Killer Elite

Killer Elite Poster

I saw a couple of previews for this while going to the c cinema last year, and for some peculiar reason I never got round to seeing it unfortunately, I absolutely love Jason Statham, he typifies what it means to be a British hard nut. Robert De Niro is also in this film, what is there to say about him, the name is just enough. Dominic Purcell (Blade: Trinity, Prison Break) is also in there playing another tough guy Englishman. Rounding off the excellent English cast is Clive Owen who is also fit for the part in this film.

What’s it all about I hear you say? Well,  it starts with the 3 main characters “Danny” (Statham), “Hunter” (De Niro)  and “Davies” (Purcell) on a mission to assassinate a government official, when things go badly wrong for “Danny” as he kills the official, a child is also in the car, and subsequently for his hesitant stance, he is shot by a police officer, “Hunter” then manages to retrieve “Danny” and then they drive off and “Danny” telling the other two that “he wants out”.

And so the movie starts from a year on. “Danny” is out of the “game”. This is when he receives a letter saying that “Hunter” has been captured by a sheikh and he wants “Danny” to help him with a situation, thus letting “Hunter” go on completetion. “Danny” along with “Davies” is then told to kill 3 men who were responsible for killing the Sheikh’s 3 sons (with 1 remaining). What “Danny” and “Davies” don’t realise is that they must get past one hell of a man on a mission in Clive Owen’s character “Spike” who is defending his fellow SAS. This is the basic story and like my other reviews I don’t really wan t to give too much away without you seeing it.

The film is set in the 80’s and is interestingly based on a true story, which allows the audience supposedly see the lives of killers in the 80’s. so it is a very original take on this type of film, if you get what Im saying without being too confusing.

The acting is of a good standard, typical De Niro and typical Statham, make this a good film, some parts of the film are action orientated and others are slightly slow but add to the depth of the story which is nice for this genre.

Overall the film is a good one and is good at what it does, but nothing more and nothing less.

Get Watching!

Blitz

The UK Poster 

So I have been Ummmming and Uhhhhhhhing about whether or not to review this, I was lucky enough to be able to see this film about 4 weeks before it was released on DVD, a couple of weeks after that I set up this site, and didn’t know if I could class this as a new review however, I think that it warrants a part of my blog in which it will be reviewed as a new film.

The story is quite simply, it’s a game of cat and mouse with a little twist. Jason Statham plays Detective Sergeant Tom Brant, in the beginning it shows that quite simply he is a rogue cop in the sense that he comes down harder on people that cause trouble than the everyday officer, this is shown in the opening scene when he spots a group of individuals trying to steal his car, unfortunately for them, he wields a crow bar and some mean skills.

The story continues with a murder of a cop committed by Barry Weiss played by the brilliant Aiden Gillen, this is the part of the film I liked the most, you get to see the killer and obviously the protagonists don’t, this helps to build the suspense as you watch Statham and the newly appointed Chief Inspector, James Roberts (Played by Paddy Considine) try and catch, they are both convinced that it is him however, how far will they go to capture him.

Also, unfortunately not shown in the trailer, the film is about the relationship between Jason Statham and Paddy Considine, Paddy Considine’s character is Homosexual and a lot of the department don’t like him for this, however Jason Statham’s character takes a liking to him because they both have the same method of catching criminals.

Jason Statham & Paddy Considine

The chemistry between characters is excellent, Paddy Considine is particular good as the upstanding member of the community with an edge, Aiden Gillen as usual plays the villain and does it convincingly, sadistic, yet calm, the worst kind of enemy. Finally Jason Statham plays in his normal role, the muscle bound, stereotypically hard man of British culture with a loveable side.

There is even room for a few twists during the non stop action.

The music is first class, a couple of weeks before I had seen this movie, I was lucky enough to see the band that did the music (without realising that they did the music) they are called “The Quemists”, through out the film there are only 2 songs used however where their music is different it changes through out the song, I would highly recommend seeing them. (The songs played throughout are “Tomcat” and “Stompbox Spore Remix”).

So overall if you want a fast paced action film, this is the best British action flick this year (so far) in my opinion. It’s got everything you need in a decent action movie, and you wont be disappointed by the acting, the music or the story line. Thoroughly Enjoyable!

Storyline: 8/10

Characters: 9/10

Soundtrack: 9/10

Overall: 9/10