Killer Elite

Decent acting from the supporting cast, an interesting story that is thankfully absent any clichés, and a lack of any "gotcha" in the story certainly help this movie stand out. But really it's the pacing that made it for me. Things happen FAST. They happen logically, and reasonably (well, reasonably given the nature of the story) but they happen quickly. The movie does not have any periods of introspection for our main characters. It suggests that they are having those moments, but doesn't linger on them or play them up at all; they are just facts, like everything else that happens in the movie (fights, deaths, kidnappings, etc.).

The story is complicated, involving at least 5 separately motivated factions, but at no time was it confusing (so there was no need for an "aha!" moment).

The fight scenes were all exceedingly well choreographed and fit the story so well that there was never a time when 2 people were facing off just so we could see them fight; I really appreciated that.

All in all, a very satisfying film: lots of action, lots of very good acting, and lots of attention to detail (it really looked like it was the early 1980s).

I was going to give this a 7/10, but as I was writing and thinking about it, I upped it to 8/10.

I don't recall seeing a movie like this in a good, long time. It's a macho-action-thriller that didn't have an A-list budget, but probably didn't really need it, either. You used to see more of this back in the 70s and 80s; these days this kind of movie usually has a much bigger budget, with the requisite special effects and massive action sequences such a budget buys. Here, though, it's a little different.

Good action, intriguing setup (definitely no good-guy/bad-guy here; nobody is completely innocent by any stretch), and pretty good characters. And a story that's somewhat better than you usually find in this particular kind of film.

Don't know that Jason Statham's a great actor, exactly, but he's definitely a presence and he's got others to do the acting around him, and he performs in a several action scenes that come right up to the edge without getting silly. And I liked the basic plausibility in most of the scenes.

I'm a guy, and Killer Elite is a pretty decent "guy" movie. You could do worse.

Stirring as well as non-stop action movie , being allegedly based on facts , though the SAS even went on the record to disown both writer Fiennes and his book . After a brilliantly exciting opening in a thrilling terrorist action executed by Danny (Jason Statham) his mentor named Hunter (Robert De Niro , he is the only American born actor in this film) is taken captive by a disgraced Arab sheik, then the killer-for-hire is forced into action . His assignment : kill three members of Britain's elite Special Air Service responsible for the death of his sons . As it concentrates on the painful vendetta proceeded by an Arab oil magnate , as he kidnaps Hunter and coerces to Danny his search for revenge . Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny helped by Davies (Dominic Purcell), and Meier (Aden Young) pull off his relentless mission to free their colleague who is being held captive .

This moving picture contains thrills , unstoppable action , betrayal , fighting , car pursuits and lots of deaths , as it has a great body count : 21 . There are echoes here of many other action movies and behind the deceits , plot twists and manipulation is essentially a simple yarn . This is a thrilling picture in which our main starring , Jason Statham , is plunged into a highly dangerous game of vendetta and deception - where things are not always what they appear to be . The film is built around the internal secret services and SAS which sidelines in dirty work that ever the CIA won't touch . The flick contemplates the old themes of trust , friendship , vengeance , treason , cold violence and humiliation . The set pieces such as car chases , impressive as well as violent fights and a roof chases including bounds and leaps are all magnificent , as are so many secondary scenes . Interesting screenplay by Matt Sherring plenty of twists and turns , being inspired by the book "The Feather Men" written by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, this was an English adventurer, polar explorer and former SAS man is the author of The Feather Men, the novel from which this film is adapted . Although he has often claimed the novel was a true story, the families of the real dead SAS men named in the novel who died on SAS exercises and the SAS themselves publicly attacked it as sick exploitation and complete fiction . As mentioned above, all the families and the British special forces denied they had been consulted or involved in any way with the book .

The main cast is pretty good such as Jason Statham , Clive Owen , Yvonne Strahovski and Robert De Niro . Though the main starring results to be Jason Statham who from Transporter (2002) he already had a background in martial arts which enabled him to perform his own fight sequences , he followed in several similar roles as a two-fisted hunk in Charles Bronson ink such as War , Crank , The mechanic , Safe , Parker , Blitz , Hummingbird , Homefront , Wild card among others . Support cast is frankly well such as Dominic Purcell, Ben Mendelsohn, Anden Young , Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje , Nick Tate , Bille Brown, Stewart Morritt, and Grant Bowler . Atmospheric and appropriate musical score by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek . Colorful and adequate cinematography by Simon Duggan . The motion picture was professionally directed by Gary McKendry , though has ups and downs . Rating : 6 . Acceptable and passable . Not very good , but enough to be going on with .

I'm not sure what it was about Killer Elite that disappointed me, but it just didn't seem to live up to its potential. It might have been that the movie relied on Jason Statham to act, instead of just do action. He plays a retired hit man who gets pulled out of retirement to save a friend's life. But it just doesn't work, he's unconvincing. The retirement isn't convincing and neither is his reluctance to return to work. He was much better in the Mechanic which dealt with similar issues.

Overall the movie doesn't hold together very well. There is too much that they are trying to accomplish, but not enough gets developed. For instance, the romance between Danny (Statham) and Anne (Yvonne Strahovski) just seems to be cut in to the movie in a few places. The Feathermen (the group about whom the book the movie draws from is written) appear in a few scenes, yet they're role is barely explored. They are spliced in just enough to give Spike (Clive Owen) a support system.

It's not a terrible movie, but it could have been much more. I think it would make a better mini-series, so that the different parts could be explored properly. If not, eliminate the things that aren't given justice.

Danny Bryce is a retired mercenary but he is forced to return to work when his mentor, Hunter, is taken captive by an employer after failing to complete a mission. Bryce is told he must finish the job if Hunter is to live. The employer is an Omani Sheikh whose three eldest sons were killed during a war; he wants the Danny to kill the three men responsible... it won't be easy though; they were all members of the Special Air Service. Each man must confess then the death must look like an accident. He, and a small team of associates go after the targets but it quickly becomes apparent that somebody, former SAS officer Spike Logan, knows what they are up to.

This is a decent enough story but it would have been better if it didn't claim to be true. It starts well with a prologue that serves to introduce Danny and Hunter and explain why Danny has retired. The way that he is pulled back into that world is effective enough. Once the action starts it is solid and nicely captures the feel of the early eighties. Jason Statham is solid as Bryce and Clive Owen is equally solid as Logan; although both have been better elsewhere. Robert De Niro is decent enough as Hunter although he is rather old to be playing a mercenary. The story provides plenty of twists and turns, some rather far-fetched. Overall I thought it passed the time nicely; not a must see but still entertaining.