This Action Thriller Gave Us Robert De Niro and John Travolta’s Only Collaboration
You’d expect artistic sparks to fly when two bigwigs in the industry like Robert De Niro and John Travolta star in the same film. De Niro has built a career on intense performances and is known for his iconic roles in films like Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and Goodfellas. Then there’s Travolta who gave us a masterclass on versatility in films like Saturday Night Fever, Pulp Fiction, and Face/Off. The movie that brought these two powerhouses together didn’t happen till 2013, and best believe that expectations were high for Killing Season.
Instead of breaking box office records, Killing Season slipped into a handful of theaters before going straight to home video. The movie itself had De Niro playing the role of a hermit and a war veteran, while Travolta played a Serbian soldier out for revenge. The pair engaged in a cat-and-mouse chase epic enough to bring the reclusive veteran out of his shell. Unfortunately, the star power here didn’t do much for the film, as the ambitious storyline fell flat, leaving people wondering one simple thing — why? Killing Season would eventually morph into a curious footnote in both actors’ careers.
‘Killing Season’ Let Down Robert De Niro, John Travolta, and the War Drama Genre
If there’s one thing that Killing Season proved, it’s that you can’t always slap big names on a lackluster script and expect a win. In a nutshell, the movie missed the mark as far as becoming the gripping war drama it could’ve been. It could have explored themes of guilt, trauma, and redemption, especially when you take into account the complex backdrop of the Bosnian War. Instead, it relied heavily on gimmicky violence and, dare we call them, cheap thrills. So, what began as a promising premise — two haunted veterans in the most intense face-off of their lives — ended up as a cartoonish chase lacking in emotional weight.
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It’s more of a disappointment for fans because both De Niro and Travolta stepped into roles that could have offered tons of psychological depth. But all the script truly offered them was a series of over-the-top action and chase sequences. De Niro himself, who’s no stranger to war films, set the bar quite high with his performance in films like The Deer Hunter. So, while he gave the role as much as he could, his performance came off as though he wasn’t quite convinced by the material. Then there’s Travolta who was overzealous in terms of commitment, however, he was let down by his character’s bizarre backstory and his butchery of a Serbian accent. The result? It was hard for viewers to take him seriously.
‘Killing Season’ Tries To Be a Gritty Survival Thriller, But Misses the Mark
Killing Season clearly wants to say something serious, tapping into themes of war, guilt, revenge, and featuring two men facing their past in the middle of nowhere. But, by the second time someone’s tied to a chair giving a speech about honor, the film no longer feels deep; in fact it’s watered down to the point that it loses any sort of edge it had. There’s a particular scene where Travolta’s Emil Kovac literally waterboards De Niro’s character with salty lemonade. Instead of being powerful or symbolic, it comes across as something you’d see in a parody skit, except here it’s played like it’s deep and profound. While Killing Season takes itself a little too seriously, everything on screen feels borderline cartoonish. Even the cat-and-mouse setup that should be tense, ends up being nothing but repetitive.
In another scene where Travolta makes De Niro read a war crimes confession out loud while recording the spectacle on an old camcorder. It’s clear that this was supposed to be some sort of intense reckoning. But, when you look at the subpar lighting, over-pronounced dialogue, and Travolta’s sort of nervous energy, it comes across as a forced performance. Later on, it’s De Niro’s turn to get the upper hand, so he ties Travolta to a chair using a “logical” combination of zip ties and deer antlers — it may sound gritty, but it ended up looking like a camping fiasco. That’s the norm in Killing Season, every serious moment ends up feeling like a parody of itself. The movie so desperately wants to be a stripped-down, emotional survival thriller, but all it ends up achieving is having these two iconic actors mumbling their way through depthless speeches, while Killing Season tries to convince us it’s meaningful just because there’s blood and lots of talk of war.
John Travolta’s Journey To Prepare for His First — and Only — Movie With Robert De Niro
When the opportunity to star alongside De Niro in a film came along, it’s safe to say that Travolta was beyond psyched. In fact, he revealed in an interview with Huffington Post, “I’ve had the good fortune of working with the best actors in the industry, but Robert… I have a soft spot for Robert De Niro because when I was starting out in movies, he was the challenge to live up to; meaning he was setting new criteria for acting”. He even mentioned that he tapped into De Niro’s method-acting approach to deliver his iconic roles in Saturday Night Fever and Urban Cowboy. So, naturally, when the opportunity to work with him in Killing Season came along, the actor went all out with his preparation.
The star even took a self-funded trip to Bosnia and Croatia to tap into the film’s premise. He talked to locals on all sides of the war, in a bid to give his character more authenticity. In his words, he “needed more explanation about the war” and returned from his trip feeling confident that he could hold his own against the seasoned De Niro. Sadly, Travolta’s dedication didn’t translate to the performance he expected. While it was clear that he injected passion and knowledge into his part, the Killing Season got bogged down by a clunky script and subpar action scenes. One thing’s for sure, it’d take more than Travolta’s commitment and De Niro’s star power to save this one.
