Killer Elite

(2011) ** R
100 min. Open Road Films. Director: Gary McKendry. Cast: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell.

/content/films/4219/1.jpgYou’d be forgiven for mistaking Killer Elite for a remake of the 1975 intriguer The Killer Elite. Rather, the new action picture is a renamed adaptation of Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ 1991 book The Feather Men. But you can’t call a Jason Statham picture “The Feather Men.” It just isn’t done.

Rather shakily billed as “based on a true story,” Killer Elite concerns fallout from the 1970s Oman War. A tribal Dubai sheikh seeking revenge for his lost sons holds hostage grizzled special-ops man Hunter (Robert De Niro) to force his mentee Danny (Statham) into exacting justice. To plan and execute the assassinations of the SAS operatives the sheikh holds responsible, Danny must come out of self-imposed retirement and call in favors with old friends, including the somewhat loose cannon Davies (Dominic Purcell).

When a clubby group of ex-SAS bankers and businessmen gets wind of what the “top-class professional assassins” are up to, they employ yet another ex-SAS “spook,” Clive Owen’s Spike, to put a stop to Danny. It’s all doled out in oft-clunky dialogue (like the blunt summation “Omar was a dirty war. What we did there was questionable”) that marks time between assorted bombs, chases, firefights and fistfights. Since those are the elements that get action junkies’ butts in seats, audiences may not so much mind.

First-time feature director Gary McKendry handles the cloak-and-dagger-meet-ammo theatrics surprisingly well. The action alternates from been-there, done-that to in-your-face, eye-widening stuff, with a pinch of the absurd thrown in. What Killer Elite never manages is to convince us of its sociopolitical import (though not for lack of pretentious feints) or its emotional resonance (Danny’s respectively romantic and platonic loves: Yvonne Strahovski as his aussie girlfriend, and Hunter).

De Niro fans will get a charge out of seeing the sixty-eight-year-old actor go into action, and his dialogue scenes are zestier than the rest. Primarily, though, this is Statham’s show (with a nice assist from Owen, wearing a milky left eye and a perpetual state of annoyance). Just as the film has nothing fresh to say (unless you count “Killing’s easy—living with it’s the hard part”), the lean, mean Statham has nothing fresh to offer, delivering the exact same benignly growly performance he always has. Those expecting John le Carré-level intrigue are right out of luck, but Statham fans can get their fix.

[This review first appeared in Palo Alto Weekly.]

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Bluray

Aspect ratios: 2.41:1

Number of discs: 2

Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Street date: 1/10/2012

Distributor: Universal Studios Home Entertainment

Universal sends Killer Elite home in a Blu-ray + DVD + Digital Copy special edition featuring top-notch A/V specs. The hi-def Blu-ray transfer impeccably replicates the filmmakers' intentions with a film-like, highly detailed image. Hues are true, contrast well calibrated, and black level inky (though the very darkest moments betray extra grain and some shadow crush). The basically perfect video shares disc space with an excellent lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround mix that bristles with activity from all angles. Tthe mix is so good that it unfortunately betrays the difference between set audio and ADR drop-ins, but that's a small price to pay for clear dialogue and poundingly potent action effects.

Thirteen "Deleted Scenes" (9:43, HD) are the disc's sole extra, but they will only appeal to the most hardcore fan of the film. Casual viewers aren't likely to get any entertainment value from these trims. At aggressive discounts, Killer Elite on Blu-ray (with DVD copy and Digital Copy) may well be worth the plunge for fans of Jason Statham or Clive Owen, or for Robert De Niro completists.

Review gear:
Panasonic Viera TC-P55VT30 55" Plasma 1080p 3D HDTV
Oppo BDP-93 Universal Network 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
Denon AVR2112CI Integrated Network A/V Surround Receiver
Pioneer SP-BS41-LR Bookshelf Speaker (2)
Pioneer SP-C21 Center Speaker
Pioneer SW-8 Subwoofer

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