By James Luxford on Wednesday 21st September 2011
REVIEW: 'Killer Elite'
More mindless fun from Jason Statham...
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Who would you consider the most successful British actor or actress currently working in Hollywood - Kate Winslet? Daniel Craig? Colin Firth? You may scoff, but one Jason Statham may have it over on all of them, at least in popularity. The man hailed as the heir apparent to the muscle men of the late 80’s has, unsurprisingly, become a sort of progeny of Sylvester Stallone (co-starring in The Expendables) and having actors lining up to appear opposite him. His new film is not only based on a bestselling novel (The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, rumoured to be based on real events) but co-stars the actors’ actor, Robert De Niro.
Killer Elite is an action thriller across in various locations around the world. Former special ops
agent Danny (Statham) lives a life of relative seclusion, until he is brought out of retirement for one last job (don’t you hate it when that happens?). His tormentor is thee demented Spike (Clive Owen), a foe from Danny’s past who has kidnapped his mentor, and father figure, Hunter (Robert De Niro). The task is simple - get past three assassins, and save his old friend.
There are holes aplenty - cringe-worthy quips, a plot that, despite the source material, manages to be just as thin, it’s essentially an excuse for Statham to bust as many heads as possible. Yet, somehow, just like every other one of his films, it manages to entertain. Maybe it’s because intelligent action films of any calibre are thin on the ground (how else could we be headed for a sixth Fast and Furious movie?), or maybe it’s a steadfast refusal to be anything more than it is, but we defy you not to get carried along in the joyful machismo of it all.
As Danny, Statham transforms and unleashes a side of his acting we have never seen before……. just kidding. The withering looks, the voice that sounds like he smokes twenty a day before eating razorblades, and the ability to leap around a room no matter the obstacle (in this case, being tied to a chair). It’s the same old Statham, but would you want him any other way? De Niro doesn’t look incredibly interested, but even in second gear he’s worth watching (as most of his recent output proves), while Owen is more a cackling pantomime villain than his usual ‘enigmatic maverick’ persona.
A film that delivers the hard-punching, glass-smashing thrills the trailer promises, which is hard to criticise, but Killer Elite never moves beyond high octane, disposable fun.
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