Review of Killer Elite, The

Introduction

When the CIA doesn`t want to dirty its hands with a mission, it farms it out to ComTeg. This could be assassination, protection of a `sensitive` subject or the blowing up of a building in order to further its aims in the name of National Security.

"This film is a work of fiction. There is no company called Communications Integrity NOR ComTeg and the thought that the C.I.A. might employ such an organization for any purpose is, of course, preposterous."

Enter James Caan and Robert Duvall. Senior brass, pen pushers, "Ruperts", call them what you will, these are the ones that pull the strings. In this case, they play both sides and pit agents against each other. Duvall versus Caan; one betrays the other and the other seeks revenge. Oh, and before I forget, chuck in a bit about protecting an important Chinese diplomat.

For me, James Caan will be remembered for three performances: The Godfather , Rollerball and Misery. Watching him here opposite Robert Duvall is far less memorable. Cue the yawns.

Video

Presented with a 2.30:1 letterbox transfer, Killer Elite looks good until you zoom the image to fill your screen and it becomes softer. The quality of the transfer remains high with little in the way of dirt getting in the way. Colours reproduce the 70s era as well as you might expect, though it wasn`t a colourful period according to this film. Lots of browns, blacks and white and these come out well.

Audio

This is typical MGM back catalogue fare with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack doing as good a job as one can expect. The dialogue is clear, as are the music and sound effects. It`s functional and works.

Features

• Original Theatrical Trailer (1:59) - Watch this and you need never sit through this slow film.

Lots of subtitles and four Dolby Digital 2.0 language tracks round off this title.

Conclusion

I like Sam Peckinpah, his film The Getaway with Steve McQueen is a favourite of mine and so the chance to see some of Peckinpah`s other work is always greeted with interest. However, Killer Elite is a film I could do without; this film is too long and contains what I consider to be too many pedestrian scenes which don`t add to the film. After the first 20 minutes I almost gave up with boredom such is the slow meandering pace.

The attention started to waver soon after partner Duvall shot Caan. What follows is too much attention paid to Caan`s recuperation and training where upon completion he carries out that last assignment. Can you guess whom he has to face in this assignment? Yup, you`ve guessed it. While the betrayal/revenge theme is interesting, this film is simply too long and story too dull. It loses focus and becomes somewhat confusing by involving the protection of a Chinese politician, which is not essential to the film`s plot. There is nothing of interest in this film.

The film does have trademark Peckinpah though with a shootout in the final scenes involving the most inept and cringe worthy ninjas I`ve ever seen. A poor package of a poor film results in wasted time. Don`t bother with this one.