Killing Season

Action roles for Robert De Niro and John Travolta, in a gruelling two-hander filmed and played out in the remote Appalachian Mountains of the US. The two play old adversaries from the Bosnian War - De Niro had been in the frontline of Nato special forces; Travolta was a member of a Serbian death squad. Their meeting in Bosnia didn't end well for Travolta. So, 20 years later, he sets out to settle old scores, tracking De Niro to his remote mountain retreat, and going at it hammer and tongs again in one-on-one warfare that's both physical and psychological. Killing Season is watchable but repetitive. Travolta hunts De Niro. De Niro turns the tables, and hunts Travolta. Travolta re-seizes the initiative. Travolta's Serbian accent is so thick you could cut it with the big knife his character carries. And the stunt doubles are kept busy in action sequences that neither the ageing stars nor their ageing characters would have survived for real. It's an OK film, but its two heavyweight stars are punching well below their weight.