Assassin

Begins well. Unfortunately the first 5 minutes or so are the absolute highlight. I watched this film mere hours ago and it is already beginning to fade from memory.

Admittedly there were no real "cringe" scenes in which i believed the acting or dialogue or cinematography to be horrible yet nothing stood out about it.

In my mind, the greatest films are the ones you can not only remember, but take something away from the "experience" of watching them. This film was the opposite. I expect to have forgotten it by the time i wake up tomorrow.

Final Advice: Watch only if your intention is to pass time (procrastinate) and you have no real interest or expectation of this movie.

LJ

Curiosity got the better of me as I ignored the negative comments and low rating to watch this disappointing and woeful gangland thriller. Danny Dyer will probably take the heat for this dud but that's not fair on him because given the right director and script he can show he can be a compelling actor. A director like Nick Love (Football Factory (2004), The Business (2005), Marching Powder (2025) knows how to use him in the right way. When he is playing a supporting character, usually on the back foot and showing his vulnerability, that's when he shines. Another example was the way Christopher Smith used him in Severance (2006) where he was an inconsequential character at the beginning that had to rise to the fore as circumstances dictated and became the hero. In other words writer/director J. K. Amalou just sees Dyer as this stereotypical tough geezer hired to carry his film on his misunderstood and much maligned reputation which doesn't work because there needs to be more substance which Amalou doesn't provide.

It would seem Dyer is given minimal direction as the Assassin as he proceeds to just show up, take out a gun and go through the motions in a cliched, uninspiring and tired gangland thriller. The characters are under developed, the story is not engaging enough and the music score is just plain annoying.

Teaming Dyer up with brothers Martin & Gary Kemp, who impressed in their feature film debut playing real life gangsters in Peter Medak's The Krays (1990) must have seemed like an inspired idea but J. K. Amalou rests on his laurels and makes no effort to craft an engaging thriller on the back of this, The Long Good Friday (1980) this is not. It's lazy filmmaking that relies on the misguided notion that if we get some tough guy actors to front the film we'll get away with any old tosh as long as there are guns, violence and a bit of nudity thrown in with a London backdrop.

Amazingly this is executive produced by Martin Scorsese regular Barbara De Fina of Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991) Casino (1995) and Hugo (2011) fame but despite her pedigree she brings nothing of that to this project. No wonder Danny decided this was to be his last feature film before taking refuge in the TV soap Eastenders for the next 10 years where at least he could demonstate his acting chops and became relatable to audiences of all ages as the loveable Mick Carter.

With it's many continuity errors, poor direction, shoddy editing and unlikeable characters Assassin sadly has no redeeming qualities with which to recommend it so this one is strictly for Danny Dyer completists only.

Review: I don't think that you will be that surprised that I didn't really enjoy this movie. It seemed quite cheap and the storyline wasn't that great. Its about a hit-man (Dyer) whose been hired by the Kemp brothers to take out a business man who cheated them out of there money. While Dyer is scoping his victim, he falls in love with a club dancer who happens to be his victims daughter. When he finally takes care of business, her identity comes to light and she starts to put the pieces together to try and find her father's killer. The Kemp brothers don't like the fact that she is meddling in there business so they hire Dyer to take out the girl, which he is reluctant to do. They then flee from London so she can be safe, but they soon get hunted down so Dyer has to use his skills to protect the girl and his own life. It was good to see the Kemp brothers together again, after the brilliant Krays movie, but this movie was terrible. I predicted what was going to happen, right from the beginning of the film so the storyline wasn't that great. I've seen Dyer play these type of roles, many times before so his performance was average but the Kemp brothers were great. I found the girl quite annoying after a while and the awful music all the way through the film didn't help. At the end of the day, it's just your everyday Dyer movie. Poor.

Round-Up: After watching this film, I really can't see were the budget went. It's filmed around London but most of the scenes are in houses or in a nightclub. Anyway, I honestly think that Dyer going into Eastenders, was the best thing for his career because his movies are really poor. There's only a handful of movies that were really good in this genre, like the Business, Sexy Beast and Essex Boys but there isn't anything original coming from the UK. I rate Dyer for not going to Hollywood to try and make a big name for himself and he has kept true to his acting abilities but he has really hit a dead end when it comes to the movies that he chooses. I'm glad that they stopped bringing out all of the football hooligan movies because they were getting a bit tedious and there's not that much range for movies in that genre. The problem isn't only in the UK! We have hit the time of the remake in Hollywood which has made some of the big actors only take original projects. That means that we have a flood of new actors who can't really act or haven't got any screen charisma. Anyway, in this movie it really is the Kemp brothers who show professionalism and steal the screen. I just hope that they take on more projects in the future.

Budget: $3.5million Worldwide Gross: N/A

I recommend this movie to people who are into their English gangster movies about a hit-man who is given a job that he is reluctant to do. 2/10

Danny's character was build upon low, piercing eyes and a voice you could hardly hear. Slow and soft to make him appear cold but then he falls for a girl whos father he contract killed and his Assassin credentials leave the plot.

Its watchable for Danny and Kemp alone but it felt cheap like a B movie and didn't have any real surprises.

Pros. Dyer and Kemp

Cons. Felt cheap with poor camera angles and a predictable plot that undermines Danny's character and demeanour.

I have no idea why he spoke so slowly and soft to give that i am not scared of anything look.

I have seen wooden posts give more realistic performances. Why do casting agents keep putting forward Danny Dyer, the man can't act for s*%t, he really is useless.

He likes to portray these hard men roles but can't quite carry it off as he is known for being a whining little Muppet in real life, its a bit like casting Woody Allen as Captain America, it might be entertaining but it would in no way be believable.

Danny Dyer should really stick to making hard men programs for Dave or UK Gold...

In the real world does anyone actually watch one off his movies with a hope of seeing a serious character portrayal, unfortunately it has got even worse since his Eastenders appearances, Danny should quit whilst he is "slightly" ahead and get a job presenting nice little quiz show like Bradley Walsh...