Killer Elite (2011)

Directed by: Gary McKendry | 117 minutes | action, thriller | Actors: Robert De Niro, Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Dominic Purcell, Yvonne Strahovski, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Grant Bowler, Ben Mendelsohn, Michael Dorman, Firass Dirani, Lachy Hulme, Daniel Messier, Kristy Barnes-Cullen, Aden Young, Michael Carman, Matthew Nable, Daniel Roberts, Sandy Greenwood, Birol Tarkan Yildiz, Chris Anderson, Brendan Charleson, Jamie McDowell, Riley Evans, Barry Stones, Puven Pather, Rodney Afif, Jack Llewellyn

The tall Briton Sir Ranulph Fiennes, great-nephew of Ralph, Joseph and Martha, has accomplished a lot in his life. Besides climbing Mount Everest in 2009, which was his third attempt (he suffered a heart attack during his first attempt), he ran seven marathons in seven days, on no less than seven different continents (!). Born in 1944, the adventurer led dozens of expeditions, and was the first to cross Antarctica entirely on foot. A major achievement! Slightly less impressive, but no less interesting, is the fact that he was one of the last six men in the running to replace Sean Connery as James Bond. Fiennes also wrote a number of books: his ‘The Feather Men’ (1991) is a topper in the true crime genre, although the author himself describes his book as ‘factional’, a mix between fact and fiction. “The Feather Men” inspired the movie ‘Killer Elite’, which pits action heroes Jason Statham and Clive Owen against each other.

‘Killer Elite’ is set in the early eighties. Danny Bryce (Statham) and his mentor and boss Hunter (Robert De Niro), an assassin by trade, are on an assignment in Mexico and while they do their job well, something happens that causes Danny to decide that this is no longer life. for him. He retires to Australia and meets the beautiful Anne (Yvonne Strahovski). A year later, Danny receives an unexpected mail: a photo of Hunter being held captive in Oman by Sheikh Amr bin Issa. Danny has no choice but to go to Oman, he feels a moral obligation to save his old comrade. In exchange for Hunter’s life, Danny must avenge the murder of three of the Sheik’s four sons. The murders must look like an accident: nothing must lead back to him and his living son and they must confess the murder in front of a camera. As if that weren’t enough, Danny must get the job done before the sheik, who has only months to live, dies. The gentlemen on the death list also turn out to be former SAS (Special Air Services) members, and are therefore practically invulnerable. What follows is a routine storyline, in which Danny, along with his fellow mates Davies (Dominic Purcell) and Meier (Aden Young), tick off the names on the list one by one. Finding their targets is quite easy and creates little tension. Most interesting is the way the three make the murder look like an accident (the skill with which they pull it off makes you think about reality).

Had it remained with this fairly uncomplicated story, ‘Killer Elite’ would have become a standard action movie. It’s the addition of Clive Owen’s character Spike to the screenplay, who manages to save the “Killer Elite” plot from that dime-a-dozen stamp. Spike is an ex-SAS soldier who carries out the orders of the Feather Men, a group of former SAS officers. To protect their ex-colleagues, they consider themselves above the law. Getting wind of Danny’s mission, they try to get hold of him and his colleagues. Both Spike and Danny fight for their ideals, and because the viewer can sympathize with both characters to a certain extent, the scenes where the two go head-to-head are the proverbial icing on the cake. Or rather: the well-seasoned and nicely cooked bacon cubes in the sturdy stew.

Because ‘Killer Elite’ is above all a tough film. The fight scenes are usually wonderfully old-fashioned (in its eighties), so for the all too often copied bullet-avoiding scenes à la ‘The Matrix’ or in slow-motion or accelerated martial arts fights you don’t have to go to ‘Killer Elite’. ‘ not knocking. The skillfully choreographed showdown between The Stath and Owen in the hospital, the adrenaline-pumping highway scene, and the fight in which Statham, while still strapped to a chair, makes short work of his enemies, are thrilling popcorn entertainment. The acting is – for a film of this caliber – perfectly fine. Statham, as always, does what he excels at. In combination with De Niro, it seems as if the two have really known each other for years and together with Owen it produces fireworks.

Unfortunately, ‘Killer Elite’ has not become a film without flaws. So you don’t have to expect much from the dialogues, much more than clichés does not come out of the mouths of the cast. The characters don’t get a lot of depth: we don’t have enough time with Danny and Hunter to be convinced of the bond between the two and the addition of the scenes in which Danny thinks longingly of the blond beauty who is waiting for him Down Under, are also clearly intended to give his tough guy image a sweet side. That only works half way. And we can’t find out what exactly drives Spike. After about two-thirds of the film, ‘Killer Elite’ kind of collapses. If you expect the credits to roll over the screen, there turns out to be another unforeseen complication. That’s a pity. With a slightly better screenplay, in which the thriller and action elements would be better dosed, and a more balanced direction (admittedly, it is Gary McKendry’s feature film debut), ‘Killer Elite’ had entered the elite of action films. What you get now is a slightly above-average genre film, from which you can get enough entertainment, but which does not necessarily make your heart beat faster.