Assassins (1995)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Memorable, crazy movie

A Masterpiece!

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Robert Rath is an assassin who is considered to be the best in his profession but he thinks it is time to retire. Miguel Bain is a young upstart hoping to take his crown. The meet for the first time after Bain kills Rath's target just before he can take his shot. Rath then goes after Bain but he ultimately gets away. Rath's next job is to take out a woman, Electra, who is trying to sell a floppy disc containing encrypted data which compromises somebody who wants their secrets to remain secret. Rath and Bain arrive at the hotel at the same time; Bain takes out the buyers while Rath finds the Electra. He doesn't kill her though. After Rath's employer tries to kill him he raises the price for the disc to $20,000,000, to be paid into an overseas bank. Rath and Electra head to the bank even though he knows that Bain will be there; waiting to take the shot as he leaves the bank… just as he was fifteen years previously when he shot the previous number one assassin; a man Rath considered his only real friend.This is an enjoyable thriller with plenty of good solid action as well as some genuine tension. Sylvester Stallone is on good form as Robert Rath; he manages to make him likable despite his profession. Antonio Banderas also impressed as Bain; a character who it is easier to dislike as he isn't too bothered who he kills. Julianne Moore is also good as Electra; it was nice to see that there was no clichéd romantic involvement between her character and Stallone's. The action is varied and exciting without being overly gory. The finale is particularly tense and features a twist that I did not see coming. Overall I'd certainly recommend this to fans of the genre.

This is a very well made film; locations are dark and gloomy, and even when there are lots of people around and lots of things happening in the area there is still a feeling of menace, that our protagonists can't let their guard down. There are no awful one-liners that I can recall, the action is well-paced and the script is well-written. This is not a corny film by any means. The actors themselves have to take much of the credit for the quality of the production. Stallone of course takes top billing, and he manages to prove that he is able to take serious roles without lapsing into "buddy" style ("Tango and Cash" being a prime example of this) or carbon-copy action hero mode. In itself this is quite an achievement, especially when he already has an image. Julianne Moore is, in this film, starting to cut her teeth in the business and really brings life to Electra. She gives Electra real character and you actually give a damn what happen to her, unlike most female leads who just seem to be there to scream, cling to the hero character or just have horrible things happen to them.The film has some great action, and great direction from Richard Donner. Everyone and everything in the film makes it great. The whole story with the two rival assassins trying to kill each other and steal each other's jobs I think was really fun and interesting to watch. Stallone and Banderas have good chemistry on the screen, and the intensity is what makes the film great. This film has a number of action scenes that are not too over the top and are not riddled with special effects. All in all this film describes the way of an assassin, lonely, remote, discrete and will provide you with around two hours of suspense.Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Only thing that made me avoid giving a 10 is the fact that the filming was quite old, which as we can see the cinematics aren't as sophisticated as today's work.However; acting, plot, story-line, and the scenario altogether was unbelievable to the point that it is my favorite movie so far.Assassins movie gives a broad view of what life is like for an assassin back in the 90's. In this case, it's about two different assassins with two different point of views.When East meets West, the clash is very fierce and a game of never ending chess keeps on playing.What I loved most about this movie is the characterization of both assassins; their intelligence, wit, will, and how cynical they are in achieving their goals.Unlike normal people, assassins strive for success in their field, and they do that by risking their life since they got nothing to lose except this life that has been given to them.Afterall, in their mind what better way is there in giving themselves a better life except by taking a life?

Antonio Banderas is outstanding in this movie and no one has put this in his resume. He was great!! He stole the show from Stallone. Great actor love his craziness!! Antonio kicked butt!! One of the best action movies and never mentioned as a top rated movie. Beats a lot of movies these days. Today is nothing like yesterday!! I would love to see Stallone and Banderas in another movie together there was great chemistry. I hope there are other viewers who agree with me on this. I'm hoping to stop writing now but the guidelines saying i need more text! i hope they will now take this or i will scream!Okay i'm screaming now i have nothing else to write-hello. OMG finally!!!