Assassin

A Military outfit creates a technologically advanced chip that allows a user to take over their subject, mentally and physically, allowing them to kill their subjects and leave no trace of who's behind it.

Great idea, woeful execution, I stuck this film out through to the bitter end, and wish I hadn't, this was an absolute chore to get through, rather to endure.

I couldn't get into it, it's like they pulled the rug from under our feet, stuff was happening and I didn't have a clue why, it took so long to settle and explain, but by then this poor excuse for a sci fi thriller had lost me.

How sad to think that this was the final film for Bruce Willis, think of the many wonderful movies he's delivered, sadly this is one for fans of his to forget. He's good, but sadly doesn't get much screen time.

If I ever hear 'this is not my body again' I will scream.

One to avoid.

3/10.

Unfortunately for the actors in this film, it seems the writing isn't enough to be gripping in a weird way. One would also imagine this is a film that came about after industry folks knew about Bruce Willis' aphasia (and by this time were feeding him words to repeat through an earpiece). The ethics of that don't feel hazy, they feel wrong. You can tell by the completely monotone delivery of short bursts of language, mostly while looking in a certain direction, like one does when listening, or remembering, but not usually when experiencing dynamic emotions through the scripted words. Or at least acting like it. Bruce Willis is great and I won't judge him based on him being wrung out for money after experiencing an illness specifically disabling to his career craft.

I hope I get a chance to see the other actors elsewhere to experience what art and entertainment they can provide.

Bruce Willis only has some 20 minutes of screentime. He does act well. But the rest of this movie is a big flop.

The bad: this story is nonsensical gibbledigook ridiculous. Dont even try to understand it (although I did try), it wont matter.

More bad: there are lots of B-movie actors starring, that aint terrible, but completely lacking in charisma.

It's a proven tactic to put Bruce Willis' his face on the poster, so this movie will garner some attention or even sell some tickets to folks (mistakingly) expecting to see a Bruce Willis movie. Which it is not.

Not any good? I have seen ALL of Bruce Willis' movies, even the many lesser ones, but this one does compete for the prize of one of the worst movies Willis has ever starred in.

It is no secret that my initial thoughts when I sat down to watch the 2023 crime thriller "Assassin" were: 'great, another dubious Bruce Willis movie'. Yet, I still opted to give the movie a fair chance, if not actually the benefit of the doubt.

I will say that the concept idea behind the movie, as written by Jesse Atlas and Aaron Wolfe definitely had some interesting aspects to it. However, the execution of the movie and transition from script to screen just wasn't overwhelmingly enjoyable.

What went wrong here was the pacing of the movie, which felt somewhat cluttered, and the fact that the character gallery had zero appeal or interest. I have to admit that I cared nothing about any of the characters that pranced around on the screen delivering half-hearted and lukewarm dialogue, whilst performing equally lukewarm action sequences.

And I have to admit that I have never been a fan of Dominic Purcell and his monotonous acting and way of portraying every single character in the same manner. So seeing his face and name on the cover wasn't exactly something that hyped me up. And as for Bruce Willis, then yeah, "Assassin" was another run-of-the-mill-and-the-lights-are-on-but-nobody's-home performance here; you know, as it has been for the past couple of years and numerous movies that he popped up in prior to retiring.

I am sure that there is a audience of hardcore fans of either Willis or Purcell out there that will take some kind of enjoyment from watching director Jesse Atlas's 2023 movie "Assassin". I just wasn't a part of that particular target audience.

"Assassin" is not a movie that I would recommend you to waste your time, money or effort on. As a crime thriller then writers Jesse Atlas and Aaron Wolfe just didn't deliver. And should you make it through the movie once, I doubt you'll ever return to watch it a second time, as the storyline simply barely had enough contents for the first viewing.

My rating of "Assassin" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Alexa (Nomzamo Mbatha) is angry that her drone pilot husband is somehow in a coma after a mission. Valmora (Bruce Willis) reveals that he leads a secret experimental program which commandeers unsuspecting victims and turning them into assassins. They are being hunted by a rival group with the same tech. Alexa has to take the place of her husband in order to take down Adrian (Dominic Purcell).

Apparently, this is the last Bruce Willis film. The character isn't doing much other than be the mercurial boss. The camera is able to fake it well enough. The idea is fine sci-fi material. The execution could be better and it fades over time. It's a B-movie of limited ability. It's actually better than I expected, but that's not saying much.