Killer Elite (2011) User Reviews

Surprisingly Flat

[BigGuy · 6/10 · 25 September 2011]

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.

Violent and nail-biting film dealing with a killer-for-hire carries out a bloody revenge to free his partner

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 19 February 2015]

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 .

Convoluted rambling thriller

[SnoopyStyle · 6/10 · 18 May 2014]

Based on a true story?? It's 1980. Danny (Jason Statham) and his mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro) fail their latest scheme because Danny didn't want to take a little girl. Then one year later, Danny is living in self-imposed exile when he receives a photo of a captured Hunter. Hunter had a job from a Sheikh for $6 million to kill the three SAS special forces men that killed his sons. The Sheikh has 6 months to live and Danny has to get their confessions and their deaths have to look accidental while the Sheikh holds Hunter prisoner. Spike (Clive Owen) leads the rogue group of ex-SAS assassins.

It's a very convoluted story and it seems like a badly written Bond movie. It's better than most rambling thrillers. That's mostly due to the very effective Jason Statham. The big problem is that I don't find any rooting interest in anybody. Newby director Gary McKendry seems more interested in working out exciting action scenes. What's needed is a reason why I care if either side wins or dies. Part of me like Spike more than Hunter. The movie goes all over the world but this confuses the story more than any good that the exotic locations give. It's basically a mess.

Too long and the straight/generic telling doesn't really work with the complex motivations and moralities of the characters

[bob the moo · 29 January 2012]

Based on a true story, Killer Elite sees a hired assassin called back into duty when his mentor is held hostage by a powerful sheik who wants revenge on the SAS men who killed his sons. Danny takes the job in order to get Hunter released – a job that involves getting the men to confess on camera before killing them in such a way that it looks like an accident and cannot be traced back. However the targets are a paranoid bunch and once a few questions are asked and one of the men dies, the secretive group behind the deaths put former soldier Spike onto the case, pitting the two trained killers against each other.

This film feels like a missed opportunity and more must have been hoped for it – not least by the relatively big name stars that were involved. This is a tale of murky secrets, covert actions overseas, trained killers and the influence of money and power – it should be much more interesting that it is here, but the decision appears to have been taken to make it as a straight generic thriller. This isn't really a problem in terms of some of the action because there are "good bits" in here, the problem comes from the fact that the material actually doesn't lend itself to this approach as much as you would have liked. So, for example, this sort of generic thriller really suits simple characters, simple plots and thumping action scenes but instead Killer Elite hands us with two groups, neither of whom are particularly "likeable", so the genre approach tells the viewer to root for the good guy – but the plot gives us no clue as to who this is. I have no issue with murky and unlikeable characters, the problem is that the delivery of the film doesn't do anything with it and tries to force it all into a mould that it doesn't fit.

Fortunately the more dramatic sequences are still pretty good (not great, but good) and they come up reasonably often to allow the film to temporarily be the film it wants to be. Not often enough though, and all of them are damaged by the fact that the rest of the film around them isn't working as well – and there is a lot of "other film", too much in fact and it runs a good twenty minutes longer than it can cope with. Much like with the recent film Blitz, Statham does his thing well – whether it suits the film or not. He delivers what you expect him to and again maybe he is part of the reason the film is pushed to be something it is not. Owen appears to be more in touch with what the material should be and also does well with the mano-a-mano stuff that the film asks of him, but it is hard to watch him delivering on a complexity that the finished film had no interest in. De Niro is a solid presence because of who he is, but he is really phoning this in. Akinnuoye-Agbaje only has a small role but, as a fan of Oz who knows how good he can be, it is always good to see him in things.

There is a good story in Killer Elite but unfortunately all but the bullet points is lost in a telling that is trying to make more of a standard thriller and doesn't seem able or willing to do anything with the murky aspects of plot or characters. The end result is a so-so thriller with a so-so plot and performances that mostly don't really work. I wonder at what point in the production they started making it something it wasn't, but regardless when it happened, it did seem to happen and it is a shame because the story deserved to be told better than it was here.

Decent enough spy/espionage action thriller

[wellthatswhatithinkanyway · 7/10 · 22 February 2012]

STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday Morning

Set in 1980, Killer Elite is based on a true story, revolving around SAS agent Danny (Jason Statham) who owes everything to his friend and mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro.) So when he is taken hostage in Oman, Danny is forced to co-operate with the kidnappers demands: that the three soldiers responsible for the death of his son are hunted down around the globe and killed. But even when he goes through with the mission, he finds, as well as having to contend with the relentless Agent Spike (Clive Owen) that not everything is as it seems.

Holding true to it's claim of being a story spinning all round the globe, Killer Elite literally dashes with hyperactive energy from the deserts of the Middle East to the Australian outback, to European cities like Paris and London, all the while holding it's accolade of being a true story. But then fact is often stranger than fiction, and the exploits of Britain's elite special forces could no doubt throw up even stranger tales.

This is a slick, stylish enough film, that carries off it's various action sequences and tense moments with the requisite style and aplomb, even if it doesn't generate the amount of suspense it could have and the whole thing does feel a tad disjointed and sporadic.

Performances wise, Statham is simply the reliable sturdy action hero, while De Niro in support commandeers another generic performance and Owen as the adversary can resort back to his old wooden ways. Not a lot to write home about on that front, then, but thankfully it's not a film driven by this aspect and so the more superficial stuff that carries it through.

It's a messy, chaotic, sketchy and unbelievable (even for something based on a true story) film, but entertaining and enthralling enough to be well worth a watch. ***

"Killing's easy. Living with it is the hard part."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 5 November 2018]

Pretty standard action thriller with a globe trotting formula that's a feature of a lot of them these days. Jason Statham is stoic as a hired assassin who would like to quit the business but is sucked back in when his former mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro) is held for ransom by a dying Sheikh (Rodney Afif). The Sheikh is highly motivated to get revenge on the men who killed his three older sons, but it would have been a good idea for him to find out his youngest (Firass Dirani) didn't give a tinker's damn about going back to the desert to live with the camels. The interesting aspect to the picture has two of the world's premier assassins, Danny (Statham) and Spike Logan (Clive Owen) in each other's cross hairs merely for being on opposite sides of the story. I thought by the end of the film they would have mended fences for trying to kill each other, it almost looked like it at one point but Danny's moral superiority got in the way. For De Niro, this was one of his easier paychecks because he wasn't in the middle of most of the action. He bookended the story with a less physical role, which you can forgive because the guy was about sixty eight when he made the picture. Left unresolved at the finale was why Danny refused his share of the Sheikh's money for accepting his assignment. If he gets over his bruised ego, maybe Spike will deliver the share at a later date.

Entertaining but not that dumb either

[dvc5159 · 6/10 · 30 September 2011]

"Killer Elite", not to be confused for the Sam Peckinpah film of the same 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 the tricks of the trade, it just couldn't get any more macho than it already is.

This movie is not just the typical shoot-em-up action fest. There is an actual espionage plot going underway, and though the screenplay isn't exactly original, the story unfolds in an engaging and intriguing way that I became concerned of the story for once and not just awaiting every action scene. The characters are fleshed out more often than most shoot-em-up movies of late. There's some beams of intelligence in certain scenes, though it's clearly not on the same level of the Jason Bourne movies. It tries hard though, and I have to give it credit for that. Was it really based on a true story? The film certainly doesn't say so, as it presents the somewhat complex tale as the usual Jason Statham ass-kicking fest. No comment there.

Judging from his previous movies I'd say "Killer Elite" is better than Statham'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. Clive Owen is the best and most convincing actor in the film almost giving Statham a run for his money. De Niro is low-key here but I suspect it's just a warm-up for his next big project with Scorsese. Yvonne Strahovski is just emotional fodder for Statham's character and her moments with him are somewhat clichéd but still, not cheesy, although knowing her role from TV's "Chuck", she deserves better. Dominic Purcell is also quite funny as one of Statham's assassin friends. The rest of the cast was not bad.

Production wise, the settings all look gritty and downbeat and someone's bound to get beaten up or shot pretty good in one of these sets. The music by Reinhold Heil and Johnny Klimek is alright but by-the-numbers. Simon Duggan's cinematography is good too - until the fight scenes. We do not want excessive shaky camera during ALL of the fight scenes, Mr. Duggan. The epic fight scene between Statham and Owen was almost ruined because of this.

If there were some things that would make the film better, they would be - better dialogue at parts, more Owen, and much more De Niro. As it stands, "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 to be genuinely very good.

Overall rating: 69/100

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

[MosHr · 6/10 · 21 September 2011]

Killer Elite starts with the Jason Statham super-assassin fare, some random Mexican or South American dude is getting whacked and Jason Statham as Danny here kills car-fulls of them. But, then it manages to enormously over-complicate things the way only a British movie can do. There is the secret society called the feather-men (because their touch is sooo soooft), some oil sheik who hires Danny by kidnapping his mentor and a whole slew of characters and sub-characters that inhabit the Killer Elite world that all manage to be a little inconsistent with the rules of the movie.

Jason Statham, DiNiro and Clive Owen star, one gets the feeling they aren't in the movie but are sort of doing their thing floating above it. Statham has to be the super-man, the assassin who can kill a whole army if he wants to, DiNiro has to have his intricate monologues and dialogs, and Clive Owen has to be a badass. It does claim to be inspired by a true story but it's hard to weed out the "it could happen" true part and the chaff that all the big actors drag into the movie. We have the hokey "it's easy to kill but the hard part is living with it" kind of assassin introspection and on the other hand it hints at blood for oil military campaigns and political web but they distinctly form two separate layers in the movie.

As an action movie, it's full of it's shares of shootouts, grisly deaths, car chases and burly men punch-ups. It does that weird thing where goons are shot in the leg or punched in the head rather than killed. I suppose if you don't really care how the plot stupidly unravels itself, it's a decent action movie. But, as a plot, it's over-complicated and borderline nonsensical.

For what it is, actually pretty good.

[Thunderbuck · 8/10 · 28 September 2011]

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.

Almost certainly not as true as it claims but solid enough action

[Tweekums · 7/10 · 1 December 2019]

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.

Preposterous Thriller Surely Not Based On A True Story

[Theo Robertson · 4/10 · 15 November 2012]

Robert DeNiro was the greatest actor of his generation. He brought a new intensity to method acting during the New Hollywood era of American film making . His star started fading in the early 1990s and by the turn of the century critics would be scratching their heads as DeNiro would appear in cameo roles in films that would surely have gone straight to video . Why he did this no one knew . It certainly couldn't have been to do with the simple reason of money but his prolific small appearances in sub standard movies has long ceased to be a joke and has affected his legacy . KILLER ELITE continues this career legacy suicide

There's something ridiculous watching a a 68 year old DeNiro getting in to a shoot out with bad guys but ridiculous doesn't even begin to describe KILLER ELITE a thriller based on a " true story" by former SAS soldier , explorer and adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes . Apparently in the early 1980s an Arab sheik upset that his son was killed by the SAS during the battle of Mirbat wants revenge .

The battle of Mirbat has passed in to British military folklore where a 9 man SAS team deserted by 40 Omani soldiers had to fight off 300 communist guerrillas in Oman circa 1972 . This battle is proved fact and Fiennes would have had more credibility if he'd presented his source novel The Feather Men as fiction . As it stands he was disowned by the regiment and journalists had a field day pointing out the unlikely occurrences in the novel . Of course many of the details can't be disproved but that's often the point of people publishing books that are fiction masquerading as fact. It should be remembered DeNiro also made a cameo in SLEEPERS another film based on a true life story that was quickly debunked

Watching a film based on a true story where you believe it to be fiction is a very irritating experience . Much of the selling point of this type of movie is that it happened in reality but you feel you're watching a cinematic adaptation of one of those books you buy at an airport while you have a very long plane journey in front of you . That's the impression I got while watching the film - a sort of pot boiler with guns , guys and car chases If the premise itself is irritatingly unconvincingso are the accents . This is a Hollywood /Australian co-production which means many of the actors are Aussies putting on English accents . Much of it is almost certainly filmed in Australia but I will restrain myself from using the word " obviously " because the director often uses establishing shots as a close up . Likewise action sequences are shot in close up too trying - and utterly failing - to convince the audience that the action is taking place in Britain . In fact when you do fleetingly see a sequence shot in Wales it jumps out at you because it's in long shot

This is a very disappointing thriller and much of this is down to the original source which exists more in the mind of the author rather than the real world . Even so if it had been promoted as a generic fictional revenge thriller it would have probably been criticised as being a rip off from Tom Clancey or the Bourne movies

Much better than I expected; excellent pacing

[BomageMinimart · 8/10 · 15 January 2012]

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.

Basic Thrills

[TourettesPersonal · 6/10 · 12 November 2011]

The trailer was a false advertisement. It shows how crazy action packed fun this film will be. Even with the "Based On A True Story" tagline on it. Sadly, the trailer is quite different to the film. Both the film and the trailer were good but it's strangely different. The film is a thriller with an ordinary type of action film but it's not a crazy action fun film that the trailer advertised. It's really disappointing but the film stays a bit faithful to the story that it's based on. Although, it's quite absurd as a true story. Jason Statham is always awesome to watch. Clive Owen does that too with his mustache. Killer Elite is entertaining but it feels like it's just another afternoon boredom cure.

It does not stand as a crazy filled action flick but it's still entertaining. It's never tiring to watch Statham, Owen, and De Niro even if they're playing their same old roles all over again. It's sad that we don't see anything new about them except Clive Owen looks fascinating with his mustache. The film has action but not quite often. Most of it is spying and chasing each other. The fights are ridiculously fun.

It's all about the thrills. The suspense is well executed. In the end, we don't get to see anything new or crazy exciting fun about it. The storytelling was good enough. The script is a bit mediocre. The direction is just as basic as any other action films. You may notice the film's runtime is 1 hour and 50 minutes but it feels kinda longer. Probably because of the quick pacing and the perpetual climax. It's a true story but most of the picture is too unrealistic. But it's easy to ignore that problem.

It's an interesting story but it could've been more fun. But again the film is entertaining enough to cure your afternoon boredom. Jason Statham and Clive Owen will always entertain you no matter what. If you are in for some action violence then you might enjoy this. It's still disappointing. Someday, Killer Elite will remain just another Jason Statham film. His films are interesting actually but they end up being mediocre by its script and sometimes the filmmaking. He's the only one who's saving it. Then again, he will cure your boredom and nothing else.

Just another Jason Statham movie.

[martinrobertson300482 · 5/10 · 9 October 2011]

I sometimes think Jason Statham shows some promise, but then other times he seems determined too be just another star off mediocre action movies. I thought "Killer Elite" might off been ace because off Robert De Niro and Clive Owens presence, but never judge a book by its cover.

This is the Jason Statham off the "Transporter" movies that's in this one. In the film he plays a retired killer, forced back into action when De Niro (who was once his mentor) is kidnapped. Queue lots off random people connected to the situation being offed and eventually De Niro being saved.

There are barely any wise-cracks in the movie so I suppose it's supposed to being taken seriously, and is even based on a true story (although I doubt some off the "James Bond" stunts Statham pulls off are based on what really happened to influence this). There's some half decent action and the plot isn't overly ridiculous, making for an overall average movie. De Niro especially is usually in better though. Although maybe not to much lately.

Statham & Owen make the most of this middling actioner.

[george.schmidt · 13 October 2011]

KILLER ELITE (2011) ** ½ Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Ben Mendelsohn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje. While the film suggest a 'loose remake' of the '70s era James Caan/Robert Duvall thriller, in name only is this a kissing cousin with military trained assassins Statham and Owen at odds on opposite sides-of-the-tracks machinations involving a global conspiracy involving the kidnapping of DeNiro, Statham's mentor, with plenty of international intrigue and double crosses. While it is impressive to see Britain's finest men of action/suspense Statham and Owen in an "ALIEN VS. PREDATOR" smack-down for the most part the sporadically laced actioner relies way too heavily on murky expositionary dialogue that goes around-and-around in circles making the viewer PRAY for SOMETHING to BLOW UP and/or fisticuffs ensue! And would it have killed them to use the lovely Strahovski more to her strengths (outside of being smokin' hot!) ala her "Chuck" TV series persona? While the dynamic duo's pas-de-deux's echo John Woo and the BOURNE films they still entertain far more than the leaden direction by Gary McKendry and Matt Sherring's convoluted screenplay adaptation of Ranulph Fiennes' 'based-on-a-true-story' book is yawn worthy indeed. Still it is kinda cool to say to yourself "How the HELL does Statham simply walk away from a spectacular escape through a window while strapped to a chair?!?!" :D

Not so bad but Script Needed work

[elliott78212 · 6/10 · 22 September 2011]

Before I begin my review of the film let me first say Dominic Purcell gives the strongest all round performance, you remember him from TV's Prison Break. I want to read the book now because one thing about these types of movies is plot and all its twists which we get very little of and what we do get is lots of action scenes because lets face it David is not the dramatic actor he is an action man so what starts off strong goes off and on the rails repeatedly. I still enjoyed the movie there are moments of humor, some stunning action sequences the type you come to expect from a movie with these actors. Clive Owen one of my favorite does what he can with what he got in the script but its not enough and Deniro gets to steal few scenes. Overall I gave this a 6 out of 10 and that might be a little to generous. My partner enjoyed the film and he is not much of an action fan maybe that helps you make a decision to see it or not. Definitely worth a Matinée.

Decent but......

[darrencullen-06502 · 6/10 · 25 November 2020]

Firstly at least 20 mistakes on early 80s detail. Plot is confusing and flawed. Pace and action is good. De Nero should know better. Lockdown film when running out of other's

I FOUGHT THE LAW AND THE LAW WON

[nogodnomasters · 6/10 · 13 May 2019]

Jason Statham plays Danny, a paid assassin who is partnered with Hunter (De Niro). During an assassination in Mexico, Statham almost kills a young girl. He decides to retire, a decision that lasts to about a minute after the credits when he gets a message De Niro has been taken hostage.

Now for the initial strange twists: The sheik who has Hunter held hostage is the same man who hires Danny. Danny must kill British agents in order to get Hunter freed. These are "SAS" agents who are tougher than Navy SEALS, or so they say in the film. These 3 agents must confess on film to having killed the sheik's son. They are trained to resist torture. And it must look like an accident.

One last thing...they only have the identity of one of the agents. Once the first agent is killed, the SAS suspects something is up... A few plot twists, some cliche lines, and the movie is over except this movie got bogged down with twists and bad lines to the point that you can't wait for it to end. Much too long to hold my interest all the way through.

This is a typical Stratham type of action. In fact he is wears the same shades. Shooting, chase scenes, roof top jumping, explosions- you know the stuff.

F-bomb, minor sex scene, no nudity.

Excellent action movie - but Statham is overshadowed by his co-stars

[lethalweapon · 6/10 · 2 November 2012]

Good quality action film with Jason Statham in the lead. With Clive Owen and Robert DeNiro costarring, we're talking of a stellar cast.

Danny Bryce (Statham) and Hunter (DeNiro) are high profile assassins for hire. Danny is said to be the best in the business, but retires to Australia for a quieter life. However, Hunter fails to deliver on an assignment he took up with a deposed ruler in exile in Oman. Danny takes up the assignment to save Hunter.

The assignment is to get revenge for the ex-king's sons, who were killed by SAS agents - Highly trained forces in the British Army - during war time. Danny is to get a video recording of confessions by the former SAS agents and then to kill them in a way that labels the deaths as accidents.

This is an extremely difficult task, and how Danny goes around planning this out is a major plus point for the film. This becomes more complicated with the introduction of the Feathermen - a secret society of former agents protecting each other. The head enforcer, Spike (Clive Owen) gets involved and starts tracking Danny and his team.

The movie goes through several twists and turns, and keeps a solid pace throughout. I love Jason Statham, and he played his part in his usual, stoic, businesslike way. But I wish he had brought in a bit more... well, something into this role. Detached and minimalistic is a good way to portray a professional assassin, yes. But somehow, it fails to deliver a human connection, and makes it harder to relate. This contrasts greatly with the warmth we see in DeNiro's character - despite having a far shorter role. Clive Owen also clearly outperforms the lead actor.

A very enjoyable, solid action movie. Allegedly based on true life events portrayed in the book - The Feather Men

The title says it all...

[mewperry · 10/10 · 26 September 2011]

I'm baffled by some of the reviews I've seen of this film. I saw it this weekend and think it's really strong. Clive Owen and Jason Statham are both excellent as... elite killers. The action is great, the story is intricate and watching the plot unfold is just fun. You've got a group of mercenaries on a dubious mission, a group of ex-SAS stumbles on to them and then both sides are trying to figure out who the other guys are and what they're up to. Maybe it throws some people that there are no clear cut good guys and bad guys here. Both sides are essentially bad guys acting out of a questionable sense of what is right. But that's what made it interesting to me.

The film is at it's best when Owen and Statham are on screen together either coming after each other, fighting or staring each other down. Add a gun wielding, ass kicking De Niro into the mix and I'm happy sitting in a dark theater and munching popcorn.

A conspiracy or action film, this movie can't decide..

[DarkVulcan29 · 7/10 · 29 September 2011]

Although I found this movie amusing, I had a feeling it just could not decide on what type of film it wanted to be, a conspiracy or action film. It tried to be both, and came across liked it was trying too hard.

The story takes place in the early 80's, where gun for hire Danny(Jason Statham) nearly loses himself on a mission, decides to retire. But a year later, he gets a letter saying his mentor(Robert De Niro) has been kidnapped, and his told that he has to commit three kills, or they will kill his mentor. So Danny gets his old teammates together, and goes off on the assignments, But there mission gets complicated, when a SAS guy(Clive Owen) stumbles on to them.

De Niro, Owen, and Statham really shine in there own way. And some action scenes do work. Although for some parts it does have a pacing problem. Not a great film, but a amusing.

They Shoot and Miss

[wroguard · 4/10 · 24 January 2012]

I'm not sure, but I believe the working title for this movie might have been "Super Killer Elite Squadron Delta Awesome". But like seasoned movie-makers they opted for a much more "mature" title: "Killer Elite". It sounds like an 8 year old boy had suggested the title, and as you watch the film, you begin to realize that perhaps an 8 year old boy may have written it as well.

First off, I'll give the film credit for making some interesting fight scenes. Good, now that we're done with the positive aspects of the film, let's dive into the bad.

The story seems to be disjointed; the plot is all over the place. We may wonder whether it was written by an 8 year-old because the story is told sort of like this: "Okay, so there's these guys okay, they have guns, then uh, they shoot the guy, but then there's a kid in the car, then he gets shot okay, and then, he quits, but he doesn't really quit, and then they take his friend, and then he has to come back, and then his kills everyone and then..." Excellent! Stop. Let's make that a movie!

But it's not only that, the motivation doesn't seem credible. I mean, he isn't killing half a dozen people for money, nope! He does it to release his old partner. That would be fine, if the film actually demonstrated that they worked together, that they have some sort of bond, any reason to be believe they are somehow fused together, blood- brothers of sorts. Well, that's not it at all. Instead the movie opens to them shooting people then ... We are supposed to fill in the blanks... a great load of blanks. It's a crossword without hints.

Then there are characters that just are. They are nothing more than pylons. For instance the client's son just has absolutely no point to the story. He doesn't motivate, he doesn't provide action or incentive, nor does he bring the story forward. Even when the story gave him a chance to act, he doesn't. If anything he is more like a pylon that the road crew forgot. He's just there, a figure someone forgot to take away.

And then there's Statham's character, who is just like every other character ever portrayed by Statham, the unemotional-cookie-cutter "action-hero". Don't get me wrong, it's awesome, but it doesn't go any further than that. His objective is to kill a series of men in the SAS to avenge the killing of the client's sons. So, they kill one, kill another, then a third, but suddenly he goes Batman on us, and for some reason doesn't want to harm anybody anymore. He changed his ways. But why? Answer: (info not available).

Something that was hilarious was that the story is based on a "true story". I'm going to put true story in quotations, because the plot is based on a tell-all novel some guy wrote. Although no one can either confirm nor deny any of the information. So the term "based on a true story" is used pretty openly. To be more specific the opening title could have opened with: "based on the ramblings of a man that claims that his story is true although nothing has yet been confirmed". If my neighbour tells me he was abducted by aliens, I don't take his story and make a film about it claiming it all to be true; no, instead I call the psychiatric hospital hot-line. But it's the age of conspiracies, big government, covert-ops and it's all so sexy.

Then, just when you think the film is over, Boom! A twist that no one would see coming, nor would they want to. Then the movie keeps going, for another 20 minutes more than necessary.

In all, everything is below par. For a film with such a spectacular and talented cast, "Killer Elite" shoots and misses.

MUCH better than I expected

[smokyowl · 10/10 · 24 September 2011]

I sensed what the movie-making powers that be were thinking when they made this movie: Take 3 action stars + 1 super hot blonde = money. Simple enough of a formula to get people in the theaters. My expectations were not that high for this film. But what I found reminded me of a "Bourne Identity" feel for some odd reason, but with more action and less suspense. Injecting the film with reality was Yvonne Strahovski, who made the story believable. I did like the whole 1980 thing the movie had going on as well, which some of these reviews might've missed when they watched the film.

There are many memorable moments, none of which I'm going to tell you.

One of two issues I had with the film is the distance I felt with the characters. They felt close to each other on screen, but not close to me(if that makes any sense). I could've used 5 or 10 minutes getting to know the characters a bit better. Halfway through the film I realized I had forgotten all the character's names, and it was all facial recognition. Secondly, I could have used a bit more humor. I guess when making movies on real events it's hard to get a good laugh without coming off corny. I think they missed an opportunity there with Yvonne Strahovski's character.

I would've given this movie 7 stars, but it didn't seem right considering just how much enjoyment I got out of it and such a solid performance of the actors.

Pretty decent except the action is the best!

[UniqueParticle · 7/10 · 14 June 2021]

Solid enough to be entertained but I prefer other Jason Statham roles or espionage types films. I understand why most like it more I just don't think it's my thing at least not for a high rating. Definitely some impressive action though! I admit I'm pretty tired I'd probably enjoy more on different circumstances but even still I've watched other stuff I enjoyed even more no matter how I feel so I don't know.

Poorly filmed fight scenes with an average story

[Leader1_ · 5/10 · 1 October 2011]

The storyline was mildly interesting, about Statham attempting to rescue De Niro from the hands of a sheik who wants Statham to seek and destroy several people that killed the sheik's three sons. The story follows their brief investigations along the way. Statham also recruits Dominic Purcell (Blade Trinity) and another. The investigations give a hint of what they're looking for, then they search and almost always find their target without much trouble. That's the gist of the storyline throughout. No major spikes in the flat line story till the end. Just an observation.

Being a huge action fan, this is what I paid to see after a good storyline. The action fight scenes featuring Statham are poor at best, not because of Statham or his enemy, but do to the director of photography filming too tight on the action, and the editor cutting every split second to another angle, resulting in the infamous "What just happened? Who hit who? What the hell is going on here?" This style is mostly reserved for low budget TV shows, though I can think of one that puts this movie's fight scenes to shame. A wasted opportunity probably in an attempt to rush through the scene. If film makers think action fans don't care, they need to think again and stop giving us a jumbled, incoherent mess of a fight scene.

The shoot outs are decent, but De Niro barely has his moments, since the story line keeps him as the one needing rescue. (See Ronin for his best).

Beware to those looking for Jason Statham in a new classic fight scene. It's not found here.