Genres

Visitors Review

collipal-1 2012-05-25 11:07:13

Not boring, but a mediocre action film

Killer Elite is a mediocre action film, but I have to admit that itkept me moderately entertained at least, mainly because of theperformances from Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro.On some way, I appreciated the methodic rhythm from Killer Elite, aswell as the gradual introduction of characters, more intrigue and morehidden intentions. However, there comes a time when the screenplay getsexcessively complicated, to the point in which came a moment when itwas impossible for me to cypher who is working for who, and who the"bad guys" are and who the "good ones" are. Thinking it well, thescreenplay from Killer Elite might not have "good guys" in theconventional sense; all the characters in this movie are killersbecause of the friendship, the patriotism or the money. But after all,that ends up not being very important, because even though screenwriterMatt Sherring tried to transcend the pre-fabricated drama we usuallyfind in this kind of cinema, the unnecessary turns and twists from thescreenplay end up clouding any moral advantage the characters couldhave. I do not think it is bad whenever an action movie makes us think(in fact, I find it more satisfactory), but if we have to take downnotes and draw diagrams to understand the story, I think the moviefailed on the narrative aspect.Besides, I think that the historical period from the story isabsolutely useless. On the beginning, I thought that the '80s settingwould be justified by relating the movie with some socio-politicalevent from that time, but it was only an excuse to employ a "retro"style in the cars, clothes and other aspects from the productiondesign.However, as I mentioned on the first paragraph, the 3 main actors arewhat mainly make the movie moderately entertaining and worthy of aslight recommendation. The action scenes do not feel very exciting,while the screenplay stumbles too many times with its own anti-logic(Was it really necessary to organize a super-secret meeting in themiddle of the desert only in order to exchange a mallet? Yes, amallet); but Statham, Owen and De Niro are perfect as tough men defyingthe danger, chasing each other and competing with each other to see whohas the most threatening look. Because of them, and some interestingelements from the screenplay, this movie did not bore me.

Diwali-Jumbonads 2012-05-25 04:07:22

Based on a "true story?" Yeah right.

Not a very good movie. It was only my uncritical love of the Strath manthat made me sit through it. This is based on a book by a writer whomany believe concocted a bogus tale about the British S A S. Wow what apiece of Sh** movie. Save your self the time and skip this joke. Thestory is pointless. Also In 1981 3rd generation Glocks have not beencreated yet (there were available 20 year later), hell the 1stgeneration Glock only came out in 1982 and that was only sold to theAustrian army. Base on a true story my butt, the director could evenget the right props. And can someone explain the ending to me???????why would they 1. give him the money? and 2. leave him alive? Thank theLord I didn't spend money on this movie, I would have been pisssssedoff!They could have easily taken an hour off the movie and may have beenbetter but I'm not so sure it would have helped. I've always boastedthat I could sit through any movie with the Strathmaster but today Ialmost failed...

dmc101 2012-05-23 22:16:10

Typical Jason Statham, Non-typical for Robert DeNiro

Instead of writing a scathing, long winded diatribe about this movie, Iwill just put it in a nutshell: DeNiro has done much better movies.Statham was himself, as was Clive Owens, however Bob in this movie waslike putting Denzel in Bad Boys with Lawrence and Smith, he wouldtotally out class them. Bob should have been the focus of this film,even in his older age. He's just so much more interesting, believable,genuine, than his co-stars. I think Bob was slumming here. Jason has aJackie Chan like popularity and like Jackie, cannot act a lick. He'sthe same guy in every movie. Clive Owen has more range, but RobertDeNiro... enough said.The plot was thin, I saw no reason for the killings, and I didn't likeStatham for it. There was no reason for Statham to allow one guy tolive in the end, none. It's not that easy to get into SAS training andkill someone. It's not that easy to kill an SAS operative in his home,especially for a group of people who cannot go to a remote part of adesert without being spotted, and who cannot force an accident withoutneeding to stop alongside the road to inspect with a scope and, again,get spotted.Sloppy writing, sloppy acting, just a "give me your money, look atthese names" films.Fortunately I saw it for free on television.

ArtandJoyofMovies 2012-05-23 09:44:13

More disjointed than Gumby!

The movie needed quite a bit more De Niro. No, not dinero. Cash andMexican scenery is abundant in this film. I am just unclear why a greatactor like Robert De Niro was used so sparingly a dinero issue perhaps?And don't confuse this film at with the Sam Peckinpah film of the samename from 1975 with Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill and James Caan. There isno relation.This is a professional assassin film. The basic plot is simple.Ex-British SAS (Special Air Services) rogues Danny (Statham) and Hunter(DeNiro) are free lance assassins. The time period is somewhere in themid 1970′s we assume. There were no cell phones or Mac productplacements in this film. DeNiro gets abducted by an Oman based sheikh.For his freedom, the sheikh wants Danny to obtain confessions andexecute three British SAS officers who killed three of his sons in araid. Danny sets out to kill them all while current SAS rogue Spike(Owen) tries to stop him. And of course, the ultimate trump card tomake Danny comply is by threatening his new girlfriend Anne (played byhottie newbie Yvonne Strahovski). Nothing new here. Fast, fun andfurious fights are all that really hold the film together.It is hard to say more other than point out some nuances and faults.Number one is that the movie is a bunch of disjointed scenes pastedtogether with absolutely no foundation or relationship. The charactersare hard to follow and while we get the plot, we don't reallyunderstand the storyline. It is just very convoluted for no realreason. There is lots of great fighting, car chasing and gun shooting.We do learn (quite convincingly mind you) that all the bullets, eyegouging, stabs in the skull, blows, crashes and hits dished outgratuitously in this film don't stop a man nearly as quickly as oneswift kick or grab to the groin—ouch!. We also get a real doozie of ascene where one guy gets smacked dead on by a car. This is the thirdfilm in three weeks to feature such a scene. The Debt and Contagioneach had such a feature. We are not speaking of your normal car crashwith a person here—we mean dead on, total smack, run over like araccoon action. Joy Lynn and I are always looking for new trends infilms and this may be one of them. It is starting to overshadow thegratuitous urination scenes and our latest, P Factor rating.Based upon a 1991 novel called The Feather Men by Ranulph Fiennes,there are supposed to be half-true elements in this story. TMG is notso sure. Fiennes himself admitted that much of the story was justfiction. What is clear is much of the dialogue was borrowed from otherfilms. Candidates for worst lines in this movie are : An exchange thatwent " He was lying." "How can you tell?" "His lips were moving"Really? Borrowing old cliché jokes like that is the best the screenplaywriters could muster? There were many more. Statham proclaiming"Killing is easy, living with it is hard." Oh brother, now that tookgreat imagination to steal that line from a hundred other films. Orperhaps Clive Owen blurting out "What the "f' is that supposed tomean?' or "You have no f-ing idea who you are f-ing with!" or perhapsbest yet, "This f-ing thing ends today." The lines just arrived sorehearsed, cliché and corny. I expected any moment for someone to utter"Go ahead, make my day."And for crying out loud (I love that old cliché expression) letsdispense with the Batman style scenes where one guy has the othercornered with a gun, but has to explain the whole plot and his lifestory first. Missing the sure kill and freedom, blabbing long enoughfor the other to engage and then kill him never works. In the realworld, bad guys just shoot first.The film goes on about 20 minutes too long as if they cannot figure outhow to end it. Maybe a 5.0 rating was being too generous, but TMG is asucker for hot action films–even ones with tons of flaws.

rightwingisevil 2012-05-22 21:44:37

not bad but not great either

another typical bang, bang, bang action packed movie with a biblicalcommandment: "thou shalt not kill!" interpreted in the modern form of"crime & punishment". the scenario is okay, but the screenplay is a bitmessy. there is also a hidden agenda to criticize the heartless overkills by the allied forces of the British and u.s., both done blind,heartless, atrocious killings in iraq and afghanistan without propercauses. the scenario of trying to save his old mentor and friend isquite similar to the scenario of "spy game", but the latter was a muchmuch better film in every aspect. to kill British sas members withextreme prejudice for war crimes by the request of a dying Muslim sheikis a pretty good creativity, but the sheik's son character is a verylame arrangement. beautiful and sweet supporting female actor in thisfilm that at least made this film not quite clichéd bored.

JRlock 2012-05-22 13:08:45

Aptly titled action adventure

If you buy or rent this movie you'll get what you pay for and yourmoney's worth. The IMDb full storyline provides the broad adventurethis movie is built around; there is more to it than that however. Thescript and direction takes the time, not a whole lot but at leastenough, to expand into the main characters' lives and personalities, atleast what it is they have of it and that adds to the experience.Otherwise this would just be a run of the mill action adventure. Take aquick look at a still picture (IMDb page) of a stunt by Jason Stathamtied in a chair; what we like about Statham is that he frequentlypushes the envelope of stunt fighting and it is his trademark and let'sface it a big part of his appeal as an actor. What most of us like ofhis movies we get a good measure of in this one. The credits claim thismovie to be based on a true story; if this is not hype, it wouldexplain why the film has a believable feel to it, not as much as "GreenZone" or "Hurt Locker" did but it works.Robert De Niro plays his role with all we also like in the tough guycharacters we are used to seeing him in; his character here reminded mevery much of his role in the movie "Ronin", but a little older lookingtough guy, cunning more than physical and philosophical in a particularscene with the adorable Yvonne Strahovski, the love interest ofStatham. Clive Owen is intense and he can exceed at that; he andStatham are the one playing the cat and mouse game, or betterdescribed, hunter and hunted, because they are matched much closer thana cat and mouse can be. The pursuits are physical, involve interestingaction and thoughtful execution. There is a substantial cast of othercharacters and this is a bigger than average budget film and it shows.At the time of my review, the ratings from my usual sources were barelyaverage to just fair; I attribute that to the abundance of movies inthe genre and when the audiences get so much of what they ask for theyget blasé; it deserves a seven out of ten and the critics a thumbs upyou know where

siderite 2012-05-19 16:02:44

Finally, a good action movie

I do try to rate films based on their relative quality to other moviesfrom the same genre and on that scale, Killer Elite was almost perfect.Of course, expectations come into play as well, and I had expected yetanother Jason Statham implausible action extravaganza and it wasn'tthat. Instead I got a realistic experience, a complex story, a greatcast and good acting all around.The plot revolves around Statham's character, a hired killer whodecides to get out of the business. Of course, that cannot stand, and aslightly ridiculous premise puts him in the game again. Robert de Niroand Dominic Purcell are in his team, while Clive Owen plays for theothers. But who are the others? What exactly is going on? What happenedwith the British SAS in the Oman war?Bottom line: a political thriller this is not, but there is enoughintrigue to make it all interesting. The action sequences are well doneand realistic. The fact that it all happens in the 80's gives it evenmore grit. What I found even nicer is that both de Niro and Statham actbetter than they did in a long time. Good job!

Andy Stevenson 2012-05-19 08:42:35

There is more inaccuracies in this movie, than actual accuracies

First of all, the basis of the book is questionable (brilliant by theway). The opening credit of the movie says that this movie is based onthe book, having read the book - VERY loosely.The main contract killer in the book is actually a South African nativenamed Daniel De Villiers, not an ex SAS soldier named Bryce. His 2accomplices are also foreign, not British. Where they got the third onein the film I do not know.The got between agent never existed, Robert De Niro's character in thebook didn't exist.The final 2 main shoot outs didn't exist.De Villiers was actually captured and imprisoned by the feather men,held in a Military Prison in Colchester, Essex, named the Glass House.Trust movie makers to go way over the top.

del91 2012-05-18 03:47:34

Entertaining but not that dumb either

"Killer Elite", not to be confused for the Sam Peckinpah film of thesame name, is basically Jason Statham being Jason Statham kicking ass,but this time he's facing off against Clive Owen and a bunch of other,more sophisticated bad guys. But since Robert De Niro showed him thetricks of the trade, it just couldn't get any more macho than italready is.This movie is not just the typical shoot-em-up action fest. There is anactual espionage plot going underway, and though the screenplay isn'texactly original, the story unfolds in an engaging and intriguing waythat I became concerned of the story for once and not just awaitingevery action scene. The characters are fleshed out more often than mostshoot-em-up movies of late. There's some beams of intelligence incertain scenes, though it's clearly not on the same level of the JasonBourne movies. It tries hard though, and I have to give it credit forthat. Was it really based on a true story? The film certainly doesn'tsay so, as it presents the somewhat complex tale as the usual JasonStatham ass-kicking fest. No comment there.Judging from his previous movies I'd say "Killer Elite" is better thanStatham's previous outings "The Mechanic" and the dreadful "Blitz".Statham is still great at being badass and here he is no exception,although he actually gets hurt in this film a couple of times. CliveOwen is the best and most convincing actor in the film almost givingStatham a run for his money. De Niro is low-key here but I suspect it'sjust a warm-up for his next big project with Scorsese. YvonneStrahovski is just emotional fodder for Statham's character and hermoments with him are somewhat clichéd but still, not cheesy, althoughknowing her role from TV's "Chuck", she deserves better. DominicPurcell is also quite funny as one of Statham's assassin friends. Therest of the cast was not bad.Production wise, the settings all look gritty and downbeat andsomeone's bound to get beaten up or shot pretty good in one of thesesets. The music by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek is alright butby-the-numbers. Simon Duggan's cinematography is good too - until thefight scenes. We do not want excessive shaky camera during ALL of thefight scenes, Mr. Duggan. The epic fight scene between Statham and Owenwas almost ruined because of this.If there were some things that would make the film better, they wouldbe - better dialogue at parts, more Owen, and much more De Niro. As itstands, "Killer Elite" is a pretty good, solid and tough action film,and will definitely score a home run with Statham fans.I eagerly await Statham's "Safe" because I feel that film is going tobe genuinely very good.Overall rating: 69/100

petrushkha 2012-05-17 20:43:24

A poor imitation of Jason Bourne

If you're wondering whether this is worth catching at the cinema, --no, it's not. Wait for it to get on cable TV and perhaps it would beworth catching.It is not at all like Jason Bourne, like some other reviewer herecommented.There are gaping plot holes, character behaviour that do not makelogical sense, and worst of all, very poor acting from Statham andStrahovski. De Niro and Clive Owen are fine, but why did they agree toact in such a film?? Give this a miss. Re-watch any of the Jason Bournemovies at home instead.

The_Panther4180 2012-05-17 17:06:10

Killer Elite - Not getting what it deserves

I just saw this movie last night. From the first trailer i saw in thetheater and on TV, i KNEW that this movie was going to be awesome and iwas not disappointed. First of all the story itself is like somethingfrom '24' or 'Spooks'. And its based on true events. It is very much atime piece, lol God i almost forgot about those shorts lol...anyways,it takes place the year i was born, 1980. Second and no less importantis the cast. What more could one action fan ask for? Jason Statham vsClive Owen. Its a match many wanted and many UFC fans would pay to see,and they do not disappoint. Their scenes together, especially when theyare trying to out do one another are awesome. Their fight scene lookedreally genuine. Knowing Statham does a lot of his own stunts and CliveOwen is no push over either, it was just great! Add more GREAT actorsin none other then the man himself, New Yorker Robert De Niro, whoshines just as bright in what scenes he has, he may not have as muchscreen time as Jason & Clive, but he steals its, and wow :) DominicPurcell (Prison Break, Equilibrium and Blade 3) is a good looking dude,but in this film he looks very much the part of a grungie 80's man lol.Adewale is perfect, the ppl they got to play the supporting cast andthe feather men are great, and Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck & Heartland) isa site for sore eyes. Totally worth the money theaters charge. I verymuch recommend this movie and i cant wait till it comes out to DVD, andhopefully ill see it again soon.Killer Elite is not a remake of the James Caan movie. FYI. We areintroduced to Danny (Statham) and Hunter (De Niro) on a assassinationassignment in Mexico. They are mercs. Hunter is the voice of experienceand Danny is perhaps the best he has seen. The action is great, theytake out a two car convoy and take out the bodyguards and as Dannyopens the door to take out the main target, which he does, he isshocked to see the targets son, he freezes and gets shot by apoliceman, Hunter gets him out of there and they escape, but Danny sayshe is finished, he's getting out. Two years later he is trying tosettle down with a childhood friend Anne (Strahovski). But it all comesto a halt when he receives a package with Hunters picture in it, he'sbeen captured. His handler, (Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, who plays hispart SOOOO well) tells him that Sheikh Amr has him. He want Danny to doa 6 million dollar job. Kill 3 former SAS agents, agents who killed hisfirst 3 sons. But he must get their confessions on tape and make theirdeaths look like an accident, only after that would he get his friendand mentor Hunter back. He enlists the help of Davies (Dominic Purcell)and Meier (Aden Young) who are more then happy to kick some SAS ass. Onthe other end is Spike (Clive Owen), whose name says it all, he is thelead attack dog for the 'Feather men'. A group of old men and formerSAS, who are now businessmen. But they keep an eye on all former SASagents. Spike catches wind of Davies through contacts and puts togetherhis own team to check it out. As the movie progresses its Team Stathamvs Team Owen. And it is one hell of a ride. The fight seen betweenthose too is perhaps the best I've ever seen, even better then MathewMcConaughey vs Christian Bale on Reign of Fire, where McConaughey toldBale it would make the scene better if they REALLY fought...Balethought he was kidding...and Matt knocked him out with a head butt. Thehospital fight scene makes it look like a Sean Connery fight ;) But asDanny and Spike are about to find out as they try to kill each other,nothing is what seams. This is a must see, Gary McKendry does a kickassjob in his directorial debut. I see great movies in this mans future.Matt Sherring also makes his writing debut and does it just as good ifnot better then anyone, he adapted Ranulph Fiennes much controversialbook. Even though Fiennes later denounced his book as anymore thenfiction, the whole cast makes you start to believe that this is nothingbut the truth.

valleyjohn 2012-05-17 08:26:23

Great 70's look and good action.

I good Robert De Niro film is a rare thing over the last 15 years and iwas beginning to give up hope of him ever putting in a descent displaybut thankfully he seems to have found his feet again in his role inKiller Elite.This is the story of a group of mercenary's who get embroiled in a jobthat crosses paths with a bunch of ex SAS soldiers who are all out toprevent them succeeding. Despite finding the plot of Killer Elite a little confusing i foundthis film to be an enjoyable action flick. Jason Statham plays the rolehe usually does ( and is best at) and De Niro seems relaxed at last inhis role . The action is exciting and the 70's look is done very well ,especially the chases with the old Cortinas and Escorts. DominicPurcell is completely miscast as the Welshman . He looked the part ,but had no idea how to do the accent.Killer Elite is a fun ride that suffers a little from a convoluted andconfusing plot but it's not bad at all.

Projit Mookerjee 2012-05-16 08:35:39

Satisfying entertainer.

This movie is based on the novel "The Feather Men" by Sir RanulphFiennes, which talks about the involvement of British SAS in the Omanwar and the retribution of the disposed Sheikh. The movie moves with abrisk pace and never lets off steam depicting the 1980 as accurately aspossible. If you thought, that this was an out an out Jason Stathammovie, in line with Transporter & Crank, and features high octaneaction, then you would be pleasantly surprised. It actually has a neatlittle story tucked inside the assassination plot line. In addition toStatham, the movie also features Clive Owen, Robert De Niro & DominicPurcell (Prison Break) in interesting leads. If you are looking forsome action on a lazy afternoon, then this would fit the mold of apopcorn entertainer.

2012-05-15 17:02:50

Womb of Conflict

A poem. Without words or rules.Sea of fears and obsessions. Amazingtravel. A chain of feelings. Slices of mystic atmosphere andnaturalism.Rich in subtle nuances, strong and delicate picture aboutthe end of world. A form of Tarkovski and a strange fly. A hit-man, awedding and bad vibes. Wagner and delicate nuances. Few drops of IngmarBergman and waves of silence. A film like a punch in stomach. That isall. The cast, the acting, the scenes are crumbs of a strange dinner inwhich definitions, expectations and conclusions are nothing. It is, insame time,a beautiful movie and a subtle memento mori, exploration ofdeep crisis and new Gattoparde of Visconti, a masterpiece and a confusesentiment. In fact, only another Stratham vehicle. Same mark but newhigh. An occasion for Strahovski to be amazing primadonna. Amasterpiece, indeed. And for director to give answer to his searches inskin of impressive question. Killer Elite is an special experience. Therest is silence.

MosH 2012-05-14 15:24:18

Another Statham super-assassin movie; over-complicated and illogical story underneath

Killer Elite starts with the Jason Statham super-assassin fare, somerandom Mexican or South American dude is getting whacked and JasonStatham as Danny here kills car-fulls of them. But, then it manages toenormously over-complicate things the way only a British movie can do.There is the secret society called the feather-men (because their touchis sooo soooft), some oil sheik who hires Danny by kidnapping hismentor and a whole slew of characters and sub-characters that inhabitthe Killer Elite world that all manage to be a little inconsistent withthe rules of the movie.Jason Statham, DiNiro and Clive Owen star, one gets the feeling theyaren't in the movie but are sort of doing their thing floating aboveit. Statham has to be the super-man, the assassin who can kill a wholearmy if he wants to, DiNiro has to have his intricate monologues anddialogs, and Clive Owen has to be a badass. It does claim to beinspired by a true story but it's hard to weed out the "it couldhappen" true part and the chaff that all the big actors drag into themovie. We have the hokey "it's easy to kill but the hard part is livingwith it" kind of assassin introspection and on the other hand it hintsat blood for oil military campaigns and political web but theydistinctly form two separate layers in the movie.As an action movie, it's full of it's shares of shootouts, grislydeaths, car chases and burly men punch-ups. It does that weird thingwhere goons are shot in the leg or punched in the head rather thankilled. I suppose if you don't really care how the plot stupidlyunravels itself, it's a decent action movie. But, as a plot, it'sover-complicated and borderline nonsensical.

FlashCallahan 2012-05-14 05:41:42

Ralph Fiennes should have played Ranulph??....

Based on a true story, Killer Elite pits two of the worlds' most eliteoperatives - Danny, an ex-special ops agent and Hunter, his longtimementor - against the cunning leader of a secret military society.Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East,Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat andmouse - where the predators become the prey.I don't know how loose the true story is, but it's great to see Stathamand Owen face off in the same movie. It is a brilliant story,guy has tokill people and record their confessions for a dying man, or Robert DeNiro gets it.So off he goes, picking the most British looking people he can find,and doing his job. Along the way there are some meetings with Owen anda group of old men, probably this is to denote the true story part.And this film is as English as it can get. It looks like an episode ofthe Sweeney and late seventies/early eighties London looks fantastic.There are double crosses and triple crosses, and no one is really whothey seem, apart from Statham and De Niro, who are the good guys, in asense.But this is where the film can get a little confusing, because no oneis really a bad guy, or a good guy come to think of it. Owen is doinghis job for the government, because Statham is killing supposedlyinnocent soldiers.But it's just institutionalised murder because it's war?? But thenStatham wants to save De Niro so he can have a shave. It's confusingstuff, i'm sure Fiennes explains it better int he book, but here it'sbetter to concentrated on the action and cat and mouse games played bythe two leads.The final third ups the action ante, and the overall film has a'Ronin'/'Bank Job' feel to it.It's not going to satisfy everyone, as it's more or less an old schoolaction movie, but it's big and sometimes its very clever.Well worth seeing.

chaz-28 2012-05-13 21:16:45

Killer Elite is average in most respects but contains an intriguing plot

The Killer Elite is saddled with a vague and forgettable title but atleast it sounds more lethal than the book it is based on by Sir RanulphFiennes, "The Feather Men". An evil cabal known as the Feather Men doesnot inspire too much fear. These ex-SAS (Special Air Service) members,and now business leaders, chose the name themselves to signify theirlight touch on situations which concern them. Shady characters arestarting to ask around about an old mission in Oman involving SAS menand this falls right in the wheelhouse of issues the Feather Men arewatching out for.The Feather Men novel is allegedly based on a true story but none ofthe facts have ever been verified. Sir Fiennes described the book as'factional' which does not bode well for the story's authenticity.However, the plot is intriguing, especially for a shoot 'em up first,ask questions later action fest. The background and set up arecomplicated enough which makes you want to follow it closely. I do notwant to provide an exact plot synopsis but essentially Danny Bryce(Jason Statham) must kill some ex-SAS men to save his assassin mentor(Robert De Niro) from some Omani oil sheiks. Spike Logan (Clive Owen),also an ex-SAS man but not one of the marked men, has his sixth sensekick into overdrive and tries to save his mates from Danny's bullets asa good Feather Man would. Sir Fiennes actually claims to be one ofthose marked SAS men. The script portrays Danny as an assassin who has lost his taste forkilling and vows after every trigger pull that "this is my last job".He is supposedly from Australia but oddly maintains a thick and nativeBritish accent. Since every assassin must have someone to come home to,his girlfriend Anne (Yvonne Strahovski) waits impatiently for him as hedisappears on his missions. Strahovski is a real life Australian andhas a matching accent to prove it. She has been outstanding in theChuck series so it is enjoyable to see her finally cross over intomainstream film. Even though the plot is deeper than your average thriller, the dialoguedoes not rise above mediocrity and has the exact same platitudes asmost other actions films. The worst example is:"He knew what he was getting into when he joined the club." "Whatclub?" "The killer's club." There is also the obligatory conversation about the woe is me assassinwhich includes the gem, "The killing is easy, living with it is hard."First time feature film director Gary McKendry is very good at filmingone on one hand fighting scenes. Statham and Owen impressively use theentire room and every prop in it to beat each other senseless. For theladies, they still keep their film star looks even after they are donetaking turns butchering each other. What McKendry has yet to master arecar chases. The edits are too fast which turns each of them into amessy muddle. Opening one weekend after Drive which containsoutstanding car sequences makes these awkward scenes in the KillerElite look even worse by comparison. The overall look to the Killer Elite is good however. Even though itwas mainly shot in Melbourne, the skies are usually England gray andthe Brecon Beacons mountain range sequence is shot well. This film isright in that middle range where I am unsure still at this point ratherto recommend it or not. It is much better than the garbage in its genresuch as The Expendables but fails to reach up to the higher level ofCrank or The Bank Job. I suppose I marginally recommend the KillerElite for its absorbing plot and intricate assassination sequences, butbe warned, this film is not anything more than average.

mistabobdobolina 2012-05-13 12:55:26

An underrated movie that takes some interesting risks

Killer Elite would have been on much safer ground -- and, I'm willingto bet, gotten a far easier ride from the critics -- if it had stuckmore strictly to the plot of the novel (*not* a nonfiction book) itadapted.First of all, the original book pitted the ex-SAS "Feather Men" againsta very safe (read: not white) group of enemies, a cell of militantterrorist Arab commies called "the Clinic." Second, it didn't containmuch in the way of soul-searching about the SAS' role in Oman, nor asubplot with Her Majesty's Government in collusion with the assassinsin order to secure oil contracts. If the filmmakers had left thoseelements unchanged, Killer Elite would indeed have been the routineStatham vehicle that many critics have claimed it to be... and probablya license to print money to boot.Interestingly, the makers of Killer Elite chose to break those rules.It tosses out "the Clinic" in favour of a group of Brit, American andAussie mercs. This has the advantage of making their ability to moveabout largely unseen in 1981 Britain and successfully whack SAS membersmore plausible... but also makes the film far more morally complicated.The protagonists are The Feathermen in the book; here the protagonistsare the assassins -- but apart from their leader, Statham, given thesemi-redeeming motive of trying to rescue his old friend from captivityand get out of the biz, they're genially nihilistic bastards all andcould have been played as disposable bad-guy mooks in a lesser film.Their "Featherman" antagonist, played by Clive Owens, seems on thesurface to have honourable motives but underneath it all is a gung-ho"juice monkey" barely less nihilistic than his targets, who's in itbecause he simply doesn't know how not to be at war.These are mostly believable inhabitants of the amoral world ofmercenaries and spies. They're an infinitely better quality ofcontenders than the more-or-less arbitrary or ethnically-defined "goodguys" and "bad guys" that action movies normally toss out as chum forthe patriotic appetite. But they don't make for easily-digested actionmovie types, and -- crucially I think -- they're not what the movieadverts promise, which seems to have thrown a lot of viewers. It alsodoesn't help that the added subplot with the British government is astretch (no matter how ruthless a government gets, colluding to offmembers of its own special services is an extreme act), but it's not atotal loss, because in another way it adds some plausibility again --it adds to the layers of moral conundrum already going on, and withoutthat subplot, the ultimate "success" of the assassins, even to alimited degree, would be even more improbable.The cat-and-mouse game between the assassins and the Feathermen isripping good action material, made better by being character- andplot-driven. Unfortunately, the critics are right that the moviedoesn't escape action movie clichés; the spies inhabit a world ofethical realism but fantasy physics in which Owens and Statham arestill close to being chop-socky heroes, and there's a lot of hackneyeddialogue, some extraneous shoot-'em-up scenes, a too-cloying buddydynamic between De Niro and Statham and a ridiculous "villainousmonologue" scene by an MI6 agent that seems to intrude from a differentmovie. Despite those flaws, "Killer Elite" took some worthwhile risksand is still above-average as action entertainment.

achyutktelang 2012-05-13 03:08:50

Engaging!

Killer Elite unfurls at a decent pace with a story that is quiteengrossing and which holds your attention.This movie does remind you a bit of the 'Bourne' series movies. Quiterealistic. The action is really good especially when it involves JasonStatham (Danny- retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service)and Clive Owen (Spike- who belongs to a secret military society). Theperformances are the strong point of the movie. Jason Statham isestablishing himself as an actor with a good presence, although hisability to carry out action scenes was never in doubt. Clive Owen playsout a strong character menacingly. Robert De Niro is outstanding too inhis apt role as the mentor of Danny. Overall, quite enjoyable as a decent action movie.

artalmarcelo 2012-05-12 03:55:29

Terrible script, outstanding action scenes.

The screenplay of this movie is really bad. I know this is "based" on atrue story, but having a real story to tell seemed to turn into anexcuse to freely describe the events in a non-realistic andnon-interesting way. So this story could be very true, but for the wayit's told, it really doesn't make any sense. One new scene every 2 or 3minutes; 1 minute conversations in which the characters meet, describethe situation and decide what to do; unknown characters popping up inthe middle of the story without explanations. There's huge lack ofelaboration on everything but on the action scenes, cause the directorseemed to take those shots seriously and dedicate the time is needed tomake them outstanding. Really, when the action is there, this movierocks. This is a true story in which action is crucial, but occupiesprobably only between 25% and 30% of the playing time. The other 70% isextremely flawed. By watching it, you can tell the director disregardedeverything but the action here, and the truth is that when there's noaction, this movie doesn't make any sense, and that's something youdon't fix neither by having true events, nor having DeNiro in thecredits. You have to take time to describe the events to the audience.The excellent action parts are not enough to save this one.