The Assassin's Code

The Assassin's Code (2018) is not a bad film, for direct-to-video fare. The major beats are predictable well in advance. The heroes, villains and villains in the guise of heroes might as well be wearing black and white Stetsons and the characters who are about to die might as well be wearing red shirts. Production values are modest, although they do utilize an elegant mansion, casket and several luxury automobiles. Cinematography is unimaginatve, other than a few aerial shots that seem to be stock images. As is typical of low-budget productions, the film relies heavily on jiggly-cam shots which are distracting and shatter willful suspension of disbelief. The action/stunt choreography, car scenes and gunfights seem about thirty years out of date. The love story is not well developed and the reconciliation near the end seems to come out of nowhere. The acting is generally pretty good. Justin Chatwin is credible in the lead and Peter Stormare delivers a nuanced performance. Sprinkled throughout the film are little gems of dialogue and characterization that shine against the unimpressive background. While the film employs a lot of tropes and often seems familiar, it offers a few fresh moments. The damsel in distress scene has a unusual twist.

Worth watching for Stormare's limited scenes and some okay mob stuff. And I have a weird thing for Lifetime diva Yancy Butler, so there's that. But Chatwin chews the scenery shamelessly, the relationship scenes are torture and the dialogue is laugh out loud cop shop. Still, I was only intemittently bored and mostly entertained. Nice fish, too.

Beautiful shots of Clevaland. Classic cob, mob crime drama. Good gun play. Peter Stormare is ruthless. Justin Chatwain is an Edward Norton lookalike in this flick. Plus, I had the honor of being in it.

Went to the 5/12 screening at Harmony Gold theatre in Hollywood and really enjoyed the movie. It was a special screening that was promoted by Mark Thompson (of Mark & Brian) that is a co-star in it. Plot was a bit predictable, but the film was good as it had some good laughs, of which the lines were improvised by the actors (as we learned in the Q&A). The score, by Austin Wintory, was really good. It hit the film noir vibe nicely.

Take a drink every time you hear a cop movie cliche, you'll be smashed in ten minutes.