Killer Elite is set in 1980, and aside from that it’s also a generic action film that feels like something you might have been able to catch on cable back in the 80s. There is nothing memorable about it in any respect, nothing that it does especially well, but it’s at least competently made, and it’s the sort of cinematic comfort food that doesn’t need to be particularly good to still be worth giving a watch. There are a lot of tried and true action tropes here. We’ve got the killer who is trying to give up the life, the mentor who gets kidnapped, the new girlfriend who gets threatened; it all works as a sturdy framework that stands as a solid excuse to present hard hitting fight scenes, high octane car chases, and bullet riddled shoot out sequences.
The plot is too complex to try and summarize in a review, but that’s not important. The plot is just the vehicle that delivers the action, like the cracker is just the excuse for you to over indulge in cheese. All you need to know is that Jason Statham is a contract killer, Robert De Niro is his friend, and Clive Owen is a British SAS guy who circumstances find sitting on the opposite side of the fence as Statham. There is a complex web of dirty wars, oil barons, double crosses, and deep seated vengeance that weaves it’s way throughout the film, but what’s really important is whether or not the exposition gets boring, and whether or not the action sequences deliver. While the plot does get a little dense, and a lot of different angles get played out over the course of the film, it never becomes hard to follow, and it never gets so talky that you’re tapping your foot waiting for the next explosion. And the action sequences? They’re pretty over the top and cool. Don’t let the stupid proclamations that this is based on a true story deter you; this is purely nonsensical, insane Hollywood action from start to finish. People jump out of third story windows while tied to chairs and somehow keep going without missing a beat. Killer Elite is the good kind of dumb.
Probably the big thing that this movie has going for it is Jason Statham in the starring role. He’s not the most robust acting talent in the world, but he’s got an inherent charisma and a believable swagger that makes him a great action star. Out of all the attempts at creating a new generation of action icons that went on in the last decade, Statham seems to be the only one who has really stuck. He’s a brand unto himself. When you say you’re watching a Jason Statham movie, people know what you’re talking about, much like they know what you’re talking about if you tell them you’re watching a Chuck Norris movie or a Jean Claude Van Damme movie. Try and tell someone that you’re watching a Vin Diesel or Dwayne Johnson movie and that could mean anything. Is it sci-fi, action, or a family movie? Who knows? With Statham you always know what you’re getting: martial arts, guns, explosions, hard boiled dialogue; all of the hallmarks of a once great (mediocre) genre. And Killer Elite is pretty strong for a Jason Statham movie. It both fits into the actor’s portfolio and also comes off as being slightly higher rent than the things he usually does. That the man’s movies are improving rather than disappearing proves his position as action’s last hope better than anything else.
What makes this movie come off classier than the usual Jason Statham affair? A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that it’s dealing with the Middle East, and the politics of blood for oil rather than being about a guy who has to keep his adrenaline pumping at all times or he will die. And this is a good, old fashioned, gritty action movie about manly men testing their might by shooting guns at each other and hitting each other in the head with roundhouse kicks. It’s less worried about being extreme, fast paced, and in your face, and more worried about telling a complete story, giving you action that you can follow, and fights that don’t play like choreographed dance. Another thing that classes Killer Elite up is that instead of acting next to the usual nobodies, Statham is sharing the screen with huge talents like Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Neither of these guys get very much to do other than play ill-defined macho types, but just their presence kicks things up a notch. Owen is especially welcome here because he’s sporting a slick little mustache and he and Statham have one of the best hand-to-hand fight sequences I’ve seen in a Hollywood movie in quite a while. It’s fast paced and cool, but it still brings the brutality. And it’s nice to see De Niro show up in something that isn’t completely embarrassing. Good on you, Bobby.
What makes this movie come off classier than the usual Jason Statham affair? A lot of it probably has to do with the fact that it’s dealing with the Middle East, and the politics of blood for oil rather than being about a guy who has to keep his adrenaline pumping at all times or he will die. And this is a good, old fashioned, gritty action movie about manly men testing their might by shooting guns at each other and hitting each other in the head with roundhouse kicks. It’s less worried about being extreme, fast paced, and in your face, and more worried about telling a complete story, giving you action that you can follow, and fights that don’t play like choreographed dance. Another thing that classes Killer Elite up is that instead of acting next to the usual nobodies, Statham is sharing the screen with huge talents like Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Neither of these guys get very much to do other than play ill-defined macho types, but just their presence kicks things up a notch. Owen is especially welcome here because he’s sporting a slick little mustache and he and Statham have one of the best hand-to-hand fight sequences I’ve seen in a Hollywood movie in quite a while. It’s fast paced and cool, but it still brings the brutality. And it’s nice to see De Niro show up in something that isn’t completely embarrassing. Good on you, Bobby.
