Killer Elite (2011) Dir: Gary McKendry

Based on a true story - five words that can provoke tremors of dread - this is a strange beast, not quite sure if it wants to be a taut actioner or a politically charged thriller.
In the end, it delivers neither.

The plot.
Jason Statham is Danny, an elite military operative trained in the black art of assassination. He works alongside Hunter (De Niro), a grizzled old sort who has seen more than his fair share of action. When an assassination attempt turns sour, Danny swears to put the life behind him, to get out of the game, and manages to do so for one whole year.
The lure to pull him back in?
Hunter is taken hostage by an Omani Sheikh, who will only release him if Danny assassinates those responsible for the Sheik's son’s deaths.
The catch?
The killers were British military, specifically the SAS.....

A reasonably neat set-up, this starts off promisingly, with plenty of pacey action scenes and gritty fight sequences but, before too long, the interest starts to wane. See, curiously, even though this is based on a true story, at no point was I convinced by anything that was happening on screen. The plot seemed contrived, artificial, plain ridiculous on occasion, so quite how many liberties were taken is anybody's guess.
The cast perform adequately enough, particularly Jason 'The Stath' Statham who is always watchable. I must confess to something of a man-crush, if truth be told. My God, he looks delightful bare-chested save for a pistol holster.
Enjoyment wise, a telling fact is that, though the run time is only 100 minutes total, this felt more like a two hour plus movie.
Never a good sign.
Stylistic confusion, humdrum plotting, and a scattershot approach to pacing means this is probably one best skipped on the big screen, kids.

2 out of 5

The Ghost (2010) Dir: Roman Polanski

Polanski's political thriller is a taut and tense affair.
The plot: Ewan McGregor plays an unnamed ghost writer, working on the memoirs of former UK Prime Minister Adam Lang, replacement for the original ghost who drowned, either through accident or deliberate suicide.
The ghost reads through the manuscript, discovering it to be almost unworkable and decides to start from the beginning, attempting to construct a story that can at least be formed into reasonable prose.
Whilst clearing out his predecessors belongings, he discovers some photographs, along with some cryptic clues that lead him down an investigative path that will have shocking ramifications for the British political system as a whole.
Whilst watching the movie, it is difficult to miss the allusions to real life events, and the real life people that are being portrayed as fiction. Adam Lang is clearly Tony Blair, his wife representing Cherie Blair, and a tangled web is woven around these two most controversial figures.
Hinting at co-operation between the British and American governments that stretches way beyond the famed 'special relationship' between the two countries, this is powerful stuff indeed.
Polanski's direction is stripped to the bone, as is the narrative, with not a scene wasted, not a line of dialogue without cause. I've read many reviews chastising McGregor's English accent and, whilst it does waver on occasion, it seems churlish to belittle a movie for such an insignificant crime.
Old fashioned movie making is the star of the show here, with not a special effect or action sequence in sight, and that's a real breath of fresh air in these CGI laden days, as here the script and the characterisations are allowed to shine.
I saw this in a packed theatre and, it is significant that, for the entire two hour plus duration, not a sound could be heard and not one soul felt the need for a toilet break. as all were gripped by the events playing out on screen.
Whilst plausibility is not something I often claim as a strength in a movie, here it is imperative, as this only serves to add to the impact.
If you want explosions and action set-pieces, I'd steer well clear, but if a crackling atmosphere and tension you could string a guitar with sound appealing, you could do a lot worse.