Dad spends a night in the mancave: Killer Elite

Some say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting a different result.  If that’s the case then I’m crazy for Jason Statham.  I watch his movies and most of them since The Transporter have been bad.  Just when I was about to lump Statham in a pile with all my old JCVD tapes he goes out and stars in a great movie for him. 

Statham is very likeable, he’s got a receding hairline and permanent 5’ oclock shadow-guys can relate to him.  Fans of the genre know what to expect and because of that we tend to grade Statham’s movies on a curve.  Killer Elite is great for fans of Statham and enjoyable for action movie fans.

In Killer Elite Statham plays Danny a retired (surprise!) hit man. He’s tired of the game and goes to Australia to build a farmhouse.  One day he receives a package with a photo of his mentor, Hunter played by Robert DeNiro) who has been kidnapped.  The kidnappers will kill Hunter unless Danny kills three people that committed atrocities in the Afghanistan War in the 1980’s

The plot seems like standard Statham action but, the difference is in the details and the actors.  Clive Owen and Dominic Purcell are both supporting actors in the film.  The added panache of them, plus DeNiro and other supporting actors help make the film more believable.

The marketing of the movie was done poorly also, just watch the trailer.

Even using the low standards of ‘action movies’ it’s a horrible trailer.  They marketed the movie the way a bad Jason Statham movie is marketed.  Unfortunately for them, Killer Elite is more of a cold war spy film than a typical action movie.

There is some debate about the ‘based on a true story’ claim.  It’s based on a book called The Feather Men written by Sir Randolph Feinnes in 1991.  Back then he didn’t dispute claims that it was based on his time in the SAS and real life elements like photographs and maps only furthered speculation.  However, by the time the movie was released he was fully stating that the story is “100% fiction”.

Regardless, it’s an interesting story and the fact that it may, or may not be based on real SAS stories make the mind wander.  Killer Elite is a good movie with a bad title and ineffective marketing.  If you can rent it for a dollar it’s well worth your man-cave time.

Dad spends a night in the mancave is a series about what guys do when women aren’t around to judge them for what they watch on television.  It’s those potentially bad movies, questionable action films or something starring Bruce Campbell that really can be enjoyable through the lens of a guy.  We may reveal plot points to the movies that are discussed.  If you’re looking for reviews of movie stars that haven’t appeared with Bruce Willis then you will want to look elsewhere.  In our book you should never trust an actor who has not appeared with Bruce Willis or Campbell for that matter.