By Thy Lam
Regardless of its big names such as Jason Statham, Robert De Niro and Clive Owen, “Killer Elite” disappoints with a poorly written script.
Based on a true story, “Killer Elite” is a cat and mouse game between Danny (played by Jason Statham), a former special agent of Britain’s Elite Special Air Service (SAS), and a leader of a secret military society, Spike (played by Clive Owen).
While conducting a mission in Mexico, there is a child in a man’s car who is killed by Danny.
The mission is successful, but the panic-stricken eyes of the child make Danny feel guilty.
He decides to retire, and goes to Australia.
Years later, Danny once again is asked to pick up his gun in a deal that helps to save the life of his longtime mentor, Hunter(played by Robert De Niro).
Hunter is imprisoned in Oman under the control of an old sheik. The sheik says that three of his four sons have been killed by the SAS, so he wants to get revenge.
Covering the globe from Mexico, to Australia, toLondon and to Oman, Danny and his partners have to seek and kill the men who are believed to have killed the sheik’s sons.
Problem is, Danny must make it all look like accidents or natural deaths and the victims must confess to killing the sheik’s sons on camera.
Danny is successful in saving his mentor’s life, but he put his girlfriend and himself in danger when the predator becomes the prey.
As the main actor of the movie, Jason Statham fails when he can’t escape the shadow from his previous action movies such as “Transporter” and “Crank.”
However, with his real action skills, Statham has proved that he is still one of the most reliable and interesting actors for an action movie.
While Statham goes on his old road, De Niro surprises the viewers with his character’s sense of humor and action.
It’s a pity for De Niro’s talent when he just plays an extended cameo.
Clive Owen gains an interesting role in his acting career by characterizing Spike, an intelligent and determined leader, who always goes against Danny and his partners.
This is one of the rare roles in which the good-man, Owen, turns into the villain.
The most interesting character in the movie could be Davies of Dominic Purcell.
Purcell is famous for his character in the series “Prison Break.”
In “Killer Elite,” Purcell completely changes his old image by appearing as a cold-hearted gangster with long, shiny hair and fashionable sunglasses.
Screenwriter Matt Sherring tries to soften the movie by including a romance between Danny and his girlfriend (played by Yvonne Strahovski), but her role is completely useless.
Sherring also shows his weakness in building the plot when trying to intersperse flashbacks among scenes.
The purpose of the flashbacks is to explain to the viewers the relationship between Danny and his girlfriend in Australia.
The plot is overstuffed with lots of characters and, at times, brings confusion to viewers who try to understand the motivations of the characters.
“Killer Elite” is rated R due to its language, some sexual and violent content.