The Killer Elite *** (1975, James Caan, Robert Duvall, Arthur Hill, Gig Young, Bo Hopkins, Burt Young) – Classic Movie Review 8405

The 1975 action crime thriller The Killer Elite is a good, but not great, Sam Peckinpah action movie with a touch of the then in-vogue Seventies kung fu.

The cast and director put it over with flair for the fans, but it is a slight disappointment from the classy Peckinpah, from whom you expect more than just a solid genre movie, with a fast-moving, twisting plot and lots of slap-up action.

Marc Norman and Stirling Silliphant’s careless screenplay, with a lack of brain-power, is the main problem, as lone agent Mike Locken (James Caan) finds himself batting for the CIA and his buddy George Hansen (Robert Duvall) for the enemy outfit out to kill a Taiwanese leader called Yuen Chung (Mako).

The screenplay is adapted from Robert Rostand’s novel Monkey in the Middle.

Also in the cast are Arthur Hill, Gig Young, Bo Hopkins, Burt Young, Tom Clancy, Katy Heflin, Matthew Peckinpah, Sondra Blake and Helmut Dantine.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8405

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