Movie: Killer Elite
Release Date: September 23, 2011
Studio: Open Road Films
Director: Gary McKendry
Screenwriter: Gary McKendry, Matt Sherring
Starring: Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, Dominic Purcell, Aden Young, Ben Mendelsohn, Lachy Hulme, Firass Dirani, Grant Bowler, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Genre: Action, Thriller
Official Website: KillerElite.com
Well, maybe not, but that’s more a reflection of the strength of competition (one word for you: Chipwrecked) than the levels of nuttiness on show in the new trailer for Gary McKendry’s action thriller. In particular, watch out for Jason Statham duffing up Clive Owen and Clive Owen’s silly little moustache while still tied to a chair.
Killer Elite purports to be based on a true story, although liberties must surely have been taken to fashion some of the snippets of action on show in the just-released trailer: the aforementioned chair assault; the Stath appearing to beat up Adebesi from Oz using a car seatbelt; Clive Owen and Clive Owen’s silly little moustache knifing what looks like a sickly Santa Claus.
It almost looks like a spoof of the Bourne movies (a Meet the Spartans to the Bourne franchise’s 300, if you will), with the sense of madcap nonsense being further amped up by the soundtrack’s use of Rock You Like a Hurricane, by those poodle rockers incarnate the Scorpions. Also worth noting is the appearance of Robert De Niro as mentor to Statham’s rogue special ops man, just confirming that Uncle Bob’s recent stint as Cannes jury president didn’t signal an end to his last-decade stint of sleepwalking his way through idiotic films. Thank goodness.
Not even yesterday’s first look photo of Robert De Niro and his great big bushy beard could prepare us for the non-stop macho action in the trailer for the Jason Statham-Clive Owen starrer Killer Elite, which hit the web today. After the jump, watch the wealth of punches, power kicks, explosions, gunshots, inventive action moves, and unabashed man love on display in the span of a minute and forty seconds. Then mark your calendars for September 23.
Director Gary McKendry makes his feature debut with Killer Elite and co-scripted with Matt Sherring, adapting the 1991 novel The Feather Men by British writer and adventurer (and third cousin to Ralph and Joseph) Ranulph Fiennes. The title is similar to Sam Peckinpah’s 1975 film The Killer Elite, which starred James Caan and Robert Duvall but featured a different story about dueling spies.
The plot goes something like this: Evil, mustachioed Clive Owen takes beardy De Niro hostage to coerce Jason Statham to come out of retirement; complications ensue, and soon Statham is doing backflips onto Owen while strapped to a chair before jumping out of a second-story window. Somewhere along the lines there’s a pretty girl, windows explode, De Niro throws ‘bows — and did Statham just punch Owen in the nuts?
I believe that a film’s accompanying music, even in trailer, isn’t to be taken lightly. Therefore, when ’80s anthem “Rock You Like a Hurricane” by the German metal band The Scorpions starts playing halfway through the trailer, it sends a clear message to the audience. Namely: This movie, with its direct-to-DVD-worthy title, might just be the most fun you have with meaty, old fashioned man vs.man action you have in theaters until The Expendables 2 comes out.
Love him or loathe him, you know where you are with Jason Statham. The Londoner has packed more violent actioners into his 13 year career than you or I have had hot dinners, and they’re still coming fast and hard.
Whilst sharing its name with a 1975 picture starring James Caan and Robert Duvall and directed by Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs), the film is based Sir Ranulph Fiennes’ book The Feather Men (which is based on a true story). Despite this, the plot feels all too familiar; former SAS man Danny Bryce (Statham) springs into action when his mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro) is kidnapped by the villainous Spike (Clive Owen). Cue a vast array of OTT violence, chases and dialogue, all accompanied by a booming soundtrack.
The trailer itself encapsulates all of this and more, kicking off with Statham tied to a chair, the menacing Owen looming over him. There is a wonderful sense of ridiculousness evoked when the trailer follows a shot of Statham crashing through a second-story window (still tied to a chair) with the words ‘Based On A True Story’. Accompanying the action, we hear German heavy metal/rock band Scorpions with their 80s hit ‘Rock You Like A Hurricane’.
One thing is for sure, Killer Elite won’t go easy on the clichés; however if you’re a fan of what Statham does best, get ready for another wild ride.
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