Killer Elite Review

If there’s one actor that’s taken the lead as far as making (usually) decently entertaining action films from Arnold and Stallone I’d say that it’s Jason Statham.  I enjoy Dwayne Johnson and Vin Diesel but they’ve failed to do something that Statham has embraced which is to make adult action films.  To be fair, The Rock and Diesel have dabbled in R rated cinema and Statham has made his fair share of PG-13 films but Statham’s bread & butter have been action films that have been mildly successful in theaters and then go on to make an assload of cash on DVD and Blu-ray.  I think film studios have obviously figured out they can make a profit on films like his because he’s been pushing out a steady amount of R rated action films which have really endeared him to me in a completely non-sexual way.  His films aren’t exactly masterpieces but they do usually deliver on what they advertise and that is what keeps me coming back to see his films.

Killer Elite is based on the supposedly true story of a former mercenary Danny who is called out of retirement to do a job to save Hunter, his friend and mentor’s life.  Hunter took a job and then tried to renege on the deal and was taken hostage and used as leverage to get Danny’s cooperation.  The job is for an Arab (Iron) Sheik who wants revenge on several SAS officers for killing three of his four sons.  Danny must get their videotaped confessions and then make their deaths appear to be accidents in order to free Hunter and receive the $6 million dollars for the job which isn’t going to be an easy task considering SAS agents are highly skilled and trained to resist torture.  Danny gets his old team back together and they go to work.  Unbeknownst to Danny and his team a former SAS officer named Spike (Clive Owen) is hot on his trail and trying to uncover why Danny is after these men.  That of course leads to a lot twists, turns, high speed car chases, and vicious hand-to-hand combat.

While far from perfect Killer Elite is a decently fun, well acted action film that’s a little too long and overly complicated at times.  Clocking in at one hour and forty-five minutes Killer Elite shouldn’t feel as long as it is but it definitely started to over stay it’s welcome with me near the end.  I think a lot my fatigue stemmed from the plot getting a little too convoluted for it’s own good.  There’s a lot of plot twists and double crosses to the point of where I bordered on not really caring what happened either way by the end.  I don’t want anyone to get the impression that I wish the filmmakers would have dumb downed the film to idiot proof it because that’s not what I would have wanted.  I just think simplifying the story slightly would have would have increased my enjoyment of the film as an action film which is what Killer Elite was advertised as, not a pseudo thriller.  When the movie does decide to be an action film it’s an incredibly fun ride.  The action is tight and well choreographed, the car chases are some of the best I’ve seen this year, and there’s a good amount of humor that doesn’t feel out of place.  The violence is right on par with what I’ve come to expect in a Jason Statham vehicle, the foul language is enjoyable, and there’s even a bit of nudity mixed in for good measure.  When Killer Elite is busy being an action film it delivers on exactly what it advertised, when it’s trying to be a political thriller it falls a bit short.

The saving grace of Killer Elite is it’s great cast.  Statham is his usual self; his performance isn’t spectacular and his character is a cliché ridden as our hero lives his retired life as the most unusual every man I’ve ever seen.  I find it incredibly odd that screenwriters usually write him as some nice guy with killer skills and a strict moral code but that’s usually as deep as the role gets, the rest of the character development comes in the form of some strange personality quirk or hobby that the audience will identify with.  I guess the “if not it’s not broke don’t fix it” mentality should be taken since film goers like myself keep coming back.  For a man pushing 70, Robert De Niro makes a rather convincing return to action films.  When I first saw the trailer I wondered to myself if De Niro was too old to kick ass but I’ll give the him and the filmmakers props for pulling it off.  Honestly the best character Killer Elite has to offer comes in the form of Spike played by Clive Owen.  He’s proved over the years he can play the villain, the hero, and the antihero all convincingly well and he plays a little bit of everything here.  Of the three mains I enjoyed Owen the most; he’s a completely unlikable prick but he’s a joy to watch and is easily the film’s most interesting and entertaining character.  In supporting roles are Dominic Purcell from Prison Break, Yvonne Strahovski from Chuck, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje from LOST.  Purcell is almost unrecognizable with a fu manchu and mullet chops as the horn-dog member of Danny’s team.  Danny’s love interest Yvonne Strahovski isn’t bad but she’s seems a little young for him and after a little investigating found out that she’s 15 years younger than him.  Rounding out the cast is Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje who plays the shady mercenary connection.  He’s certainly a well dressed individual but his character is very one dimensional but a paycheck is a paycheck in the long run.

In the end Killer Elite is a better than average action film but it does have it’s fair share of problems.  When the film is on task it’s a lot of fun but there are portions of the film where it has a slight identity crisis which held it back from being as much fun as it could have been.  The film does feature a very strong cast, engaging action, and an appropriate mix of naughty language, naughty bits, and humor to satisfy most action film fans.  Killer Elite isn’t quite as good as it could have been but I left the theater mostly satisfied so I’m giving it a passing grade.