Killer Elite

Starring: Jason Statham, Robert De Niro, & Clive Owen

Rating: 4 out of 5 star

Every Jason Statham movie is better than the last, as he continues to cement his reputation as the action star of Generation X. Since it's domination of the late 80s, Action movies have really suffered due to a lack of decent story lines and an infestation of stars, who landed these roles, simply due to their size, but Statham is changing all that, as evident by his latest film, Killer Elite. Based on the novel, The Feather Men by Ranulph Fiennes, Killer Elite covers the events, following a British covert op in the early 80s. The British Navy Seals (The S.A.S.) secretly forced out oil rich land owners in the Middle East, by whatever means necessary, in order to steal their land. Five years later, on his death bed, one sheik is seeking revenge for the death of 3 of his sons. To do this, the sheik has hired an elite team of underground hit men to take out the men suspected of killing his children, not an easy task when you consider that all the targets are highly trained former military operatives. Jason Statham stars as Danny Bryce, the team leader who is forced out of retirement, to take on the hardest job of his career. As has become common place, Statham is terrific and really carries the story on his back. Killer Elite is a someone complicated plot, with a first time director, but thanks to Statham's experience, you'll think these guys have been working together for year. As his reputation has continued to grow, bigger and bigger stars want to work with Statham, and any time you can add names like Robert De Niro and Clive Owen to a film, it only enhances it and boosts it's potential audience. Aside from just the amazing action sequences and covert maneuvers, the story adds real life drama to the film, by including shady government cover ups, double agents, and even police involvement in the events, making for the rarest of rare in the Action genre, a film with a deep and compelling plot. That's what really makes this film so good, it's not just about the chases, explosions, and killing, there is a real story here, that is unpredictable and very well written. Killer Elite may not top Parker as Statham's best movie, but it's pretty close. If you enjoy a fast-paced, edge of your seat movie, with a lot of interesting characters and a deep plot, than you won't want to miss this film.