Sir Ranulph Fiennes was a member of the British Army for eight years. During that time, he served in the Royal Scots Greys and the Special Air Service (SAS) as well. In 1991, he wrote a novel about the men that he claimed saved his life called “The Feather Men”. The film “Killer Elite” is loosely based on that controversial novel that some people feel is made up of complete fiction.
“Killer Elite” is a film that is supposed to be based on actual events. It stars Jason Statham as Danny Bryce. Bryce is a retired special ops agent who is forced back into action after his mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro) is taken captive by an Arab sheikh. In order for Hunter to be set free, Bryce must kill three men who are accused of killing three of the sheikh’s four sons. Bryce gathers a team to help him on this mission and is soon tracked by Spike Logan (Clive Owen) and a secret group that he’s associated with.
I don’t know how much of this story was actually true, but I did like this movie. It’s a rugged film with a variety of action that is just fun to watch. Although it will be recognized by its action and violence, the movie itself had an entertaining storyline that’s filled with interesting characters and international espionage. Out of all of the action in the film, I probably liked the shootouts and chase sequences the most. The hand to hand combat scenes were okay, but they seemed a bit too unrealistic at times and they took a little longer than expected. I have to say that one of my favorite fight scenes is where old man Robert De Niro is using martial arts to kick ass. I don’t think I’ve seen him do that before, but it was cool. The action as a whole was intense and it easily keeps your attention throughout the film’s duration.
I also liked how interesting and diverse the characters were. They helped to add the life and personality that the film needed even if they were lacking in normal human emotion. Most of the characters in this movie can’t really be seen as good guys or bad guys per se. By force or by choice, the men in “Killer Elite” are simply doing their jobs for the most part. How they do them can be questioned, but there’s purposely never really any attempt to create a definitive view on who’s good or who’s bad.
Some of the stuff in the movie is clearly fiction, but I obviously can’t say if it’s closer to fact or fantasy. Either way, I will say that it’s a fast paced movie that had a lot going on, but was easy to keep up with. If you want action, this may be a movie you might want to give a look.