Assassins [VHS] [1995]

Stallone plays Robert Rath, a professional contract killer who is realising his age and is just looking for that last (well paid) job that will let him live the quiet life and have a happy retirement. However, on this final job, the mark is taken by up coming assassin, Miguel Bain. Rath soon manages to seek out the guy however he manages to escape and Rath no starts to hunt out his next victim, a hacker with no name, address or trace who is trying to sell valuable information to a group of foreign businessmen. However, he soon realies that Bain is also after the same person, and after setting up little trap for his friend Bain, Rath goes looking for the one who double crossed him.

While some people say that Stallone is not a very good actor, i personally think that he is pretty good, and this film shows his ability as he plays Robert Rath, the assassin who 'wants out'. He brings some compassion into the role, for example in the opening scene when he has to kill the man, instead of simply putting a bullet in his head, he gives the man his gun and lets him do the deed himself. For the whole scene, you can see in Rath's face, that he doesn't really want to do this, but has to for the money.

However, we must not forget Antonio Banderas who is brilliant in his role as Miguel Bain,which was turned down earlier by Christian Slater. He adds some real character to the person he is playing and by the end you almost feel sorry for him even though he does kill people for a living. Julianne Moore also brings real life and character into her role as Electro the hacker who is the mark of both Rath and Bain.

Overall, 'Assassins' is a brilliant movie that will entertain most audiences, and is a must have for any fans of Stallone, Banderas, Julianne Moore, or if you are simply looking for a movie with plenty of action, shooting, and explosions, then this film is for you and is somthing that you will want to watch maybe several times.

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As the title would suggest, Stallone plays as Robert Rath, a professional contract killer starting to get old. He's looking for one last job before retirement, the big contract that will let him live a quiet life and let him hang up his gun knowing he's number one. But when another killer, Miguel Bain (Antonio Banderas) takes down one of Rath's targets before he can complete the contact he wastes no time in trying to get even, and it is only Bain's wily instincts that keep him from falling prey to Rath's trap. Both men look toward their next encounter... Now Rath has a new job - to kill a "ghost" - a hacker with no name, address or trace who is trying to sell valuable information to a group of foreign businessmen. But Bain is also offered the job, and when the two realise that they are up against each other again, Rath makes a decision - stop Bain killing the target, who turns out to be a young woman called Electra (Julianne Moore), and find out who double-crossed him.

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.

But the real star of this film is Antonio Banderas. His character Bain is a real nutter, and I can see elements taken from his role in "Desperado" and perhaps even some elements of Toshiro Mifune ("Seven Samurai") in his performance, and you never know what this crazy guy is going to do next. To be honest, I reckon that Banderas' character Bain would have made an excellent anti-hero in any other film, and you actually feel a bit sorry for him at the end of the fim because you just can't help but like him, even though he kills people. If you had to showcase this actor's work, Assassins would be in in there, no two ways about it.

If you prefer a harder edge to your action films or thrillers, then Assassins is one to watch. However, when ranged against films such as "Leon", "Nikita" and "Ronin" (the very best of the genre, recommended viewing) I'm afraid it doesn't quite cut it, so I can only give it four stars. An excellent film none the less.

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