Perfect Assassins

Watching this disaster, I think I must've said "I can't believe that I'm still watching this" about fifty times. I'm supposed to believe that the guy from Mannequin is tough? HAH! And Robert Patrick, shame on you! In this film, Evil T-100 you ain't.

I would've rated this movie a "1," but it was comically bad. Too bad MST3K isn't in production anymore - this one's prime material.

Story: After the dignitary he is guarding is assassinated, FBI profiler Ben Carroway captures one of the assassins, the others committing suicide. Discovering the assassin was reported missing as a child, Ben heads to Mexico along with the killer's sister and a friend, where he uncovers a plot to turn kidnapped children into hard-core killers. What starts off as an intriguing concept quickly becomes a formulaic action film. The beginning is expertly done, with a shootout in an alleyway & the assassins killing themselves is a plot point that is not usual fare for an action film. The extended chase scene is reasonably exciting. But at the point the characters reach Mexico, the film falls into a formulaic revenge plot. Don't get me wrong, the behavior modification scheme is interesting, but the film fails to use it in a novel way. As for the acting, Andrew McCarthy does well with his role while Robert Patrick has a lot of fun playing the shady Leo, stealing the limelight from his fellow actors. Grade: C+ Review by M. K. Geist

I ended up watching this movie because well there was nothing else on and I recommend watching paint dry, grass grow, anything in fact other than this movie. The premise is intriguing enough in the beginning, there are assassins running around, and they are tied to this weird behavioral scientist. But before you get to the conditioning, you get perhaps the worst car chase in history, they appear to be going the speed limit, not really riveting action. The action scenes are boring, the plot relatively see through, you can guess most of what will happen. The ending however is truly ridiculous, as everything comes together in what has to be the stupidest conspiracy story ever. My recommendation don't waste your time.

...from the train, and almost all the way through the part where Ben (Andrew McCarthy, playing the FBI agent) is telling Billy's (Aaron Lohr, playing the really bad guy) sister (Portia de Rossi, playing the sister) about his mom dying because he was put in a room with an electric doorknob. Now, this was my second time viewing the movie. The first time it was on I wasn't able to pay much attention to it, but was able to catch the premise, and I made a mental note to watch it again and pay attention. Big mistake! Sure, it starts out OK, but when Billy's sister gets in there, it becomes completely implausible. In a matter of minutes we get... 1) FBI agent enters secure room to interview really bad guy and sister just walks in. 2) FBI agent gets in a pushing match with sister, totally ignores really bad guy, who escapes. 3) FBI agent jumps into car to chase really bad guy and sister gets in the back. 4) FBI agent gets into helicopter to chase really bad guy and sister gets in it. 5) FBI agent has a choice, chase running really bad guy or help fellow agent stuck in truck on railroad tracks with train coming. Sister says screw fellow agent and chase really bad guy.

I don't think it deserves all the negative comments it has gotten, but that's just my opinion. If other reviewers didn't like it, they have the right to say so. So be it. It wasn't the best made-for-TV movie I've ever seen but it wasn't the worst either.

I did like it well enough to watch it when it came on CineMAX and I was entertained by it. This same sort of "conditioning" that was depicted in "Telefon" in 1977. I'm sure the concept has been used in a few other films as well. I watched it all the way through to see how they chose to end it and ended up enjoying the experience despite my disappointment.

My favorite part is when Lana shows Leo she can "handle herself" as she puts it. The reaction is subtle but unmistakable. I laughed out loud when I saw it. However, I was a bit disappointed at the ending but based on the time when it was made, I guess I should have expected it.

I wouldn't recommend this movie to younger kids as some of the content is a bit gruesome and I can see how it earned its TVMA rating. But as far as entertainment value goes, I liked it well enough to add it to my collection. I give it 5 out of 10.