armed people throughout the hectic action scenes, frequently going over, under, and between large, faceless men. Bodies tumble, limbs break, and chunks of flesh frequently burst into sprays of blood. The violence sequences are likewise sensationalized, providing a magnificent display and, between the lines, no real distinction between Frosty Puffs' extermination and the aforementioned cruelty. There is no discernible difference between any of the boy's bouts.

 In fact, "Boy Kills World" subtly links all forms of violence to video games such as "Street Fighter," the character of which Skarsgård's portrayal claims to have taken inspiration for his narration. These action sequences have a slow-fast-slow cadence, emulating the "Kingsman" spy movies and this year's "Argyle". The ubiquitous camera movement and effect-driven editing in these brain-dead media critiques generate an ironic-comic tension that makes all these situations hilarious, unsettling, and remarkably insubstantial.

As evidenced by a pointed-blank Denis (Pierre Nelson), an actor who became stuck practicing one of Gideon's prepared Van Der Coys jokes, "Boy Kills World"'s writers' untimely similarities to Gideon. "Denis, feel something," shouts Gideon. That meta-critique has some validity, given the violent nature of the combat sequences and the connection between Van Der Coys and their cereal advertisers. In any case, both yes and no.

"Boy Kills World" is too intense to watch passively. Benjamin's role didn't need to speak so much? Even the third-act plot, which casts doubt on the boy's plan of retaliation, does not allow you to make any important deductions. The "Boy Kills World" producers don't support their eager performers to completely develop their roles, nor do they have enough faith in the audience to only hint at an emotion. Skarsgård mimes with his bat, Copeland plays effectively, and Ruhian looks more reliable than anybody else pulling off intricate stunt work. Van Der Coys could have written the screenplay and directed "Boy Kills World".