Killer Elite (2011): Despite the title, this is not a remake of the 1970’s Peckinpah actioner of the same name (they are based on two totally different books from two different eras). Based on the book “The Feathermen” by Sir Ranulph Fiennes (which purports to be true), about a team of English mercenaries in 1980, who are hired by a dying sheik in Oman to kill three British SAS soldiers responsible for the deaths of 3 of his sons during the Dhofar Rebellion in 1972. The catch is that they have to get a confession on tape from each murderer, the deaths must look like accidents, and all must die before the terminally ill sheik dies himself. The leader of the mercenaries is Danny Bryce (played by Jason Statham), who takes the job because the sheik has kidnapped a friend of his, Hunter (Robert DeNiro), who had previously failed at the same job. Other members of Bryce’s team include Davies (an almost unrecognizable Dominic Purcell) and Meier (Aden Young). Once the assassinations begin, the mercenaries draw the attention of the Feathermen, a group of former SAS who watch over their own. Their fixer, Spike Logan (Clive Owen), is tasked with finding out who the assassins are and eliminating them. This is arguably the best Jason Statham movie I’ve seen to date - the dialogue is fantastic and quotable after the fact, with fleshed-out believable characters and action set pieces that are well-staged without being gaudy or over-the-top. This is the first feature length film from director Gary McKendry. Woodchuck sez, “Check it out.”
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