The Assignment

This isn't an awful movie and it does have some good moments, but I struggle to think that it really works. Firstly the story itself is pretty improbable although the idea of a mad surgeon wanted to experiment is not new it is still a bizarre thing to want to do, especially to worry about the quality of her work when changing the guys sex to female. Michelle Rodriguez does a pretty good acting job but never really convinces that she is ever male. From the outset it looked like a girl with a beard, apart from the shower scene where they must have used either CGI or good prosthetic. She also didn't really convince as an assassin and made some pretty silly errors of judgement but I guess that is down to the script rather than acting. So over all I have mixed feelings. It isn't a bad movie just not a great one.

The plot is centered on a hit man named Frank Kitchen, played by Michelle Rodriguez, who pisses off the wrong black market plastic surgeon (Sigourney Weaver) by killing her brother being Rodriguez's assignment. Exacting her revenge on Kitchen, the doctor in a rather unorthodox method forces a sex change operation on him to become a woman as a form of psychological torture on Frank to endure the rest of his/her life without any way of fully reversing the procedure. Obviously a tad bit peeved by this, Frank Kitchen seeks retribution for the crimes committed against his body and goes on a one-way killing spree to end the evil doctor's rein of terror.

On paper, this sounds like it would be interesting. No matter what one person's views may be on how good or bad the premise sounds, it is a safe bet that most would hear this synopsis and be at least a little intrigued by it. I can't say that I've ever come across a movie with a plot motivation even remotely similar to "The Assignment". Unfortunately the execution felt sloppy, drawn out, dull, and all around unoriginal. This same exact movie could probably exist beat for beat without the introduction to any sort of gender reassignment operation in the script. Just another quick rewrite and this is your basic revenge film, only with far less interesting characters or action set pieces to be entranced by. The movie goes back and forth within its timeline to tell the story with one line following the plot of Frank Kitchen getting the procedure done to him and seeking answers as well as revenge on the doctor. The second line is set after the events of Kitchen finding and putting an end to the doctor's black market business with the doctor being interviewed by a psychiatrist in an insane asylum about what really went down. The secondary thread feels like a waste of time only to put the plot on hold and pad out the film to make its 90 minute run time.

If everything containing Sigourney Weaver in the interview sections were taken out, while putting more focus on the actual main plot to include maybe some more character development and hopefully a lot more action beats, this movie would have succeeded at being an entertaining sit. Unfortunately those sections remain, leaving the story to feel dry and leaving zero impact. I know little to nothing about Frank Kitchen, nor do I care about him/her. Michelle Rodriguez does a great job, as always, being a total bad-ass. She carries her own very well, knows how to come across as intense and cool at all times. Her character just has little for her to work with, but she sells being a man forcefully transitioned into a woman terrifically.

As I mentioned before, the movie could have used some more action beats. The action is so minimal and shortly lived I couldn't find much fun to be had. No real intensity or thrills from any action scene on screen. The script comes across as if the writer was twiddling his thumbs until the script reached the hour and a half mark. It has no bite to the action or story, no defining personality that can't be found in countless other revenge films, and such limited humor with a premise as quirky as this could have greatly used. Plus with a plot revolving a hit man turned into a woman, the writers had so many opportunities to play with that idea. There are several scenarios, gimmicks, tricks, and just fun that could have been toyed around with to mix things up and give a much more unique experience. Instead the screenplay squanders this and gives nothing in return. It's as though the first act setup and the prologue were extended and edited into the entirety of the film. For myself, that didn't work and I found myself pretty bored throughout. Also there was one or two plot twists that of course a film like this has, one of them made zero sense and could have been cut while the other had no emotional impact on me whatsoever.

This movie is from the same director that gave us "The Warriors", "48 Hours", "Another 48 Hours", "The Driver", "Red Heat", "Last Man Standing"...this man knows how to make an action movie. This man knows how to make a unique premise memorable, fun, humorous, intense, cool, and exhilarating. I don't understand what happened here. From the direction I could tell this was Walter Hill's style, it is a decent looking film with competently made action sequences. Rare as those scenes may be. In the end, this film isn't truly awful but it doesn't have nearly enough entertainment value to it in order for myself to recommend it. Michelle Rodriguez has a good action lead presence, but isn't given enough character to sink her teeth into. Sigourney Weaver plays crazy pretty well and I did like her performance, but there was more character development provided for her in detriment to Rodriguez's character. The action held little to no impact or energy and the story is nothing memorable. I got nothing else for this movie and I honestly wrote about it way more than I intended. Go watch "The Warriors" if you need a Walter Hill action movie fix.

...then started to doze off. Came to look at the reviews before deciding if I should finish it, and they made my decision for me - not going to. Women playing men never works in movies. They try to adjust their voices, and it just sounds fake. And most don't walk anything like men, and the hips certainly don't lie. Also, the transition was far to unbelievable - it was basically instant. Other than that, the action wasn't particularly exciting. No idea where the story line on Weaver's character goes, but I lost interest and simply don't care. I doubt you will either.

Forget the uproar from sensitive trans groups, this film was never transphobic, it was just a classic revenge thriller. Waking up as the opposite sex is the worst thing imaginable for the overwhelming majority of society and tat's the crux of the film - not an attack on trans. If anything, its success would spark a franchise of a kick-ass trans-woman - talk about giving trans the spotlight! I am trans myself and I was looking forward to it as it seemed to be a throwback to the films I grew up on in the 80s when one man would avenge his life being ruined (usually his family being massacred). However this film was dull and muddled and riddled with exposition.

The biggest problem is that it's told in flashback and with lots of - literally - one character 'talking' the story to another (Frank to the camera, the Doctor to the other doctor) and as a result there was no tension only on the nose dialogue. The other problem was a completely unlikeable anti-hero in Frank and a completely unbelievable performance by Michelle Rodriguez who never once convinced she was a man with her female frame, female build, female skin and female voice. Similarly, Weaver's The Doctor was lacking. I appreciate she was playing an aloof, detached character but there was nothing to her character. There was no bad guy you wanted to root against just as there was no protagonist you wanted to root for.

This film could have been a solid, action-filled romp had it been told in a linear fashion and with stronger characterisation. As it was, it was a boring affair with too little action, style or interesting characters. The IDIOTS who say it's transphobic are, well, idiots. It's no more transphobic as Death Wish was phobic to people who have been raped and murdered.

First time reviewer. What prompted me to write about this movie is how unusual it is. Interesting premise, and yet written as if by a talented high schooler. The dialogue is so obviously artificial and yet written with artistic intent. An unsympathetic viewer will rightly trash the film as juvenile, and yet a more open viewing may perceive the strained charm that the film almost achieves.

Consider the experiment. Would changing a violent man's gender change him for the better? Interesting question (at least for me). More broadly, how would such a man respond to the sudden change? The movie attempts to present this scenario and provide an interesting response. I think it succeeds.

Look past the actual effects that change Rodriquez into a man. Sure, they don't perfectly succeed, but suspend your critical attention and accept the basic fact of his existence. You can also look past Weaver's awkward dialogue and forced encounters and simply take what she says without concern for verisimilitude, if you can.

This film is deeply flawed and deserves a poor grade, and yet offers an interesting and fairly entertaining experience. I would take this over the multitude of blockbusters that spend millions on special effects and star actors and then forget to pay a decent writer. Movies that have no point, no ambition, and nothing to say.

Well, the Assignment as something to say, and it's worth hearing.