Assassination Games

Corrupt Interpol agents spring a powerful drug dealer from prison and put a hefty price on his head in hopes of luring out their former #1 contract hitman that they want dead. He also has a dark history with said drug dealer and with another elite assassin is in the mix, you know things are about to get ... complicated.

Jean Claude Van Damme, Scott Adkins in a film called Assassination Games and here's the rub. Its not the type of flick you're picturing in your head. Okay maybe that's a half truth. The prerequisite elements are within. Guns, death, fisticuffs and it gets off to a brief action start, but then slow city. Between Van Damme's detached, solitary arch of a (hit)man and Adkins broken past, there's a lot of drama and the pacing is monumentally slow. No wham, bam thank you ma'am. Its nearly two hours long.

Shot down & out in Romania, much of the film's backdrop isn't visually interesting. That doesn't mean it isn't well shot however. Watched in SD, felt like HD. Acting wise, the two leads acquit themselves fine and some of the supporting cast actually stood out. The story could be more exciting and/or shorter, but as it is, Assassination Games finds itself not at the bottom of either stars resumes, but hardly at the top neither.

Caught this at a theater near by and I have to say that I did enjoy this. It wasn't great or even "really good" but it was better than most of JCVD's other dtv movies(excluding US3 and Replicant)...and better than some of his later theatrical movies(Street Fighter,Double Team,Knock Off, Unisol:The Return). I think putting it on the same level as Wake of Death is pretty fair. I actually may have liked this a little more since it didn't feature the dopey MTV edits that WOD had. The acting was pretty solid all around for the most part. JC's son, Kris' character(Schell) was extremely pointless in my opinion...not to mention he sucked in it. Felt like he was reading his lines the entire movie. I really liked JC and Adkin's chemistry together. They played off each other really well but I was left wanting to see more of them sharing the screen. There were a few aspects I didn't care for but I don't want to spoil anything. Production wise, the movie looks pretty good considering the budget. It's well directed and shot. Good music score too. However, I actually feel like it would have made for a better at home experience than a theatrical one. The sepia tone actually looked a little blurred on the big screen during some of the wide shots...and I did find myself craving a little color. Close ups looked good though. All in all, it was a pretty good movie. This gives me hope for The Butcher. If Ernie Barbarash had a little more money to work with, he'd do a hell of a job. 3/5

"This is what he does best, and he is the best." A corrupt Interpol officer makes that observation about Roland Flint, the character played by Scott Adkins in the riveting "Assassination Games." It's an accolade that truly applies to the film's star, Jean-Claude Van Damme, who has translated his experience as a global superstar into becoming one of the globe's best actors. JCVD is Vincent Brazil, a professional assassin and loner whose profession has intensified his self-isolation. Flint and Brazil become reluctant partners in a cat-and-mouse game against both Interpol and the European mob. Along the way, an unlikely girl next door named October invades Brazil's carefully protected personal space and forces him to provide her refuge from a vengeful pimp (depicted with effective menace by actor Attila Arpa). When October thanks Vincent with a kiss to the cheek, Van Damme displays the hit-man's resistance to affection with an emotion that is both telling and heartbreaking. It is a rare moment for an action film and a testament to the brilliance of Van Damme the actor. The relationship of October and Vincent becomes an effective dramatic anchor for the movie's unrelenting mix of tragedy and revenge. Increasingly, as his films showcase his dramatic talents, Van Damme creates movies that are both character driven and visually stylish without resorting to CGI tricks or action clichés. Experience and talent have enabled the original "Muscles from Brussels" to evolve into one of the most creative and uniquely effective forces in film making today. "Assassination Games" is another great chapter in the career of a triumphant and supremely talented Jean-Claude Van Damme.

A small handful of better than average action sequences highlight an otherwise generic and trite tale of two assassins with different tactics and end goals searching for whomever set them up. Van Damme fans would be much better off watching JCVD for a good latter- day Damme flick. As he performance in here is good, but the movie is mundanely average at best. There's also a prostitute sub-plot that's admittedly pretty awful. As the movie wore on I found myself less and less interested in a film hat I couldn't help but believe I saw before in minor variations in the past. And better, in all honesty.

My Grade: C-

I full admit I watched this movie for two reasons. First of all, the last thing I saw Van Damme in was JCVD, and I have to say that I was more than a bit surprised by the weight and depth of his performance. Second, I'm a fan of Scott Adkins ever since the last two Undisputed and Ninja films where he showed that westerners could screen fight just as well as anyone in martial arts flicks. How does all of that translate to this movie? Read on.

Assassination Games probably isn't what you expect. It's not a knock down, drag out action movie. In fact the action sequences, while well done, aren't very plentiful. I actually think this may be a good thing. I'm starting to think that if Van Damme would take himself more seriously and stop doing all of the hacky crap he did in the 80s and 90s that he could very well be a well respected actor who just happens to know action movies. While I grew up with movies like Bloodsport and Kickboxer, watching someone mature and actually convey an actual sense of a character is quite rewarding. Here's to hoping that the man can stick with movies that have substance rather than just being some guy who can kick stuff and do the splits.