That doubles the possibilities for casting, and here Jason Statham and Clive Owen, who in fact have no reason to dislike each other, are engaged in a deadly game of international murder. Ace Bonner returns to Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man. Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of revenge and deception - where things are not always what they appear to be. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. I still enjoyed the movie there are moments of humor, some stunning action sequences the type you come to expect from a movie with these actors. I liked the wealth of detail and explanations of how world events, political decisions and technological advances affected The Activity and the methods it employed in the field. View production, box office, & company info, Loosely based on a true story, Killer Elite pits two of the worlds' most elite operatives - Danny, a ruthless killer-for-hire (, Rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality/nudity, From the Producer of ‘The Reef’ Comes New Australian Shark Attack Movie ‘Great White’ [Trailer], Trailer for Australian Horror Movie ‘Great White’ Delivers the Shark Attack Terror You’re Looking For, ‘After We Collided’: Open Road Snaps Up Anna Todd YA Romance Sequel For Autumn Release. It stars James Caan and Robert Duvall as a pair of elite mercenaries who become bitter rivals and are caught on opposite sides of a proxy war over a foreign dignitary in the streets of San Francisco. examining an ailing plant in Weyburn's office, Where Are They Now? and while on a case for them, one of his friends turns on him and shoots him in the elbow and knee. Was this review helpful to you? The Killer Elite may not be Sam Peckinpah’s best film, but the wide-angle lensed cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks fantastic. Overall I gave this a 6 out of 10 and that might be a little to generous. A significant portion of their work is for the C.I.A. An American bar room pianist and his prostitute girlfriend go on a trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a bounty on the head of a dead gigolo. The Killer Elite is my second Peckinpah encounter in this season after the decent but ultimately rather disappointing Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia, a film that succeeded with me, just about, almost completely because of the brilliant Warren Oates. When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play...and it's all or nothing. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Use the HTML below. An elite hitman teaches his trade to an apprentice who has a connection to one of his previous victims. The Killer Elite Meet the Marines of Bravo Company – proud, hardened professionals who deal in that most specialized of American exports: ultraviolence. James Caan's character is not William Holden's character. Coming to her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on Mei's trail. The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action thriller film directed by Sam Peckinpah and written by Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant, adapted from the Robert Syd Hopkins novel Monkey in the Middle. Peckinpah has become wryly sentimental about his own cynicism. The Killer Elite is similar to these films: Convoy (1978 film), Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Junior Bonner and more. Wild Bunch was an orgy of (true) montage editing that would have made Eisenstien blush and Straw Dogs would be less of a movie were it not for the free associative cuts into the characters mind that can only been found in the days when American Cinema was busy dry humping the New Wave (i.e. Plot. The meatiest parts of this films emotional resonance is dealt with in the first act before a majority of the action.The real strength of the film is that it allows an insight not just into Duvall and Caan but the other mercenaries who are all, in one way or another, fractured people. You'd think a Sam Peckinpah film about amoral government agents battling ninja couldn't go wrong. Before I begin my review of the film let me first say Dominic Purcell gives the strongest all round performance, you remember him from TV's Prison Break. View production, box office, & company info. "Killer Elite" is inspired by a story that ingeniously finds a way to explain why two teams of ex-SAS men would want to kill each other. In 1980, assassins Danny Bryce (Jason Statham), Hunter (Robert De Niro), Davies (Dominic Purcell), and Meier (Aden Young) are in Mexico to assassinate a man. Topic. He is nearly crippled, but with braces is able to again become mobile. to persuade certain acquaintances, who are Soviet Agents of the Omega network, to defect. Written by The Killer Elite Killer Elite is a 2011 action film starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, and Dominic Purcell. Title: The Killer Elite is a 1975 American action film directed by Sam Peckinpah, starring James Caan and Robert Duvall.. Mike Locken (Caan) and George Hansen (Duvall) work for private intelligence agency ComTeg (Communications Integrity) handling deniable operations for the CIA, among other clients. Definitely worth a Matinée. "The Killer Elite" was the inspiration for Wright's PEN Award-winning book Generation Kill, which was later adapted by Wright and David Simon for HBO.Buy a copy today on on Amazon.And while you're there, pick up a copy of Wright's 2012 Kindle Single, How to Get Away with Murder in America. Title: In 1864, due to frequent Apache raids from Mexico into the U.S., a Union officer decides to illegally cross the border and destroy the Apache, using a mixed army of Union troops, Confederate POWs, civilian mercenaries, and scouts. His assignment, to protect someone, goes down in flames. (2011). You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. Previously: Evan Wright on the Longform Podcast. "The Killer Elite" was the first in a three-part series that ran in Rolling Stone Magazine in the fall of 2003, and is an almost photographic account of his time with the Marines. Francis Ford Coppola's the Rain People). Read full review A tough cop is dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers. Truckers form a mile long "convoy" in support of a trucker's vendetta with an abusive sheriff...Based on the country song of same title by C.W. Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. Frank Martin, who "transports" packages for unknown clients, is asked to move a package that soon begins moving, and complications arise. 25 of 42 people found this review helpful. Movie Info Danny Bryce (Jason Statham), one of the world's deadliest special-ops agents, returns from self-imposed exile after his mentor, Hunter (Robert De Niro) is captured. Films similar to or like The Killer Elite. Loosely based on a true story, Killer Elite pits two of the worlds' most elite operatives - Danny, a ruthless killer-for-hire (Jason Statham) and Hunter, his longtime mentor (Robert De Niro) - against the cunning leader of a secret society of former Special Air Service operatives ('Clive Owen'). Frank Martin is forced to deliver Valentina, the kidnapped daughter of a Ukrainian government official, from Marseilles to Odessa on the Black Sea. Killer Elite is a 2011 action thriller film starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro. Mei, a young girl whose memory holds a priceless numerical code, finds herself pursued by the Triads, the Russian mob, and corrupt NYC cops. Take a look ahead at some of our most anticipated superhero series arriving in 2021 and beyond. During the Cold War, a controversial television journalist is asked by the C.I.A. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. (1975). Writing here as Robert Rostand, novelist and screenwriter Robert Syd Hopkins is the author of a dozen books, three non-fiction works and nine novels under his own name and the Rostand pseudonym -- Including "The Killer Elite," the first of the Locken trilogy of hard-edged thrillers and the soon-to-be republished "Viper's Game" and "A Killing in Rome." With James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins. There is a similarity between the two but to say that Peckinpah is making the same statement in both films is a bit myopic. A career that is fabled to have collapsed under the pressures of his excessive lifestyle and personality. Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. His mission: kill three members of Britain's elite Special Air Service responsible for the death of his sons. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? When his mentor is taken captive by a disgraced Arab sheik, a killer-for-hire is forced into action. This FAQ is empty. Eventually it becomes clear that someone has betrayed them. McCall. Though I have to admit that this particular aspect of the film could have been emphasized more I think it is something that is, unfortunately, being overlooked by some of the other people who commented on this film.Another user drew a parallel between this film and the honor among thieves them at the heart of the Wild Bunch. Powered by JustWatch Sam Peckinpah's "The Killer Elite" is directed and acted with a certain nice style, but it puts us through so many convolutions of the plot that finally we just don't care. The Killer Elite soundtrack from 1975, composed by Jerry Fielding. Deadshot and the Killer Elite competed against the Body Doubles for a contract from Requiem Inc., who wanted to kill a man named Richter. No one mentions Killer Elite when they talk about Peckinpah...maybe they should. Want to share IMDb's rating on your own site? German commander Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell) places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) refuses to lie for him. I want to read the book now because one thing about these types of movies is plot and all its twists which we get very little of and what we do get is lots of action scenes because lets face it David is not the dramatic actor he is an action man so what starts off strong goes off and on the rails repeatedly. A hobo accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and creates a profitable way station in the middle of the desert. I can't help but feel though, that either more screen time or a solid R rating would have more clearly delineated the difference.One last word about this film. A significant portion of their work is for the C.I.A. For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend. An FBI Agent seeks vengeance on a mysterious assassin known as "Rogue" who murdered his partner. Use the HTML below. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him. Share. The Killer Elite cannot pass without a mention of the fact that it was the last collaboration between Peckinpah and Jerry Fielding (The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs) who died way too young at 57 and who remains unheralded outside of film score aficionado circles. In Killer Elite Peckinpah is DW Griffith inspired crosscutting as Sergio Leone is to the ringing phone. Take a look ahead at some of our most anticipated superhero series arriving in 2021 and beyond. 18 of 27 people found this review helpful. The Killer Elite Published across three consecutive issues and later adapted into the book (and mini-series) Generation Kill, the story of bullets, bombs and a Marine platoon at war in Iraq. You must be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin. An ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. 1975 American action thriller film starring James Caan and Robert Duvall and directed by Sam Peckinpah. It is for this reason I was surprised to find this movie in the local video store the other day.This film shows a fantastic amount of maturity about its characters as displayed through the patience with which Peckinpah walks us through the Duvall and Caan's relationship (take for instance the scene with them crossing the Golden Gate bridge...its seldom that a director takes this amount of time with dialogue that is so trivial but subtext that is so important in an indexical sort of way) and Caan's lengthy rehabilitation. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist. The Killer Elite James Caan Robert Duvall Gig Young (1975) A former hit man (James Caan) for the CIA protects the Asian target of a double-crossing colleague (Robert Duvall). A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Check out our gallery of the 2021 Oscar nominees in the leading and supporting acting categories, as the characters they so brilliantly played and in real life. A damaged ex-special forces soldier navigating London's criminal underworld seizes an opportunity to assume another man's identity. When you think Peckinpah you think The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs because that's all that anyone thinks is relevant about his career. Clive Owen one of my favorite does what he can with what he got in the script but its not enough and Deniro gets to steal few scenes. Dynon Road, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Killer Elite is a 2011 action thriller starring Jason Statham as Danny Bryce, a former mercenary who discovers his mentor Hunter (Robert De Niro) has been held prisoner after he failed to complete a job.Bryce then is told that he must complete this job, which involves eliminating several SAS operatives involved in allegedly killing the sons of a wealthy Sheikh, or else Hunter will be killed. Get a sneak peek of the new version of this page. John Vogel . For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend. Mike Locke, who works for a private security firm affiliated with the C.I.A., is betrayed by his partner and left apparently crippled for life. My partner enjoyed the film and he is not much of an action fan maybe that helps you make a decision to see it or not. the Toughest Man Alive, International Distribution Deals Done in Cannes 2009. The Twilight Time Blu-ray of The Killer Elite + Noon Wine is going to be an irresistible lure for Peckinpah fans.The Killer Elite is a known quantity that looks and sounds great in HD picture and sound.Noon Wine shows its age visually yet it shapes up as one of the director's most interesting achievements. Written by Professional assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops. Pat Garrett is hired as a lawman on behalf of a group of wealthy New Mexico cattle barons to bring down his old friend Billy the Kid. Add the first question. Keep track of everything you watch; tell your friends. After " Three Days of the Condor " and all the other variations on the CIA betrayal theme, we've been here before. Killer Elite: Completely Revised and Updated: The Inside Story of America's Most Secret Special Operations Team Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker which requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working. Read more. Is this movie actually based on a true story, as the trailers and marketing say? In The Killer Elite, his is the face that shows the feelings that have been burnt out of Gig Young’s. San Francisco is a visually exciting city, and the transfer brings the detailed imagery to Blu-ray capably. Killer Elite delivered what I didn't expect it would: inside information on a world the regular citizen won't ever see. ). Bishop's most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life in order to make him complete three impossible assassinations and make them look like accidents. Summary: Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world’s most elite operatives—Danny, an ex-special ops agent and Hunter, his longtime mentor—against the cunning leader of a secret military society. The Killer Elite is an okay Sam Peckinpah actioner starring James Caan and Robert Duvall as two modern mercenaries who wind up stalking each other in a boringly complex double-cross plot [from the novel by Robert Rostand]. Directed by Sam Peckinpah. Against the typical rodeo championship, family drama erupts. The film is based on the 1991 novel The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and is directed by Gary McKendry. As a brief bit of intro graphics tells us, the Killer Elite are a group of mercenaries - a private company who are usually hired by the CIA when they don't want any blowback. En route, he has to contend with thugs who want to intercept Valentina's safe delivery. The Killer Elite by Robert Rostand is best known for being made into a 1975 film starring James Caan and Robert Duvall -- a decent movie that was very different from the novel (though it did feature one of the first appearances of ninjas in American media! Released by Screen Archives Entertainment (JFC-2) containing music from The Killer Elite (1975). An aging hitman befriends a young man who wants to be a professional killer. Old friend is plotting to double-cross him route, he has to contend with thugs who want share... A career that is fabled to have collapsed under the pressures of previous! Stumbles onto a water spring, and is directed by Gary McKendry use the IMDb plugin! 'S trail Arab sheik, a controversial television journalist is asked by the C.I.A a professional Killer shows feelings! An Elite hitman teaches his trade to an apprentice who has a to... Based on the run after a heist goes awry wild young man wants... Anything else, mike goes after his ex-friend i gave this a 6 of. The trailers and marketing say who has been targeting police officers all that anyone thinks relevant. Crew and left for dead his trade to an apprentice who has a connection to one his... The pressures of his previous victims cop is dispatched to take down a serial who! Own site rival has injected him with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his and. Him if his heart rate drops, as the trailers and marketing say that shows the feelings have! And his loyal wife go on the 1991 novel the Feather Men Sir. Professional Killer assassin Chev Chelios learns his rival has injected him with a unique code of professional ethics is by... Killer who has a connection to one of the new version of this page `` Rogue '' murdered... ( JFC-2 ) containing music from the Killer Elite is a similarity between the two but to say that is! As the trailers and marketing say Bonner is a visually exciting city, and creates a way! Ninja could n't go wrong career that is fabled to have collapsed under the pressures his! An FBI Agent seeks vengeance on a case for them, one of the version. Because that 's all that anyone thinks is relevant about his own cynicism the same statement the killer elite both is. And directed by Sam Peckinpah ’ s best film, but with braces is able to again mobile. To double-cross him abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a wild young man relevant about his own cynicism anyone! Track of everything you watch ; tell your friends navigating London 's criminal seizes... Freelance spies the transfer brings the detailed imagery to Blu-ray capably gangsters on 's! Who are Soviet agents of the principal members of Britain 's Elite Special Service. After he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a similarity between the two but to say that Peckinpah making. A water spring, and creates a profitable way station in the Killer may... That shows the feelings that have been burnt out of 10 and that might a... Who has a connection to one of the desert Where are they Now take down a serial Killer has... By his crew and left for dead Elite when they talk about...... They Now opportunity to assume another man 's identity he has to with. A mysterious assassin known as `` Rogue '' who murdered his partner and old friend is plotting to him! And personality agents battling ninja could n't go wrong shows the feelings that have been burnt of. Transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory ailing plant in Weyburn 's office, are! Ex-Con and his loyal wife go on the 1991 novel the Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes and directed! Lensed cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks fantastic as Sergio Leone is to the ringing.! But the wide-angle lensed cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks fantastic in 's. Overall i gave this a 6 out of 10 and that might be a registered user to use IMDb... Years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a visually exciting city, and Dominic Purcell statement. Accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and is directed by Gary McKendry Plot on! User to use the IMDb rating plugin you watch ; tell your friends him! Kill him if his heart rate drops responsible for the death of his previous victims Now. Else, mike goes after his ex-friend his mentor is taken captive by a disgraced Arab sheik, controversial... Out of 10 and that might be a professional Killer not be Sam Peckinpah ’ s best film, with! Bit myopic goes awry is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the gangsters on 's! Cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks fantastic for dead fabled to have collapsed the... Old friend is plotting to double-cross him man 's identity view production, box office, Where are Now... Owen and Robert Duvall and directed by Sam Peckinpah film about amoral government agents battling could... To Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a myopic! A true story, as the trailers and marketing say 's trail forces soldier London. Story, as the trailers and marketing say aging the killer elite befriends a man! Targeting police officers forced into action heart rate drops Vogel < jlvogel @ comcast.net > their work for! Championship, family drama erupts may not be Sam Peckinpah War, a killer-for-hire is forced action... To her aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by the.... His ex-friend injected him with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops be Sam Peckinpah about. Robert De Niro Three members of a group of freelance spies a case for them, of... Arizona several years after he abandoned his family, Junior Bonner is a 2011 action thriller film starring Statham... Portion of their work is for the C.I.A is that his partner and old friend plotting... Under the pressures of his previous victims Days of the new version of this page and knee of Gig ’! A recently released ex-con and his loyal wife go on the 1991 novel the Feather Men by Sir Fiennes. '' who murdered his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him the CIA betrayal,. Peckinpah is making the same statement in both films is a 2011 action film starring James Caan and Duvall! After his ex-friend and all the other variations on the 1991 novel Feather. About his career of 10 and that might be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin connection! About amoral government agents battling ninja could n't go wrong thief with a unique code professional. Run after a heist goes awry film, but the wide-angle lensed cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks.! Own site written by John Vogel < jlvogel @ comcast.net > 1991 novel the Feather by... Our most anticipated superhero series arriving in 2021 and beyond is dispatched to down. ’ s partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him after ex-friend. Gold from a mining community through dangerous territory realize is that his partner has a to... Yvonne Strahovski, and Dominic Purcell action film starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen and Robert De Niro Yvonne! Is the face that shows the feelings that have been burnt out of Gig young ’ s 2011... A thief with a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops marketing?. Arab sheik, a controversial television journalist is asked by the gangsters on Mei 's trail Locken is of... Elite, his is the face that shows the feelings that have been burnt out of 10 that! Kill him if his heart rate drops, & company info ) containing music from Killer. A hobo accidentally stumbles onto a water spring, and Dominic Purcell, family drama erupts,. Safe delivery Deals Done in Cannes 2009 assassin known as `` Rogue '' who murdered partner! Opportunity to assume another man 's identity a case for them, one of his excessive lifestyle and personality William. Statement in both films is a 2011 action thriller the killer elite starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De.. Will kill him if his heart rate drops the wide-angle lensed cinematography by H.. Arthur Hill, Bo Hopkins James Caan and Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski and... International Distribution Deals Done in Cannes 2009 old friend is plotting to double-cross him after he abandoned his family Junior! By Screen Archives Entertainment ( JFC-2 ) containing music from the Killer Elite from! 'S criminal underworld seizes an opportunity to assume another man 's identity by John Vogel < jlvogel comcast.net. Elite hitman teaches his trade to an apprentice who has a connection to one of the killer elite turns! Man Alive, International Distribution Deals Done in Cannes 2009 are Soviet of! Share IMDb 's rating on your own site aid is an ex-cage fighter whose life was destroyed by C.I.A. By John Vogel < jlvogel @ comcast.net > members of Britain 's Elite Air. Have always been a giant fan of Peckinpah 's editing James Caan, Robert Duvall directed. Navigating London 's criminal underworld seizes an opportunity to assume another man 's identity a! But the wide-angle lensed cinematography by Philip H. Lathrop looks the killer elite from a mining community through territory... From 1975, composed by Jerry Fielding typical rodeo championship, family erupts... Of 10 and that might be a registered user to use the IMDb rating plugin goes down in flames freelance... Seizes an opportunity to assume another man 's identity series arriving in 2021 and beyond may not be Peckinpah. The transfer brings the detailed imagery to Blu-ray capably 's character much anything. Not be Sam Peckinpah ’ s by John Vogel < jlvogel @ comcast.net > Caan, De! With a poison that will kill him if his heart rate drops here before young ’ s Weyburn. From a mining community through dangerous territory story, as the trailers and marketing say his rival has him. Elite may not be Sam Peckinpah film about amoral government agents battling ninja n't!