Directed by:
Gary McKendryScreenplay:
Matt SherringCinematography:
Simon DugganCast:
Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Yvonne Strahovski, Ben Mendelsohn, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Lachy Hulme (more)VOD (1)
Plots(1)
A match-up made in tough-guy heaven. Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world's most elite operatives - Danny, an ex-special ops agent (Jason Statham) and Hunter, his longtime mentor (Robert De Niro) - against the cunning leader of a secret military society (Clive Owen). Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse - where the predators become the prey. (Open Road Films)
(more)Videos (15)
Reviews (6)
When someone has such aces in their hands, like Jason Statham, Clive Owen, but primarily Robert De Niro, it must take talent to not make something worthwhile out of it. Gary McKendry showed that such potential can easily be killed, without even batting an eye. Well, he had a story in his hands that wants to present itself as a political thriller with lots of killers, but in reality, it's a shooter set in the 80s, which one can basically only tell by the fact that most guys have a mustache or heavily overgrown sideburns. However, I still think that the director should be there to give it some juice if he finds it boring. McKendry obviously refused to put more into the film than necessary. He chose great actors, made a few nice scenes, especially action scenes, but everything drowned in a single plotline that completely lacks twists. I basically saw the film as a flatline that appears on the monitor when a patient dies. At first, it may have seemed like defibrillation would work, but in the end, the doctors had to confirm that the patient was dead and nothing would help him. It only remained to cover him with a blanket and record the time of death. What a pity. Robert De Niro has several great scenes. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/07/runaways-rok-jedna-nedotknutelni-johnny.html
()
You say there's no afterlife? John Frankenheimer may have died ten years ago, but in 2011 we got Killer Elite, a film that is Frankenheimerian in every way. I don't know if Gary McKendry summoned his ghost to help him, or if Frankenheimer reincarnated himself into him (only future films will tell), but it doesn't really matter. The main thing is that the action is there, and that it is realistic, gritty, non-digital, and non-slow-motion. For example, I haven't seen such a nice fight as Statham and Owen's hospital scene in a long time, and when I add to that the fact that it was preceded and followed by a number of other treats (the chase in Oman, the London car chase, all the scenes with the elimination of the SAS members, Statham chained to a chair, the perfect finale), the likes of which have not been seen here (except perhaps in Craig's Bond films) for a very long time. I can't be dissatisfied with this. The central acting trio was a delight and I was especially happy that Robert De Niro didn't just get some cheap shtick, but a pretty big role. The only shame was the script, which could have forgiven the storyline with Statham's girlfriend and not tried to be so serious and subtle
()
Thanks to the storyline additions in the second half, this movie seems longer than it actually is. But
thanks to the greater presence of Clive Owen’s character, the second half is better than the uninteresting and
boring first half. Without Owen, who is a worthy adversary for Jason Statham, the movie stagnates at first. De
Niro’s presence is just for show. Using a blonde in strange rubber boots in an attempt to humanize
Statham’s character slows the movie down unnecessarily. The action scenes are nothing out of the
ordinary. The old-school atmosphere is fine; Gary McKendry is clearly a fan of John Frankenheimer.
()
When something looks and functions like a B-movie, then it is a B-movie. The concept could have been handled more seriously and could have resulted in a significant sociopolitical drama in the style of Paul Greengrass' works, but Gary McKendry chose the path of pure entertainment. Killer Elite is one of the few cases where I not only don't mind the genre definition of a B-action film, but I also actually quite enjoy it. The solid cast also plays a part in that, with Jason Statham capable of delivering a performance and Clive Owen being at the top of his game. The title represents essentially the same thing to me as, say, Commando does to someone else (which would be unbearably dull for me). I enjoyed the battle between mercenaries and members of the elite British SAS, and for that, I will reward it with a 75% overall impression.
()
Appearances are deceitful, Killer Elite is indeed pleasantly old-school (raw image, 80s), but it is not nearly as dynamic as I would have expected from Statham, nor is it as kinetic in terms of action as I would have wished for (the main fight between Owen and Statham is boring, only the editing is good, it lacks physicality, the punches don't hurt), there is a lack of blood, a lack of toughness and naturalism. The polished image and filters are not enough. De Niro is okay, it's a shame he has little screen time. The lady with the horses is quite irritating, I don't understand how she was taken so seriously. Similarly, some of visual effects (bullet in the hair like in Drive, etc.), borrowed from elsewhere, are just unfortunate. Hardly average.
()
Ads