Assassins (1995)

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers (WGA):

Andy Wachowski (story) &
Lana Wachowski (story) ...

Release Date:

6 October 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Thriller | Crime

Tagline:

In the shadows of life, In the business of death, One man found a reason to live...

Plot:

Robert Rath is a seasoned hitman who just wants out of the business with no back talk. But, as things go...

Plot Keywords:

Hitman | Assassin | Rival | Thief | Russian

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Sylvester Stallone	...	Robert Rath
Antonio Banderas	...	Miguel Bain
Julianne Moore	...	Electra
Anatoli Davydov	...	Nicolai Tashlinkov (as Anatoly Davydov)
Muse Watson	...	Ketcham
Steve Kahan	...	Alan Branch (as Stephen Kahan)
Kelly Rowan	...	Jennifer, Electra's Neighbor
Reed Diamond	...	Bob
Kai Wulff	...	Remy
Kerry Skalsky	...	Buyer with Remy
James Douglas Haskins	...	Buyer with Remy
Stephen Liska	...	Cop
John Harms	...	Cop
Edward J. Rosen	...	Cemetery Caretaker
Christina Orchid	...	Dowager

Also Known As:

Assassins (France)
Day of Reckoning

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

132 min

Country:

USA | France

Language:

English | German | Spanish

Color:

Black and White | Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Netherlands:16 | Peru:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Philippines:R-18 | Hungary:16 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Norway:18 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #34080) | Iceland:16

Filming Locations:

Everett, Washington, USA

Company:

Canal+

Trivia:

Woody Harrelson and Tom Cruise were considered for the role of Miguel Bain.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: (At 1:13:05-1:16:00) Rath originally gets on the Seattle monorail at Westlake Center terminus, makes the exchange at the Seattle Center terminus and gets back on the monorail. He jumps off on to the track buttress by exiting the right side of the train (in correlation with the train's motion). This means that the train is going in the wrong direction as the buttress is on the left side when traveling from Seattle Center to Westlake Center. Further proof is the exterior shot of the monorail heading toward the Space Needle after it resumes operation.

Quotes:

Electra: Listen, I'm in way over my head here mister. I just want out.

Movie Connections:

References Il mio nome è Nessuno (1973)

Soundtrack:

Like a Rolling Stone

Watch two assassins in action for the price of one...

If you have watched 'The Mechanic', you will certainly see a parallel between that movie & this movie. Both are fast-paced action movies about two assassins in conflict with each other.

'The Mechanic' starred Charles Bronson in the lead role of a veteran contract hit-man, Arthur Bishop. He took on a cocky but ambitious young man, Steve McKenna, played by Jan-Michael Vincent, to be his protégé. The latter turned the table on the master.

In this movie, 'Assassins', Sylvester Stallone played the lead role of a veteran contract hit-man, Robert Bath, who apparently was number one in the business. A cocky, but ambitious young hit-man, Miguel Bain, played by Antonio Banderas, came into the scene with the fatalistic idea of becoming the number one.

Intertwined in their personal conflict of hierarchy, appeared a woman computer hacker, Electra, played by Julianne Moore, as well as a mysterious employer, Nikolai Taslinkov, who seemingly was connected to all the three key characters in the movie.

For the rest of the movie, it was an exciting cat & mouse game between Bath & Bain, with Electra eventually teaming up with Bath to elude from & deal with Bain. The action sequences throughout the movie, especially the shoot-out inside a hotel in the first half & the shoot-out in an abandoned building (in Mexico) towards the end, were really good.

It was quite fun to watch Antonio Banderas playing the hot-headed, crazy guy. He was really good, as good as Sylvester Stallone, who, as typical & in most of his movies of this genre (Nighthawks, Cobra, Judge Dredd, Demolition Man...), played the cool, confident character...maybe, a little stiff in some way. Julianne Moore, a very accomplished British actress, unfortunately had an understated role, although she did her best.

On the whole, 'Assassins' has been an entertaining - never a dull moment - action movie to watch...especially when you can watch two assassins for the price of one!