The Assassin [1993] [DVD]

Difficult to choose between this movie and the original French version: Nikita … La Femme Nikita was a long-running television offshoot series.This is a great, action-packed movie with a splendid cast. The DVD was in perfect condition (as was the case).

There are some really bad reviews on here. There are reviews that belong to a different film altogether ( the Nikita rewrite ). Yes , its not perfect. There are some bad edits and its cheaply made - probably for tv. It is an Irish production so maybe reviewers couldn't cope with the accents but the acting is much better than they make out. The music makes for an underlying tension which holds the film together. The action sequences are frequent and hold up well. One reviewer complains of a dark scene - well that's the point and it only lasts for a couple of seconds. Based on a true story of dodgy airplane parts and the man who looks guilty trying to prove his innocence and bring the villain to justice. A cliched plot with some cliched scenes, but I thought it entertaining.You may not agree but give it a chance.

In the early Nineties Bridget Fonda had established herself as a bankable actress with roles in Single White Female, Lake Placid, Jackie Brown and this, a remake of the French movie Nakita. The Assassin (also known as Point Of No Return, which the cover for this DVD release acknowledges, as well as Codename Nina) certainly lacks the grittiness of the original but is none the worse for it. Fonda is given heavy weight support from the likes of Gabriel Byrne, Harvey Keitel and Anne Bancroft and asserts herself well as the action heroine of the title effectively portraying the sexy yet tough lead. Also worth a note is the dramatic score from supremo Hans Zimmer which helps crank up the many set pieces as well as nice use of Nina Simone tracks throughout. That said logic often takes a back seat and there are some blatant inconsistencies such as where Nina's many visible tattoos prior to her enrolment vanish to when she takes up her new role?! This DVD release is presented in 5.1 audio and widescreen so it looks and sounds great. However this is also essentially a bare bones release so it has no extra features of any kind save the scene selection. For the price though it's still an enjoyable pop corn action flick especially if you're a Fonda fan.

I felt a bit cheated by this film. After watching A Dark Reflection (which is fabulous) I thought this would be a true story to as the titles rolled up at the beginning, about air accidents etc. I actually thought the so-domestic, so-benign initial scenes of a 1970s Ireland was the perfect setting for a true story - ie about an ordinary guy with an ordinary girlfriend in an ordinary village being led into a dark world, populated by low-profile ordinary businessmen cheating the system - a bit like Emmerdale Farm of the early days, where ordinary people went about their ordinary lives !!Then the punch up started and the ordinary boss got the sharp end. And it totally destroyed that aura - which turned into a low budget, poorly scripted, badly acted, piece of theatre!! Surprised as there were a couple of big(gish names)!! And when the shooting started - well!! that just went downhill then very quickly - all realism is lost, any fantasy is lost - the film became a bit of a chucked together mish-mash of Die Hard meets The Krays meets The Office !!There were far too many holes in the storyline, too much unrealism, too blasé even. I endured it to the end, but even that had no triumph!! Almost a GCSE attempt at making a film, stealing the limelight of the very ominous real-life intrigue of air accident cover ups. |This could have been a box office event, had it been better produced!

It’s old, but it’s aged well. Quite dark. Highly recommended.

Brilliant 5 star

...Bridget Fonda comes nowhere close to Anne Parillaud's brilliant performance in the French original "Nikita". It retains the plot of the original, up to the final job, but it remains a glossy Hollywood remake of the gritty original. It's actually not that bad, but for people who don't like subtitles, it's worth viewing it first, and then following it with The Real Thing.

This film is full of inconsistencies, illogicalities, poor continuity, and some poor acting. I'm a sucker for aviation films, but this one was a waste of 90 minutes of my time.