The Assignment (1997)

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Great example of an old-fashioned, pure-at-heart escapist event movie that doesn't pretend to be anything that it's not and has boat loads of fun being its own ludicrous self.

It's 1974 Paris. Terrorist Carlos the Jackal (Aidan Quinn) blows up a cafe and CIA agent Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) barely survives. After Carlos attacks OPEC, Shaw recognizes Carlos as he makes his exit. In 1986, Israeli agent Amos (Ben Kingsley) captures Carlos in Jerusalem but it turns out to be American Naval Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez (Aidan Quinn). Shaw sees potential in using the doppelganger to trick the KGB who is supporting the real Carlos.This is part spy thriller, part action, part character study, and partly interesting. The movie starts with an extraordinary hand grenade. It blows up real good and really unrealistic. After that, the movie improves with believeability until Ramirez goes to confront Carlos. That scene makes no sense. There's no point in it. They should leave it to the KGB. The stupidity of that move leaves the movie wanting. This could be a great spy thriller but a couple of problems keep it down.

Aidan Quinn stars with Donald Sutherland and Ben Kingsley in "The Assignment," a 1997 film directed by Christian Duguay. This film did not seem to be in theaters for very long, or to make any money. I suspect after a few days in the theater it went right to video.Quinn plays Lt. Cmdr. Annibal Ramirez, who is arrested and held by Mossad, who believe he is the assassin/terrorist Carlos the Jackal. Once his identification has been verified, he is allowed to leave. He is then visited by Jack Shaw (Donald Sutherland) who wants him to impersonate Carlos in order to convince the Russians that Carlos has come over to the CIA in exchange for money and a sweet deal, so that they will kill the real Carlos. It involves months of training, and finally, Annibal is ready. There are a few things he and his trainers hadn't counted on...one is that as time goes by, Annibal finds it harder and harder to escape Carlos' identity and reclaim himself.Really good movie, very suspenseful and exciting, with a wonderful performance by Aidan Quinn as both Carlos and Annibal. The movie really keeps you on the edge of your seat, especially the last scenes. Some excellent effects, locations, and car chases.Quinn I seem to remember came to fame in a film about AIDS, "An Early Frost," and I also recall that Tina Sinatra was blown away by his bone structure and wanted him to play her dad in "Sinatra" The Music Was Just the Beginning." Movie stardom never really hit him, but he has had a prolific career playing a variety of roles, and is now a regular on "Elementary." In "The Assignment," he again reminds us of his excellence and versatility as an actor. Donald Sutherland does a great job as Annibal's handler, Shaw, who wants Carlos not only for the CIA's reasons but also because in France, Carlos slipped by him at a restaurant and bombed it.Ben Kingsley, another fantastic actor, hands in his usual well thought-out performance as a Mossad agent. The man who played Gandhi so magnificently I find is often in roles that are really beneath his abilities, which is a shame, though he certainly manages to keep busy. And there are some brilliant roles in there too.Highly recommended, a thrilling movie.

A naval officer is recruited to impersonate an infamous terrorist for whom he is a dead ringer. The film is well-paced and has plenty of action, but the plot is clichéd (as are the characters) and somewhat convoluted (including an ambiguous ending) - not to mention far-fetched. It is well acted by Quinn in the dual role of hero and terrorist, Sutherland as a CIA agent, and Kingsley as an Israeli terrorism expert. It is hard to take any of it seriously, particularly the central premise of two unrelated men looking and sounding exactly alike (they even have the same haircut!). It plays like a TV movie, perhaps not surprising, given director Duguay's background.

If you liked the Richard Chamberlain version of the Bourne Identity then you will like this too...Aiden Quinn does this one brilliantly, you can't help but wonder if he is really out there...I reckon he and the other main cast members probably had nightmares for weeks after doing this movie as it's so intense. When I first saw it I was just flicking channels on the remote late one evening..& I got hooked within minutes. look up www.answers.com for Ilich Ramírez Sánchez who is the character that "carlos the Jackal" is based on for both... I remember reading about Ilich Ramírez Sánchez's arrest in the paper in 1997. It was front page for weeks, through the trial after his arrest.