Started out great and then turned to shit. Along with most of Peckinpah's later films, it ranks pretty low in his filmography.

Otro costalazo total de Peckinpah. Una pena, considerando que la premisa es interesante y se desarrolla de buena manera durante la primera media hora, abordando la tipica historieta de espionaje con una mirada mas personal e intima. Importa poco la p... (read more) Otro costalazo total de Peckinpah. Una pena, considerando que la premisa es interesante y se desarrolla de buena manera durante la primera media hora, abordando la tipica historieta de espionaje con una mirada mas personal e intima. Importa poco la presencia de Caan y Duvall, luego todo se viene cuesta abajo. Sumado a que el desarrollo de personajes es nulo, las acciones se desencadenan de manera irrisible, sin saber nunca para adonde va dirigido el confuso argumento. Cuando todo se transforma en un pseudo show de artes marciales, ya no queda nada que se salve, ni siquiera el mediocre montaje. A destacar la banda sonora y el trabajo de fotografia en locaciones alucinantes. Igual te perdono, Sam.

A strange counterpoint to "Alfredo Garcia" that tells essentially the same story, only without the grungy, sweaty neo-Western nihilism, Warren Oates or his gigantic sunglasses. This is very much a slick studio product that was the victim of a hatchet... (read more) A strange counterpoint to "Alfredo Garcia" that tells essentially the same story, only without the grungy, sweaty neo-Western nihilism, Warren Oates or his gigantic sunglasses. This is very much a slick studio product that was the victim of a hatchet job to facilitate a PG rating. There are several ironies in this fact (least ofall why UA thought it necessary to make this film accessible to children).

After "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" was wrenched from his control, Peckinpah made two cynical revenge fantasies. Both of them have to do with washed-up, world-weary dudes getting screwed over, left for dead, reborn as badass killing machines and murdering their former employers. Oates in "Alfredo Garcia" and James Caan in "The Killer Elite" are essentially the same character, who is essentially Peckinpah himself. There is a lot of soul-searching to be found in the guise of a paranoid Watergate-era thriller.

Caan and Robert Duvall are assassins working for the CIA in the guise of a communications firm. Their fast, loose riffing in the opening scenes suggests two halves of a single personality. Indeed, Duvall is a perfect "whore" who sells out and betrays Caan, the more cynical one of the pair. A good deal of the film is Caan regaining the very use of his body, and it's clear that Peckinpah is emphasizing to an almost masochistic degree. Witness the painful duration of the restaurant scene or the genuine glee when he finally is able to chuck his crutches into a river.

More symbolism abounds. Caan adopts the use of a cane (much like the director), which he then learns to use as a weapon. When assembling a team to take down the shadowy bosses, he prefers his old, reliable associates over the spunky fresh faces. And how else are we supposed to interpret the Remora-like worm who acts exactly like head boss Gig Young? Sam no doubt based those characters on real people -- maybe even two of the very people who financed the film.

What conventional plot there is makes no sense whatsoever, but the central theme of Cynical, Wisened Peckinpah regaining vitality and replacing Studio Whore Peckinpah comes across loud and clear. (Thanks to Pauline Kael for helping out in this regard)

The climax, involving a flood of ninjas ambushing our heroes on a moored battleship, is a kinetic free-form ballet of bloodless carnage to be sure, thanks mostly to the editing. The actual choreography on display is a bit stiff and certainly not on the level of Shaw Brothers, but damned if there isn't some dazzling, near-subliminal imagery.

Even the final shot of the boat heading into unknown waters is a direct message to whomever financed "The Killer Elite". Sam had signed a contract in Europe and was now crossing the pond to make the classic "Cross of Iron".

Now, which Peckinpah was responsible for making "Convoy"?

i wouldn't quite say bobby d stars in this movie, as james caan is the driving force. i took a chance on this one since sam peckinpah was the director. based on the wild bunch, bring me the head of alfredo garcia, and straw dogs, i was expecting a ... (read more) i wouldn't quite say bobby d stars in this movie, as james caan is the driving force. i took a chance on this one since sam peckinpah was the director. based on the wild bunch, bring me the head of alfredo garcia, and straw dogs, i was expecting a more violent movie.

this one was a bit slow movie. everyone seemed to speak without fully forming their words.

i thought the story was a little confusing and didn't really matter that much. a bit betrayal, a bit revenge, a bit of backstabbing, a bit of company politics, a bit of international intrigue, just a bit of too many things.

oh and after the early scene of caan and bobby d in a room full of hot 70s chicks, how does caan decide to hook up with the manly looking nurse?

Somehow a strange thriller that really can't decide whether it should be a comedy or a tragedy. Good cast and the occasionally magical atmosphere of the 70s rule the screen when this movie works.

Not sure if this was near the end of the road for Peckinpah, but not up to his usual snuff. Burt Young has way too big a role for being such a bad actor! And the ending was eh... pretty slow overall.

One of Sam Peckinpah's worst movies. After a tense opening sequence (and the sequence where Robert Duvall betrays James Caan) it becomes incredibly boring and lame. It's obvious that martial arts were not Sam's thing, and it probably didn't help that... (read more) One of Sam Peckinpah's worst movies. After a tense opening sequence (and the sequence where Robert Duvall betrays James Caan) it becomes incredibly boring and lame. It's obvious that martial arts were not Sam's thing, and it probably didn't help that Sam did this project purely for profit, because jobs were hard for him to come by due to his bad reputation. It's a shame that his career declined like this. Not too much earlier he had done the great film Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, and surprising that after this crap he did the great war film Cross of Iron. Unfortunately after Cross of Iron it was downhill for Mr. Peckinpah.
Maybe the director's cut was better, but unfortunately that cut seems to be lost forever.
It's really too bad what happened to his career. If only he'd not been addicted to drugs and prostitutes he might've concentrated on his career and also might not have died of a stroke. =(

This effort from Peckinpah sits chronologically right between two of my all-time favorite films, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron. From all I've heard, it was Peckinpah playing nice with the studios for a change, and we can all s... (read more) This effort from Peckinpah sits chronologically right between two of my all-time favorite films, Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia and Cross of Iron. From all I've heard, it was Peckinpah playing nice with the studios for a change, and we can all see by the final product how worthwhile those sentiments were. It's not a total loss by any means. The character work done with James Caan here is pretty impressive, taking a potboiler rehabilitation narrative and somehow actually investing interest in it without boredom. In fact, I'm much more interested in Caan's relationship with his girlfriend than the obligatory revenge narrative. It was a relief that the film took some time on this kind of material because in simple action terms, The Killer Elite may be the worst Peckinpah I've seen. The opening action sequence in the airport is a complete loss, and whoever thought Peckinpah would be good at shooting kung fu should have lost their job. The scene in which Caan hides away with his client while the villains stalk them at a port side shack could have been legendary but misses the mark due to the obligatory ninja stupidity and an almost complete lack of shot geography logic. The finale is perhaps paradigmatic with great bits here and there but finally stillborn due to the imposition of ninja theatrics and other silly things. Bo Hopkins and Burt Young add a little flavor to the piece, but Robert Duvall is shamefully underutilized here. The script attempts to take on some standard Peckinpah themes but never carries any of them through. The material concerning Caan's finding his place in a world full of mercenaries could have been legendary, but the treatment of his Chinese politican client gets muddled again and again, at times trying to portray him as an iconoclast whose values we should look up to and others as a typical politician. The film never makes up its mind one way or another and, despite a suitably nihilistic ending, never really gets into the kind of commentary on shifts in honor that Peckinpah's so great at. Still though, the occasional flourishes of what makes his other work great makes this a pretty watchable flick. The use of on-location shooting here works much to the film's advantage, especially in one great shootout in the San Francisco streets and the finale in the battleship graveyard. Despite all of my bugbears, I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it on a shallow level as one of those goofy oddities of 70's studio cinema. It's a shame that Peckinpah had to pander, but even in pandering, we still get some great character scenes and a couple decent action sequences. Let's just be glad that he got to do Cross of Iron, arguably his swansong. *** out've *****

Peckinpah's follow up to 'Bring Me The Head of Alfredo Garcia' almost hits the bullseye with Caan and Duvall as assassins. I was pleasantly surprised to find ninjas here, a good five years before the ninja genre really took off in America.

This is too slow and too goofy to be of any real interest. Ninja assassins and a kung-fu ending and Sam Peckinpah aren’t a good mix. There are some interesting sequences though.