Killer Elite

Killer Elite as an action film has so much potential, and while I think that there is a good movie somewhere in the remaining pieces, the character itself gets doused with idiotic writing, and depthless characters, the setpieces become dull and when you mix it all it becomes a complete action movie cliche. Even when evaluated as only an action movie it does not manage to meet the very low standards.

Danny Bryce (Jason Statham) is a mercenary, but having realized the professional killer might end up drenching a child with the blood of his or her parent, he has decided to call it quits. Unfortunately for Danny, he’s in for one final job. A furious sheik has abducted his mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro), demanding the assassination of the SAS soldiers responsible for his son’s death. To help Hunter, Danny persuades his former associates Davies (Dominic Purcell) and Meyer (Aden Young) to do some work and commence the hunt for the SAS veterans. However, this does not sit well with a clandestine group that goes by the name “The Feathermen” whose goal is to maintain the safety of the SAS’s soldiers, and subsequently send in their attack dog Spike (Clive Owen) which is his name and not a codename to do damage control and put a stop to the bloodbath.

It is a good idea that has been done in what can only be termed the most awful way possible. Seeing that Statham is simply a robot who is only a physical assailant with a deep-voiced gravel (what a stretch he has to give range and emotion to his roles), the movie makes him regret killing and get nostalgic over his girlfriend tine Yvonne Strahovski who played Anne in the movie. On the other hand, the movie does trust Owen enough to be a real actor but then he has to be deprived of a back story and he still carries out his performance with a reasonable level of compassion and devotion that the viewers find themselves cheering Spike more than they do for Danny.

Well, everything that happens between them is exactly what one does with a punching bag. There is no dialogue, there is no tactical understanding of the reasoning behind actions, and there is no reconciliation of conflict in their feelings. It’s just two men beating each other through the different pieces of furniture and it has been directed in a manner that can be best described as terrible.

To all upcoming action directors out there, my suggestion is to pay attention clearly as this might come out to be beneficial, “I am not Paul Greengrass and this is not a Jason Bourne movie.” It does seem all hope is lost, as action directors have mastered over the years that filming short sequences that roughly bring in the desired output along with combining it with a paint mixer works out in scenarios with constrained budgets and periods. Gary McKendry the director fails in the cinematography of the film where some half-hearted fight and chase sequences are filmed in a color range that loses the essence of the story which goes from London to Paris to Oman. What is more painful is the wannabe ambassadors of Massenet Marxism Lord Kinsey claiming that the twist of the ending will be due to the spectacular “realistic” filming of the movie.

McKendry is saddled with a ghastly script that has enough clichés to bore one to death. So how do you go about building relatability to the character of Danny? Who happens to have a pretty concerned one-dimensional girlfriend? One might then wonder how exactly are the villains of the plot made to appear more villainous Well it’s to ensure they are dressed impeccably! But then again, the scene where the Feathermen defend who they are should be a standard in every scriptwriting advising class simply because it provides a perfect example of what one does NOT do when explaining something. It is shocking to witness how the Feathermen recount the story of the organization they’ve constructed, its goals, and their impact after already having constructed it. I wanted a person to shout, “Who are you addressing? I don’t believe we need a reminder of the organization we are in control of.”

True to form, the movie contains a plethora of incongruous details in addition to poorly portrayed characters, Subpar writing, general lack of effort in directing the movie. The choice of the name stems from their claim of “working with a light touch”, which has long since been abandoned. That light touch includes their business cards sporting a gigantic feather, as well as agents who bulldoze their vehicles and publicly fire their guns in between their endless brawls with opponents.

Yup, Dan and the team are not much better either, as they screw up their kills consecutively, spinning my argument that, rather than being the cream of the crop, they are somewhere between halfway decent to mediocre. Add in massive plotholes and unnecessary characters whose jobs are just to further muddle the narrative, and Killer Elite is the perfect example of how even when one shoots for the stars they wind up with a blemished shot.

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