Two new appraisals of John Patton Ford’s How to Make a Killing, starring glen powell as Becket Redfellow, arrive at markedly different places. One judges the film a misfire beside 1949’s Kind Hearts and Coronets, while another finds a watchable star vehicle. What does weighing these verdicts side by side reveal about the remake’s strengths and limits?
John Patton Ford’s How to Make a Killing: the harsher appraisal
Measured against Robert Hamer’s 1949 original, one assessment deems the American-set update a “pretender” that sheds the source’s defining edge. Moving the story to the present-day US is cast as a structural loss, stripping away the original’s class-consciousness and class shame that powered its satire. That standard sets a high bar the new film is said not to clear.
Performance and design choices compound the critique. Glen Powell’s Becket Redfellow is characterized as game but bland beside Dennis Price’s ice-cold Louis, with less of the wounded pride that animated the earlier antihero. Where Kind Hearts and Coronets made Alec Guinness’s multi-role turn a wicked engine for social mockery, the remake parcels victims to different actors, draining the conceit’s bite. The result, in this view, never approaches the original’s brilliant send-up of male careerism. How to Make a Killing is out now in the US and Australia, and in the UK on March 13.
Glen Powell and Becket Redfellow: the watchable case
A second evaluation takes a more forgiving angle, framing the film as a workmanlike but watchable remix that puts its star at the center. Here, Powell’s turn is the value-add: a charismatic lead who elevates an ordinary big-screen diversion. That review positions the film within an ongoing push to establish the actor as a marquee draw—an argument that resonates for fans of glen powell specifically.
This vantage also leans into plot texture the harsher take leaves aside. Becket, from money but cut off after a teenage pregnancy scandal and a billionaire grandad (Ed Harris) banishes his mother, recounts his crimes from death row while insisting the execution-worthy killing was not his. Margaret Qualley and Topher Grace are cited as assists, while John Patton Ford’s stewardship is tagged as steady rather than dazzling—watchable, in other words. It is still the Powell show, and the case made is that his presence alone can carry the film.
Kind Hearts and Coronets vs How to Make a Killing: where the lines diverge
Both perspectives agree on key facts: this is John Patton Ford’s contemporary US transplant of Kind Hearts and Coronets, led by Glen Powell with a supporting turn from Margaret Qualley. From there, the split is instructive. One review judges the film against the original’s class satire and formal bravura—Alec Guinness’s multi-role feat, Dennis Price’s chill—and finds the update lacking. The other grades the film as a star-led thriller with momentum and a confessional frame, and finds it engaging enough.
| Criterion | Harsher appraisal | Watchable appraisal |
|---|---|---|
| Overall verdict | “Pretender” to the original’s throne; a remake too far | Workmanlike but watchable; an elevated star vehicle |
| Glen Powell’s performance | Game but bland versus Dennis Price’s ice-cold elegance | Charming lead who lifts ordinary material |
| Handling of class satire | American setting loses class-consciousness and class shame | Not the focus of the assessment |
| Victim portrayals | Different actors diminish the multi-role conceit | Not emphasized; attention on Powell |
| Supporting cast notes | Margaret Qualley; Jessica Henwick | Margaret Qualley; Topher Grace; Ed Harris |
| Narrative framing | Not detailed | Death row confession adds intrigue |
Set against these shared criteria, the comparative lesson is clear: the film fares better when judged on present-tense star charisma and pulp propulsion than when held to the original’s structural satire and stylistic inventions. That is less a contradiction than two different yardsticks applied consistently within each review’s frame of reference.
Analysis: That split suggests a practical takeaway for viewers. Admirers of Alec Guinness’s multi-role ingenuity and Robert Hamer’s class-skewering design may find the update’s choices—separate actors for victims, present-day US setting—too blunt. Those arriving for Glen Powell’s lead turn and a sharp premise may find a solid, if not sparkling, night out—helped by Margaret Qualley, Topher Grace, and a death-row storytelling hook.
The finding: Side by side, the assessments establish that How to Make a Killing plays as entertaining when centered on its star and story engine, but withers beside Kind Hearts and Coronets as a satirical construct. The next test arrives with the UK release on March 13. If Powell keeps pulling focus the way his boosters argue, the comparison suggests the remake will settle into “watchable, not wondrous” territory.
