Killer Elite

Adapted from explorer Ranulph Fiennes's fictionalized memoir The Feather Men, this high-voltage action thriller begins in 1979 with contract killer Danny (Jason Statham) and his grizzled mentor, Hunter (Robert De Niro), poised to execute their target in Mexico. But something goes terribly wrong, and Danny vows that he's done with killing. Several years later, however, Danny is summoned back into action when Hunter is kidnapped by a tribal sheikh (Rodney Afif). Noting that “this time it's personal,” Danny leaves his farm in Australia—where he lives the retired life with his beautiful girlfriend, Anne (Yvonne Strahovski)—to trek to Oman on a rescue mission. In lieu of delivering a monetary ransom, Danny's task is to eliminate a trio of former operatives in the British Special Air Services (SAS) responsible for murdering the sheikh's sons during the Dhofar rebellion, but first he must obtain videotaped confessions from the men and then make their grisly deaths looks like accidents. But Danny's assignment attracts the attention of Spike (Clive Owen), an SAS vet determined to stop Danny and his cohorts. Formulaic from the get-go, director Gary McKendry's Killer Elite is an optional purchase, at best. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include deleted scenes (14 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release are bonus DVD and digital copies of the film, and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a decent extras package for a so-so thriller.] (S. Granger)