R | 1h 45m | Comedy, Crime | 2026
At the outset of “How to Make a Killing,” death row murderer Becket Redfellow (Glen Powell) tells a priest his life story, hours before his planned execution.
When Becket was a child, his mother, on her deathbed, revealed to him that he was a member of the massively wealthy Huntington, Long Island Redfellow family. He should have had a giant inheritance, except for the fact that she’d been disowned after giving birth to him, her out-of-wedlock son.
She struggled and cared for Becket on her own as best she could. She even managed to keep him within the wealthy social circle he would have had (if he hadn’t been disowned) regardless. He has a wee childhood romance with one Julia Steinway (Maggie Toomey).
Suit Salesman
Now Becket, all grown, works in a suit store. Out of the blue, the recently married Ms. Steinway (Margaret Qualley) wanders into his store just before her honeymoon. The flame still burns for the two of them.
Becket is fired soon after. Stoked with new purpose, he decides to avoid working in the suit factory and gain the respect of Julia Steinway. Becket makes getting his hands on the Redfellow inheritance, by hook or by crook, his life’s purpose. Obviously, some of his cousins will need to die.
Does ‘Killing’ Kill it?
The film boasts a talented cast. Powell, Qualley, Ed Harris, Bill Camp, and Topher Grace bring charisma and comedic timing to their roles. All are fun, especially Grace as a smarmy, disingenuous, famous pastor. Harris as the Redfellow patriarch, is almost the heart of the movie. He ruminates on the dangers of turning down one’s voice of conscience to point it becomes a whisper one can no longer hear. I say “almost,” because he doesn’t practice what he preaches. Qualley has charisma wherever she appears, even when it’s as evil personified.
Unfortunately Powell’s character lacks clarity as to whether he’s a full-on predatory, conscienceless sociopath, or a low-income Joe Schmo who just wants the girl and who discovers that he’s got a heretofore unrecognized talent to dispatch family members to the point that the FBI is flummoxed.
The Redfellows are all more or less despicable, so their elimination is entertaining. The film’s lighthearted tone and Powell’s cheerful presence juxtaposed with the serial killing logically point to the sociopath option. But because he was such a nice kid, and we never get to see how the transition to cold-hearted, deviousness killer occurred, the whole film rings hollow.
Taken as a dark comedy and heist-like entertainment, it’s very watchable, but Becket Redfellow having no character arc makes “How to Make a Killing” a cinematic version of the kind of tasty, bag-of-Doritos fluff that doesn’t nourish, and quietly adds bad chemicals to your body.
Director: John Patton Ford
Starring: Glen Powell, Margaret Qualley, Bill Camp, Zach Woods, Topher Grace, and Ed Harris
MPAA Rating: R
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Release Date: Feb. 20, 2026
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
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