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The Killer Elite

The Killer Elite

Crime · Action · Thriller · 1975

Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. A significant portion of their work is for the CIA, and while on a case for them one of his friends turns on him and shoots him in the elbow and knee. His assignment, to protect someone, goes down in flames. He is nearly crippled, but with braces is able to again become mobile. For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend.

Movie details

The Killer Elite

“They protect us from the enemy, but who protects us from them?”

1975 Crime · Action · Thriller 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.0 / 10

7.9K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

56 %

Tomatometer

Metacritic

57 / 100

Metascore

TMDB

5.8 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Mike Locken is one of the principal members of a group of freelance spies. A significant portion of their work is for the CIA, and while on a case for them one of his friends turns on him and shoots him in the elbow and knee. His assignment, to protect someone, goes down in flames. He is nearly crippled, but with braces is able to again become mobile. For revenge as much as anything else, Mike goes after his ex-friend.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Killer Elite?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Sam Peckinpah

Written by

Stirling Silliphant · Marc Norman

James Caan

James Caan

Mike Locken

Robert Duvall

Robert Duvall

George Hansen

Arthur Hill

Arthur Hill

Cap Collis

Bo Hopkins

Bo Hopkins

Jerome Miller

Mako

Mako

Yuen Chung

Burt Young

Burt Young

Mac

Gig Young

Gig Young

Lawrence Weyburn

Court is in session

Put The Killer Elite on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.