Killer Elite

All things considered, Killer Elite is a standard Jason Statham action vehicle, only with a bit more class than you would expect. That class comes from the fact that Robert De Niro and Clive Owen co-star in the film. While De Niro is pretty much pushed aside in an extended cameo, Owen proves to be quite the magnetic presence. With some very well handled action sequences, the movie becomes a pleasant diversion. If we cared more about what was going on, it could have been so much more.

The movie claims to be based on a true story, although the book it is based on ("The Feather Men" by Ranulph Fiennes) has largely been challenged in its authenticity, and even debunked in some cases. I highly doubt most in the audience will be concerned with this knowledge, as people don't usually go to Statham movies to learn something. The action is set in 1981, and is focused on a professional assassin named Danny (Statham) who wants out of the business after his conscience gets the best of him during an assignment. He goes into hiding for one year, but is forced back into action when he finds out that his friend and former partner, Hunter (De Niro) is being held captive by a sheik in Omar. If Danny wants Hunter's freedom, he'll have to kill some of the sheik's enemies for him, and bring back proof.

The enemies in question are three British SAS officers who were responsible for the deaths of the sheik's sons during a period of war. Danny must not only kill these officers, but he must also get a videotaped confession before the murder. He also has to make it look like an accident instead of a murder. Helping him in his mission are fellow assassins Davies (Dominic Purcell) and Meier (Aden Young). As the three set about their mission, they are eventually discovered by ex-SAS officer Spike (Clive Owen), who pieces together that someone or a group of people are murdering his former colleagues, and goes about trying to track them down. The action unfolds as you would expect, with some lively action and chase sequences, and the most minimal amount of character development possible to make the characters seem somewhat human, but not too deep, so as not to divert us from the action.

Despite a running time of nearly two hours, we don't get a lot of details. There are a lot of political and power figures behind the scenes pulling the strings, but their involvement remains mostly murky. Likewise, a romantic subplot between Danny and a woman he's left behind because he doesn't want her to get involved (Yvonne Strahovski) largely goes nowhere. Where Killer Elite is at its best is when its focused on the antagonistic relationship that grows between Danny and Spike. Statham and Owen develop an interesting chemistry, as they are constantly trying to one-up each other, and either hunt the other down, or throw them off the trail. You wish there was more to both of the characters, especially late in the film. But, the movie largely treats them as two guys constantly trying to outgun and outrun one another. It's fun, yes, but not very substantial.

At least Owen gets plenty of opportunities to be interesting, and does what he can with the limited resources of the script. De Niro largely disappears for a long period of time, other than the beginning, and the last half hour or so. It's a shame, because he's quite likable here. Sure, it's not up to what we expect from an actor of his legacy, but at least he doesn't come across like he's cashing a paycheck here, even though he obviously is. The rest of the cast, and the movie in general, is largely interchangeable. There are some nice action sequences throughout, but the plot never really grabs us like it should, nor does it delve deep enough. We're entertained enough, and we're certainly not bored, but we're also left wanting more.

Killer Elite should be more than enough to satisfy Statham's fans, or anyone looking for a movie with lots of gunplay and explosions. As for me, I admired it, but wanted to like it more than I did. It's almost like first-time director Gary McKendry thought the presence of stars like De Niro and Owen alone would help lift the material. They certainly help, but any good filmmaker knows that a star is only as good as the material they're given to work with.

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