Killer Elite

The best thing I can say about “Killer Elite” is that it held my interest; this, as you may assume, is something I crave from each and every movie I watch. While viewing “Killer Elite,” I acknowledged that it had the general appearance of a generic, seen-it-all-before action flick and I must admit I ended up a little lost in the story at some points (crammed-in plot twists tend to have that effect). However, a feeling of boredom never registered; then again, I suppose boredom would be difficult to encounter, what with all the ear-shattering gunshots, deafening explosions and overall noisiness thundering out from the loudspeakers.

Yes, “Killer Elite” is another one of those noisy, aggressive, high-octane actioners, and it stars a master of said area of cinema. This is Jason Statham (“The Mechanic”), who’s brought all his natural Cockney geezer charm to the film’s leading role. He’s cool, he’s charismatic, he’s got proper action skills and he’s got a rather attractive stubble going on; what’s not to like about this lovely, lovely man?

He stars as Danny Bryce, a professional assassin and best bud of a fellow assassin aptly named Hunter (Robert De Niro, “Little Fockers”). Danny, deciding to be a cliché, has had enough of killing, and chooses to give up the job to live with his beautiful Australian girlfriend (Yvonne Strahovski, "Chuck"). One year later, Danny gets a envelope in the mail containing a Polaroid picture of Hunter appearing to be a little bit kidnapped.

Danny goes to visit the kidnapper, who it turns out is a dying Omani sheik (Rodney Afif, “Checkpoint”). The sheik wants Danny to kill the three SAS men who murdered three of his four sons. He wants to hear their confessions. He wants the killings to look like accidents. And he wants to know that they are dead before his own predicted death six months from now, otherwise Hunter shall be killed.

So, Danny goes about planning the deaths of these three men. Helping him on his murderous task are Davies (Dominic Purcell, “Prison Break”) and Meier (Aden Young, “The Bet”). As you may foresee with your amazing psychic powers, the plan doesn’t 100% go according to plan, resulting in some fist fights, car chases and accidental (kinda) deaths.

Occasionally, these are the outcomes of Spike (Clive Owen, “Children of Men”)’s involvement in the plot. Spike works for a secret organisation that protects ex-SAS men from people like Danny and the Omani sheik. As such, he’s alerted about Danny’s schemes, and gets to trying to stop the gun-toting scalp-head in his homicidal tracks.

“Killer Elite” is supposedly based on a true story, or at least based on a book that’s supposedly based on a true story. The book is “The Feather Men” by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who claims he was involved in events similar to that of his book. If he is telling the truth and if the movie is a close adaptation of the book, then label me flabbergasted; it turns out real-life can in fact play out like a typical Jason Statham action thriller. If not, well, we can still live in hope.

The film is the first full-length feature from director Gary McKendry; it’s quite an impressive debut, I must say. He’s directed an action film that’s armed with proper action scenes. The action is tense, thrilling and gritty; it almost feels real, recalling the many action sequences from the magnificent “Bourne” trilogy.

The most memorable action set-piece from the film is a scene in which Statham and Owen have a fist-fight in a hospital room. They smack, kick and throttle each other, swinging each other into cabinets and punching each other in the testicles once or twice. It’s exciting, it’s brutal and it’s pulsating with suspense; we genuinely don’t know who’s going to win this fight, as Statham and Owen both gain advantage several times throughout.

It’s a film that’s quite gripping, supported by characters who, when we’re watching them, feel like they’re more than just cardboard cut-outs. Sure, Statham’s just playing the same action-man role he always has and probably always will, but you can’t fault the on-screen charisma oozing out of his performance. Owen’s playing a man who sporadically jumps between good-guy and bad-guy, though he’s always treated as an antagonist to anti-hero Danny. And De Niro actually looks like he gives a hoot for once in his recent career, playing an ageing assassin who’s smart, funny, charming and affectionate; De Niro also gets to say the F word a few times.

Yes, “Killer Elite” is disposable action fluff, but it’s competently crafted disposable action fluff. The action, of which there is plenty, is incredibly well shot, and the three men at the centre of the plot are intriguing enough characters. It’s not quite “Die Hard,” nor is it even “Crank,” but hardcore fans of action and/or Jason Statham are likely to be satisfied.

6/10