Killer Elite

From Wikipedia - Killer Elite is a 2011 action film starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, Robert De Niro, Yvonne Strahovski, and Dominic Purcell. The film is based on the 1991 novel The Feather Men by Sir Ranulph Fiennes, and is directed by Gary McKendry.

I liked it. It was pretty well put together, no big plot holes, no dilly-dallying, you get the story, the whole story and nothing but the story. You can enjoy this film as a mindless action flick, I mean it's got three tough guys in it, but there are a couple of bits that might give you food for thought. First off is the message that comes on the screen at the beginning of the movie:

and you think, well, this is current events, but then they add the date: 1980, and you realize the story is pert near timeless.

Then there's the bit about Ranulph Fiennes (third cousin of Ralph Fiennes, and vaguely related to the British Royal family) claiming this was a true story. Seems the SAS men in the film were all real people, but other than that nobody seems to have done any checking, just a bunch of claims, counter-claims and, or course, denials. Ranulph spent some time in Oman helping the Sultan of Oman deal with a communist rebellion way back in the early 1960's, and naturally it was over oil. I mean there isn't anything else there, at least nothing that would make it worthwhile for the Brits to send troops.

And what is Robert DeNiro doing in this film? With his success I would think he could pick and choose the movies he wants to make, and I wouldn't think this is what he would pick. Or maybe they just offered him a boatload of money? Weird.