KILLER ELITE (Gary McKendry). 105 minutes. Opens Friday (September 23). See listing. Rating: NN
It’s hard to take the “based on a true story” claim seriously when a movie features a man who, while strapped to a chair, kicks the shit out of two armed men before jumping (“Look, Ma, no hands!”) out a window. The biggest problem with Killer Elite is that it takes itself seriously despite hokum like this.
Loosely based on Ranulph Fiennes’s book The Feather Men, which itself was only loosely based on facts, this espionage thriller stars Jason Statham as Danny, the aforementioned nimble man with a symbiotic relationship to furniture. Danny’s a contract killer who comes out of retirement to rescue his mentor (a gruff Robert De Niro), who’s being held hostage by a vengeful sheikh.
In order to free his friend, Danny accepts a final job: knock off key British Special Air Service (SAS) soldiers and make the killings look like accidents. Meanwhile, Clive Owen’s former SAS operative (the only three-dimensional character here) does anything and everything to thwart Danny.
The assassination attempts and getaways provide worthwhile B movie distractions. But though the film tries to achieve Bourne-style grit and depth, it lacks the intelligence and flair that made the Matt Damon franchise so compelling.
