Killer Elite

"Based on a true story..." Really?! No wonder the British government is reluctant to respond to any inquiries triggered by this book by Ranulph Fiennes! It was kinda neat to see THEM looking for plausible deniability this time instead of the United States.

In a cast loaded with tough guys, these three are the toughest:

• Jason Statham ("Transporter" franchise) plays a former member of Britain's Elite Special Air Service who is forced out of retirement by the kidnapping of his mentor, played by....
  
• Robert De Niro ("Limitless") who has been captured by a sheik who will only release him after he has evidence which proves the deaths of the operatives who killed three of his sons.
  
• Clive Owen ("Duplicity") is another former Elite Special Air Ser- vice veteran who is employed by a secret cabal known as "The Feather." His job is threefold: 1) Protect those targeted operatives. 2) Dispose of the guys trying to kill them. 3) Take the fall if any- thing goes bad.
  

Statham's character just wants to retire to a quiet little place in the Out- back; after a traumatic job, he's done killing. Even though he's sick of violence, he refuses to leave his mentor in the lurch. It's interesting to see him work around the issue as the story progresses. I'm always surprised when characters are surprised by betrayals, double dealings and duplicity.

This is R-rated, so expect over-the-top fisticuffs, vehicular mayhem, LOTS of gunfire, a flash of nudity and surprising restraint with profanity. There is some blowie uppie stuff, but Statham's movies usually focus more on character than on violence...smile...

But I did learn something new: "MFWIC" and you have to buy a ticket to see what it means...Ha!

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Here is a link to a trailer:
http://www.imdb.com/video/imdb/vi70294553/
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