How to Make a Killing is simple in premise. It follows Beckett Redfellow (Glen Powell), born into an extremely wealthy family but disowned at birth. He has struggled his entire life, driven by his dead mother’s wish that he never stop until he gets the life he deserves. The only apparent way of doing this is to get his hands on the Redfellow family inheritance which, thanks to some good old tax evasion, still technically includes Beckett, albeit at the very end of the line. He therefore hatches a plan to kill the seven male relatives standing between him and the $28 billion fortune.

Director and writer John Patton Ford has all the ingredients of a great dark comedy at his disposal, but his screenplay requires audiences to leave any sense of believability at the door. The farfetched nature of the story remains fun for the most part, yet it crosses into implausible and outright silly territory more than once. Ford also explores the “eat the rich” satire that has become fashionable recently, with the idea of money as the root of all evil touched on alongside a surface level look at the class system wealth helps sustain. It is all very good natured, but admittedly it has been done much better before.

Of course, for a dark comedy of this kind to work, it has to be funny, and that is where How to Make a Killing becomes frustrating. When the film tries to be funny, it genuinely succeeds, particularly with Beckett’s cousins Noah (Zach Woods) and Pastor Steven (Topher Grace), who are easily the most entertaining additions to the cast and provide several laugh out loud moments. Unfortunately their appearances are far too brief, and the comedic element outside of them is limited. Even the kill sequences fail to lean fully into the humour, instead feeling rather formulaic.

That being said, Glen Powell is fantastic as Beckett. These are the roles that suit him best, allowing his natural charm and charisma to shine. The performance is very reminiscent of his role in Richard Linklater’s Hit Man and, much like that film, Powell elevates the material he is given and makes the overall experience thoroughly enjoyable largely on his own.

The supporting cast are just as fun, even if they should have been utilised more. However, it is difficult to ignore how criminally underused Margaret Qualley is as Julia, Beckett’s childhood crush who also plays a pivotal role in the story. A subplot that feels almost like a chess match between Julia and Beckett never receives the screen time it deserves and ultimately feels underdeveloped, especially considering its importance to the narrative.

In true A24 fashion, visually How to Make a Killing is lovely to look at. It has the gritty, grainy aesthetic we have come to expect, with cinematographer Todd Banhazl doing stellar work. Emile Mosseri’s score, particularly in the final act, accompanies the fast paced action extremely well, with a few needle drops included for good measure and giving the film its own identity. At this point that is almost expected from A24 productions, as they are consistently very strong on a technical level.

There is a lot to like about How to Make a Killing, but there are also many dark comedies with a similar premise that ultimately do it better. That is not to say the film is not fun, because it absolutely is and deserves to stand on its own two feet, but is it worth the ever growing expense of a cinema ticket? That is where the issue lies. For Glen Powell’s performance alone, I would lean slightly towards yes. It just about is.