DVD Reviews

Killer Elite

• Rating:
• Director:
• Starring: Clive Owen
• Details: USA/Australia 116mins 16

When I first saw the trailer for The Killer Elite I was excited. The teenager in me saw possibilities for a cheesy, but fun action film that didn't take itself too seriously and had a very interesting cast for such a production. On top of that cast was Robert De Niro, prominently featuring in the trailer holding an M16 - instantly evoking memories of Heat. The resulting production is miss-marketed to appeal to Jason Statham's core audience, and is densely plotted, but poorly paced pseudo-action flick.
Based on the apparently true story of a secret military group called "The Feather Men," the film centres on Jason Statham's ex-Special Forces solider, who wants out of the killing game. But when his mentor Hunter (De Niro) is kidnapped, he must take part in a dangerous mission to kill the members of an elite group headed up by Clive Owen's enigmatic, dangerous boss who took part in the slaying of a powerful sheik's family years before. Statham's hard-as-nails operative sets about assembling a team to off the highly trained soldiers, while being hunted himself.
The plot for The Killer Elite is actually very cool, and the set-up should lead to some fun, but realistic action. While there are sporadic skirmishes - which first timer director McKendry attempts to make it as realistic as possible - the film jumps around far too often and never engages. It's a real shame, because there was genuine potential for a fun action flick here, even one that is a tad more sombre than your regular Jason Statham starrer.
De Niro is completely wasted in a supporting role, while Statham brings his usual effortlessly gruff presence to proceedings. He looks like a former elite soldier, which certainly helps, but overly ponderous scenes flashing back to a girlfriend in Australia stink of desperation. They merely pose more questions like, Is Statham's character supposed to be an Aussie? Owen has a bit of fun with his guy, and the 80s setting is superbly brought across, but the script needed shaving down and streamlining of characters.
Despite a couple of fun moments towards the end, Killer Elite never gels. It's certainly not the film the trailers promises, and the hardcore Statham fans will be disappointed with that.

Review by Mike Sheridan