Like a lot of things, in the exclusive <cough>, elite <coughhack> world of the pre-release movie screenings, once you’re in the system, you’re in the system, and more opportunities to participate find you without you spending a whole lot of time looking for them.

For example, last night, I had managed to find myself holding passes for two different press screenings happening at the same time across town from each other. Decisions had to be made.

The movies? Moneyball, featuring Brad Pitt and a script by Aaron Sorkin, passes to which I acquired as a consolation for not quite getting in to Straw Dogs last week, and Killer Elite, a mid-budget action flick starring Jason Statham, Clive Owen, and DeNiro, that I snagged via the usual means of web site lottery.

Now, as I knew, and learned first-hand last week, the organizers of these things overbook to ensure a full house (I suppose that they feel reviewers will be kinder to a film they see with an audience, who is undoubtedly excited that they were getting to see the movie for free), and given the number I saw being handed out last week, there were a lot of Moneyball passes in the wild. Also, Moneyball is a film of higher profile and prestige; a review outlet, many of which have limited resources, is going to be more likely to send a body to the Oscar-bait picture. And I wouldn’t blame them, it looks like it’s going to be quite good.

But, I wanted my waiting in line to have the best chance of ending with a movie, so I played the odds and went to see Killer Elite, figuring there’d be more seats up for grabs at the low-class genre picture.

And there were.

The screening was in a REALLY large auditorium at a theater so far NW that it was almost in Maryland – a small urban shopping center with some high-dollar department stores (and a Filene’s Basement in the, well…basement, if you’re into that sort of thing). A longer Metro ride than I was used to, but worth it fo a free movie.

So, as for Killer Elite itself, I’d call it an action film with aspirations: smarter than your average 80s Canon/Golan-Globus actioner, but not exactly up to the standards of a good Bond or Bourne film. It stars Jason Statham as a reluctant mercenary in the early 80s, stuck taking “one last job” in order to spring his mentor (Robert DeNiro, essentially playing Captain Shakespeare from Stardust without the cross-dressing) from captivity. Throughout, Statham is pursued by Clive Owen, a principled former special forces/wetworks guy working for the shadowy conspiracy pulling the strings, and his sweet porno ‘stache. You’d not be surprised to find that in the end, everybody is being set up by someone else. It’s that kind of movie.

The leads play their roles well, with Statham being sufficiently stoic and Stathamesque, Owen brooding effectively behind the ridiculous moustache, and DeNiro (in what’s really not much more than an extended cameo) playing the grizzled old vet/father figure with some sly humor. The secondary players are usually comic relief (with more comedic late 70s facial hair), speak largely in genre cliches, and are there largely to make the leads look better.

Being an action movie, there’s quite a bit of that sort of thing – car chases, gun fights, gratuitous explosions, fisticuffs, a superfluous scene in a boxing ring, and some parkour-style stunts. A lot of the big set pieces are very cool (the fight where Statham’s tied to a chair is a highlight, as is the car chase in the middle of the film), though most of the fights suffer for being done in the trendy shot up close, quick cuts style, which makes it honestly very hard to see what’s going on (which when you’ve got two sexy british guys in your film that the ladies like to see is a problem). Also, the director made the choice to use some documentary-style shaky-cam work, surely to try and impart a “you are there” sense of tension and intimacy, but it ends up being mostly distraction.

All that said, I had a good time with it, and if you’re in the mood for some not-entirely mindless action, it’d make a great rainy Saturday afternoon matinee.