March 12: Killer Elite

"When his mentor is taken captive, a retired member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service is forced into action. His mission: kill three assassins dispatched by their cunning leader."

   Killer Elite is not a great movie. It's another run-of-the-mill Jason Statham action flick and, while enjoyable in the action, the dialogue and plot leave a lot to be desired. The whole plot is messy and is pretty confusing. This is surprising because most times, you watch a mindless action movie specifically so you don't have to think. The plot uses tons of names and places that slowly piece together, but the whole thing just tries too hard to be something it's not. The film is almost a bit of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier Spy (with spy games and "cleaning up" the government's messes) meets The Transporter, but not using the bits that made those films awesome. 

A bloodier, more violent Spy vs. Spy. With Robert DeNiro. 

   Speaking of which, the presence of Robert DeNiro is cool, but almost unnecessary. His character is more of a plot device to give Statham a motive and his scenes are few and far between, most of them being very plain. He does have a moment of badass-ness when he shoots a guy in a subway but, even then, it plays second fiddle to Statham's ass kicking. I like Statham as much as the next guy, and really enjoy watching him beat the shit out of people, but he really needs to stop making films like this. With the addition of DeNiro, the film seeks more credibility than it deserves and in doing so, the final product is just an attempt that's too big. He's bordering the fine line between true action star and straight to DVD "action hero", and I am, quite frankly, worried. 

Find a damn good script already, bruffa. 

   Overall, Killer Elite is fun in the action but mundane and boring in everything else. Clive Owen and Robert DeNiro are nice little (and I mean little) additions to the film but, even then, these acting all-stars aren't at their best. The film also drags on and on even though the film is only 117 minutes long. There is just too much "filler" between the action sequences, including a very out of place love story. Filmmakers have to realize that when given a star like Statham, you need either an awesome script (The Bank Job, Snatch.) or enough scenes in which he destroys people with fists, feet, guns and whatever is laying around (The Transporter, Crank). 

The Good:

really cool action sequences, especially one where Statham and Owen beat the shit out of each in a hospital

The Bad:

not enough of those action sequences 

The Ugly:

a really plain, but slightly confusing and too elaborate story

Overall: 5.6/10

Best Quote:

No quote today, only a badass picture of Dominic Purcell and his awesome facial hair

Trailer: