Perfect Assassins (1998)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

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.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I don't think it deserves all the negative comments it has gotten, but that's just my opinion. If other reviewers didn't like it, they have the right to say so. So be it. It wasn't the best made-for-TV movie I've ever seen but it wasn't the worst either.I did like it well enough to watch it when it came on CineMAX and I was entertained by it. This same sort of "conditioning" that was depicted in "Telefon" in 1977. I'm sure the concept has been used in a few other films as well. I watched it all the way through to see how they chose to end it and ended up enjoying the experience despite my disappointment.My favorite part is when Lana shows Leo she can "handle herself" as she puts it. The reaction is subtle but unmistakable. I laughed out loud when I saw it. However, I was a bit disappointed at the ending but based on the time when it was made, I guess I should have expected it.I wouldn't recommend this movie to younger kids as some of the content is a bit gruesome and I can see how it earned its TVMA rating. But as far as entertainment value goes, I liked it well enough to add it to my collection. I give it 5 out of 10.

Story: After the dignitary he is guarding is assassinated, FBI profiler Ben Carroway captures one of the assassins, the others committing suicide. Discovering the assassin was reported missing as a child, Ben heads to Mexico along with the killer's sister and a friend, where he uncovers a plot to turn kidnapped children into hard-core killers. What starts off as an intriguing concept quickly becomes a formulaic action film. The beginning is expertly done, with a shootout in an alleyway & the assassins killing themselves is a plot point that is not usual fare for an action film. The extended chase scene is reasonably exciting. But at the point the characters reach Mexico, the film falls into a formulaic revenge plot. Don't get me wrong, the behavior modification scheme is interesting, but the film fails to use it in a novel way. As for the acting, Andrew McCarthy does well with his role while Robert Patrick has a lot of fun playing the shady Leo, stealing the limelight from his fellow actors. Grade: C+ Review by M. K. Geist

It should have been. In the IMDb 100 Worst, that is. The plot is rather amazing, in that it is simultaneously both poorly-thought-out and amazingly predictable. FBI agent gets personally involved in a case, thinking he knows something more than everyone else around him. His brusque superior officer reprimands him, and tells him to stay out of it (no attempt at collegiality nor any immediate explanation as to why). Of course, he steals a bunch of FBI stuff, drags the beautiful (in the eye of the beholder; see below) woman and the hit-man buddy into it, gets suspended, and goes rogue. He and the girl hook up, and are betrayed by the hit-man buddy. They end up in the clutches of the evil mad scientist, and mayhem ensues. An absolute picture of cinematic realism. The mad scientist is training "perfect assassins" by lifelong deprivation (no realistic explanation as to why this might be effective). There's even a martial arts demo from the mad scientist's sensei, who subsequently never appears again. The completely expected victory sequence lets the dramatic tension (what there is of it) down far to quickly and easily, as there is really very little struggle between the good guys and the bad guys. The end is a bit of a surprise twist, but even this is unsatisfying and underexplained.Andrew McCarthy is a clever but unlikely action hero: lots of suspension of disbelief is necessary here. Portia de Rossi tries hard, but is hobbled by the bad script (it is, for example,not well explained why she is so good with a gun, and then not well utilized when push comes to shove). In makeup, they even manage to make her fairly physically unappealing (keep her hair back, please, or her eyebrows seem to go on forever). Robert Patrick is fun, fitting and comfortable as the hit-man buddy, but even so, has trouble delivering trite lines about not selling out his friend for blood money and so forth.The cinematography can only be described as TV-ish. Of course, it was made for TV, but it needn't look like it, right? At any rate, if you are tempted to see this film, examine your own motives, first. If you want an action flick, there is almost an infinite number of better ones to consider. If you are looking to watch a performance by one of the leads, each has better vehicles in his or her filmography from which you could choose. In fact, if like me, you stumbled across it on television, well, it's initially engaging (that's why I watched it), but you'd be better served by finding out of there's anything else on. If there isn't, go for some fresh air. Even if you're a fan of bad movies, this one isn't even amusing in that respect. In short, there's no good reason to see this movie.

Oh how bad! My friend found this on video and he has a knack for finding the worst movies of all time. This may not be the worst he has found (see "Toxic Advenger" or "Night Patrol") but this one is real close. Poor Andrew McCarthy - I think he was better off lugging around dead bodies or those plastic things in department stores. Acting was bad but the storyline was worse. Enough said.