Movie Review: Killer Elite

Killer Elite - Clive Owen with a gun and Jason Statham tied to a chair.

Killer Elite has a great trailer, utilizing the song “Rock You Like a Hurricane” to great effect.

Jason Statham vs Clive Owen? Check.

80’s rock music? Check.

Robert DeNiro? Check.

Somebody getting punched in the balls to 80’s rock music? DOUBLE CHECK!

I am here to tell you, this trailer is misleading.

Killer Elite Movie Poster

OVERALL: This is a movie about ex-military. It’s about mercenaries, killing for money. It has a secret society of shadowy men, pulling political strings. It’s based on supposed true events in the early 80’s, and was inspired by the book The Feather Men. It is NOT, as the trailer suggests, Statham vs. Owen for 2 hours. It’s a shame because that was the movie I wanted to see. But that blame rests on the marketing department, and not on the film itself. The film itself is pretty dang good. It feels almost like a sequel to the 1998 film Ronin, also starring DeNiro.

The one thing I had displeasure with was the use of “shaky cam” during the action scenes.

I liked shaky cam back in the 90’s. It worked for Gladiator, it worked for the Bourne films.

But it’s over now. If you are making an action movie I want to see what the heck is going on!

ACTING: The whole cast is great. Statham and Owen are great as always, DeNiro isn’t in it much (he probably had three days of shooting) but gives a nice comfortable performance. The supporting cast of Dominic Purcell, Yvonne Strahovski, and Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje all did a great job as well.

FAMILY FACTOR: Strong language and violence abound in this flick. There is a tiny bit of nudity and a whole buncha murdering happening.

SEE IN THE THEATER: If you dig action flicks, mercenary flicks, and/or Jason Statham. Just be aware it’s not what the trailer suggests.

About Dug (Wugmanmax) 241 Articles
(AKA – Wug, Dug, Foug) Hailing from the Twin Cities, Wugmanmax is an avid toy collector, graphic designer, video producer, firefighter, and podcast co-host.

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