The Killer Elite (1975)
Genre: Thriller / Action
Duration: 122 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Sam Peckinpah
Stars: James Caan, Robert Duvall and Bo Hopkins
IMDb score:
6,0 (8.226)
Releasedate: 19 December 1975
The Killer Elite plot
"They protect us from the enemy, but who protects us from them?"
Mike Locken is part of a group of freelance spies. During a secret mission, he is betrayed by a colleague and shot. His mission fails and Mike limps for an extended period of time. After his recovery, he is out for revenge and will not rest until he catches the culprit.
Actors and actresses
Mike Locken
George Hansen
Cap Collis
Jerome Miller
Yuen Chung
Mac
Lawrence Weyburn
O'Leary
Tommie
Walter
Reviews & comments
Insignificance
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- 3220 messages
- 5589 votes
Peckinpah looking for a hit. Not just at the box office, but also in his nose. Coke and directing apparently don't go well together, although it's not until the third act that the film collapses. What is noticeable in any case is the violence. Normally something Bloody Sam comes up with, here it's a much more businesslike affair. Almost futile when you consider the location of the finale.
But it no longer becomes a factor of importance. By then the scenario has changed into a mess and with the Asian influences it becomes a clownish show. Too bad. Not that it can be counted among Peckinpah's best work, but it is still an acceptable seventies vehicle with admittedly a silly spy plot from back then, but that is tackled quickly.
Duvall and especially Caan steal the show. One with a great laugh, the other with a nonchalant, but also dogged attitude. You don't see such a long rehabilitation in these kinds of films anymore. Young (Paulie!) does something nice with a bomb. There is more dry humor present and the attack on the airport is nicely edited. It derails somewhere. Just like Sam.
Translated from Dutch · View original
W.V.
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- 845 messages
- 476 votes
This is without a doubt the worst Peckinpah film I have seen, saw it recently on AMC. I really could have saved myself the trouble. Peckinpah was clearly not helped by the actors, the acting is substandard. During the hospital scene I thought I was watching a documentary. Duval seems to be constantly under the influence, Caan tries a little in the beginning, but soon lets things go. Burt Young is the only one who still makes something of his role, for him he plays very subdued, usually he is a grumpy or antisocial person, but now he is even friendly, helpful and he even worries about someone else. The rest of the actors, with Hopkins and Mako in the lead, do not do well at all.
When the last scenes on the boat start, you think at first that you finally see the real Peckinpah again, that only lasts for a moment until the ninjas appear again. The myth of the Ninjas is pretty much disproved there, of course it could also be because the direction was very bad, what a disgrace those ninjas. So I don't need to see this movie anymore.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10013 messages
- 4679 votes
Disappointing from Peckinpah. Starts slowly and lacks a lot: action, tension, interesting characters. It was all missing. Peckinpah is otherwise a fine director, and you can see that here too: the scenes are neatly shot and "dated" is not a word I would use about him. There is simply too much attention paid to Locken's rehabilitation, which causes the film to become unbalanced... after an hour there is still no progress. After that, Locken has to protect a Japanese businessman or politician from mercenaries and the yakuza, in which he is double-crossed, but that too did not really get me going. I am terribly disappointed in this film.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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