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Killer Elite (2011)

Directed by Gary McKendry

Most recently watched by sleestakk, elisabethwithns, themarc

Overview

Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world’s most elite operatives—Danny, an ex-special ops agent and Hunter, his longtime mentor—against the cunning leader of a secret military society. Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse—where the predators become the prey.

Rated R | Length 116 minutes

Actors

Viewing History (seen 2 times)


Date Viewed	Device	Format	Source	Rating
03/05/2025	Home Theater	Blu-ray	Owned	6.5 stars
03/18/2012	TV	Blu-ray	Rented	6 stars
				(Average) 6.25 stars

Viewing Notes

I remember when I first saw this I was disappointed that Robert De Niro didn’t have a larger role (as in the lead). After this revisit I have to say I’m not as bothered by that, but it would have been nice to have him featured in more of the action (something in the style of his turn in RONIN).

I still don’t know why this borrows most of its title from Peckinpah’s more cynical 1975 film THE KILLER ELITE. I saw that film in the late ‘70s and it left a distinct impression on me. While it’s not Peckinpah’s best, it’s still worth a watch and I have a soft spot for it.

Statham can’t quite pull off the lead role in this. For the action scenes he’s fine, but he just isn’t cynical enough. And neither is the movie’s final act as it veers more into a schmaltzy redemptive arc. Aww, turns out these hired mercenary assassins don’t REALLY like killing for money and are happy to leave their adversaries alive when it makes no sense to do so. I can’t imagine the book this is based on turns out nearly as well for all involved.

Dominic Purcell and Aden Young round out the primary trio, with Statham in the lead, of killers taking on a six million dollar job to rub out three ex-SAS overachievers who killed three sons of some fucking sheik in Oman a few years back (the whole thing takes place in the late ‘70s/1980). Both are slimier and more pragmatic about killing than Statham is. Purcell is particularly effective as Davies with his whacked out ‘70s sideburns and slightly seedy, degenerate look.

Ben Mendelsohn shows up as another ex-SAS hangabout tasked with tailing the trio. This is before he became more recognizable. I don’t remember him at all from when I saw this originally but he does a decent turn here.

Clive Owen makes a suitably obsessive, grim, maybe-villain (also ex-SAS, with a glass eye) pitted against the trio.

While it clocks in at just under two hours, it feels like it should’ve been a little longer to explore some of the threads of the plot that are brought up but never satisfactorily realized. While I can mostly set that aside, its the final act that bothers me. Again, it’s just not cynical enough, especially for its time period. Some motherfucker needs to catch a bullet to emphasize the stakes here, but everyone gets to skate out from under their moral burdens (maybe) by the end. It feels like a tacked-on studio rewrite and doesn’t fit with the rest of the film.

That said, this is a lot more watchable than I recalled. I might have to try to track down the book it’s based on.

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